Bristol Ladies Union 1st v Tuffley Rovers Ladies 1st, 30th November 2025
A rather cold and windy day at BAWA, with very few clouds to block out the low sun. Fortunately we started the game with the sun and wind behind us, which gave us a small first half advantage, but we knew we’d be facing into it come the second half.
Both teams started the game at full speed, and Tuffley have a couple of players up front who really are fast. So do we though, and once Annabelle had the ball at her feet and found a bit of space she was off like a rocket, so it was that 8 minutes into the game she got us our first goal. The whole team were having to work for it though. There was not a position on the pitch where anyone could sit back and relax. 11 minutes after the first goal, a well worked set up gave Sarah the opportunity to knock the second into the back of the net. Over the next 25 minutes or so we had quite a few good opportunities to score, but they were either collected by Tuffley’s keeper or pulled slightly too wide or high. The BLU defence and Tia had their share of work to do too, and the look of relief from Katie when she was given a break probably give Lilia something to worry about as she came on.
At half time we knew the next 45 minutes would be into the wind and into the much lower, and unfortunately not-obscured-by-clouds sun, so not the time to get complacent. The second half started a bit scrappier than the first. Players were being pulled out of position as Tuffley picked up their energy levels, and possession changed sides a bit too quickly. Meanwhile on the sidelines the substitutes and spectators huddled deeper into their coats as the temperature dropped. Both teams had some goal scoring opportunities, neither could capitalise. Then suddenly Tuffley won a penalty due to a stray arm inside the box, and at the exact same time the sun appeared again from behind a cloud. Tia was going to have to face down a spot kick with the sun in her eyes…
…and face it down she did. It was a good penalty, but Tia went the right way and got a strong hand to the ball. The last few minutes were still being played at pace, and another last minute attempt by Tuffley was miraculously blocked inside the 18 yard box by Isobelle, who seemed to come flying out of nowhere.
At the final whistle the score was 2-0, and despite the loss Tuffley Rovers were smiling and friendly. I did find out that one of their strongest players managed to get through the match with a broken toe!
Isobelle won the Magic Moment trophy for that crucial block at the end, and the Player of the Match went to Amelie for her apparently limitless tenacity.
