Chelsea Reaction

23 August 2011

Chelsea Reaction

Bristol came back from Chelsea with a hard earned 1-0 win thanks to a fantastic first half strike from winger Helen Bleazard.

The win moves the Vixens ahead of their opponents for the first time this season and now travel to Lincoln Sunday knowing three points will secure a fourth place finish in the inaugural WSL.

“It was a real great reaction from the players after our defeat Saturday and I am very proud of their mentality tonight. The team showed the qualities needed to go away from home and produce a performance that allows you to come away with a clean sheet and a win. It was a side to the team we haven’t really seen before and is a sign of how the group is growing. Early in the season we went to Arsenal and Birmingham and didn’t have the maturity to do the right thing at the right time to come away with a result. Now the players understand the concentration levels required and the mentality they must show to come away from home and pick up a result.

“We did have to rely on Shiv a couple of times but you expect that coming to a team with the quality Chelsea have. Shiv has been fantastic since she came back to the club and now she is playing with the confidence of a top goalkeeper and the results are there for everyone to see. Her form at the moment faultless, she has come on so much this season with every aspect of her game from her handling to her kicking growing to a new level. This is giving the players in front of her immense confidence to go and express themselves.

“We are moving in the right direction and at this stage of the season it is important the players are still hungry to improve and continue to grow as a group. The result at Chelsea shows this is still the case and now the challenge is to continue that at Lincoln and going into the two cup competitions we face, the Continental Cup and the Champions League. “

The win at Chelsea means the Vixens travel to Lincoln on Sunday knowing a win will allow them to leap frog the Lady Imps into fourth position. With Bristol being the pre-season favourites to finish the inaugural WSL season as the bottom placed club this is an achievement the manager is very proud of.

“The highest finish in the clubs history is fourth place in the Women’s Premier League, so to have the chance going into the last game to finish fourth in the new WSL League where the standards have improved so much is a fantastic achievement by the players and the whole club. At the start of the season we were written off and every prediction was we would be the team propping up the table come the end of the season, I think now it is safe to say we have made a few people eat their words. The fact we have amassed the number of points we have is an achievement we should take great satisfaction from, regardless of the result Sunday.”

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