‘Good opportunity to challenge ourselves’ - Oxtoby

City Women were last in action in the the Fourth Round of the Women’s FA Cup when they overcame Durham 1-0 at the SGS College Stoke Gifford Stadium.

Whilst many would see the cancellations as detrimental to being match ready, Oxtoby believes the break has come as a ‘blessing in disguise’ to allow the new signings to integrate into life at Bristol City.

“It’s going to be a really good opportunity for us to go away from home and challenge ourselves against one of the best teams in England, and with the young squad we have it’s another chance for them to put our principles into practice.

“The break has been a little bit of a blessing in disguise. No one likes to miss games, but it’s given us more time on the training pitch with the new girls go allow them to integrate.

“We’ve managed to get a good bulk of work in which has been great, and we’re looking forward to a midweek game - the girls are pretty excited and ready to go.”

Last season the Robins had a memorable trip to the Academy Stadium as Oxtoby’s side left the North West with a point after a thrilling 2-2 draw with the Blues.

“I was looking at my watch and thinking how long was left, but in reality we were only ten minutes in, it was a big performance from us. It’s a special place to go and it’ll be a great occasion for us to up there.

“Earlier on in the season, although the scoreline doesn’t reflect it, we were good in patches when we played Manchester City at home in terms of our defensive structure.

“What let us down is we didn’t close down the spaces in the wide areas quickly enough and that really hurt has, so that has been a big work on for us in the build up to today’s game.”

Bristol City Women are next at home on Monday, February 17th (7:30pm) when they take on Everton Women at Ashton Gate Stadium in the Fifth Round of the Women’s FA Cup.

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