Abbeymead Rovers Ladies First v Bristol Ladies Union 1st, 11th January 2026
A tricky cup game in absolutely awful conditions, with the freezing wind howling down the pitch diagonally, which meant 80% of the play was on the opposite side of the pitch to the technical area, and wind advantage to the team playing right to left. We struggled to get out of our half at first and Abbeymead scored at the 10 minute mark. About 15 minutes in we were finding our form again when catastrophe struck and Molly’s ankle injury reappeared, putting her out for the rest of the game. Over the next 30 minutes the match was more even as we repeatedly broke out of our half and got into good positions, but getting a good cross in from the left was difficult. Defensively we were on good form, with the 2 fullbacks comfortably dealing with attacks down the wings, and the formidable duo of Lilly and Connie muscling players off the ball down the centre.
We went into half-time 1-0 down, and pretty fatigued from the relentless wind, but with the knowledge that we’d have the wind advantage in the second half. As the game restarted we looked stronger, and Annabelle got in several lightning attacks through the centre, but Abbeymead were very strong in defence, and their goal keeper – despite being injured – kept making somewhat miraculous saves. Eventually the goal came from the right hand side courtesy of Izzy, and we were back in contention. There was a lot of stop-start during the half as Abbeymead dealt with various cramps and injuries, so the momentum kept getting sucked out of the game. Despite our best efforts we just couldn’t get the second goal, and inevitably the full-time whistle blew with the scores at 1-1, which meant another cup game ending in penalties.
The wind continued to batter us and the light was fading quickly, and after 5 penalties each we were still square. Sudden death didn’t help matters… for a while there was a worry that the fading light might prevent us from finishing, but in the end it was Abbeymead who managed to split the scores on their ninth, ending penalties at 4-3.
So that’s our run in the league cup at an end, but we’re still in the county cup. We’re back at Abbeymead in a week, so we’ll flex our muscles and hopefully secure some more points in the league.
Player of the Match: Lilly, who looked like she was thoroughly enjoying pushing players off the ball around the 18yd box. Izzy takes the Magic Moment award for that goal.
