Bristol Ladies Union 1st v Bradley Stoke Ladies 1st, 21st September 2025
The weather cleared up for an afternoon of sunshine and blue skies at Coombe Dingle, where BLU took on Bradley Stoke Ladies 1st. We started off with a good spell of pressure, and for the first 20 minutes we managed to keep Bradley Stoke away from our 18 yard box. Our midfield worked well to get the ball forward time and time again, while the opposition’s deep defending was effective at keeping us from getting shots on target. Several times we manged to break through the defence, only to find a goalkeeper with sharp instincts who was not afraid to charge out to the edge of the box and close down the attack.
The second half was more of the same with stretches of dominance, and spells where we were put under pressure. Both teams had chances in front of the goal, but neither were able to capitalise. In the end the game finished nil-nil, and although it was disappointing not to get a win, I would say it was a fair result against an equal strength team. They had a couple of fast attacking forwards, but our defence stayed calm under pressure and handled them fairly comfortably.
Some excellent performances all around the pitch, with our Player of the Match trophy going to Isobelle for such a strong and instinctive performance at Centre Back. The Magic Moment trophy was awarded to Jasmine for somehow managing to spend 75 minutes at full speed being the football equivalent of Everything Everywhere All at Once.
