The Vixens report on their campaign thus far under new management, improvements to facilities and their community involvement.
Times of Change
This year has seen significant changes for the Vixens which started when Mark Sampson was appointed as the new England manager at the end of the 2013 season. Sampson was the only manager Bristol Academy had ever known since their entry into the FAWSL in 2011. In February this year the Vixens appointed Dave Edmondson as the new manager who has made quite an impact since arriving: Bristol Academy now train as a squad four times a week where it was previously only twice. Edmondson has come to the Stoke Gifford Stadium from Melbourne Victory with a W-League Championship under his belt and a desire to get this young Vixens side to play an exciting, possession based style of football.
FA Women’s Cup
In Bristol Academy’s short history, having only been established in 2005, the Vixens have fond memories of the FA Women’s Cup. Having reached the final in 2011 & 2013, then the semi final in 2012, this year’s fate would prove hard to swallow. As the FAWSL clubs came into the competition in the 5th round, it was never going to be easy as the Vixens drew Chelsea where all other FAWSL clubs had managed to avoid each other. Bristol Academy pushed a new look Chelsea outfit to extra time, only to lose the match 2-1.
FAWSL
The focus was then all on the FAWSL campaign. The Vixens hosted Chelsea in the opening match of the FAWSL, and for the first time in the FAWSL history, the Vixens hosted Chelsea’s Centre of Excellence ages U-11 to U-17s who battled it out as a curtain raiser to the main event. In front of 1,313 spectators and the Cinderford brass band, a strong second half performance wasn’t enough to make up for the slow start and the Vixens lost their first game 2-0. Bristol then went on to gain success on the road as they beat Man City 2-0, drew to Everton 2-2, and beat Arsenal 2-0. The away victory at Boreham Wood was a first in the club’s history against Arsenal, and the new style of play Edmondson has instilled was now in full fruition. The Vixens go into the second half of the FAWSL full of confidence and ready to take on Birmingham.
FAWSL Continental Cup
This year’s continental cup competition has seen a comfortable 9-2 win over Oxford and two draws, one away to Notts County finishing 1-1, and the next a 0-0 at home to Yeovil Town. Yeovil’s goalkeeper Alice Evans delivered an outstanding performance to keep a clean sheet against the Vixens, so impressive that Edmondson signed the promising young goalkeeper in this season’s mid-season break.
UEFA Women’s Champions League
For the second time in the club’s history, Bristol Academy will be competing in this year’s UEFA Women’s Champions League tournament. Having been named as a seeded team, the Vixens will miss the likes of 2013 finalists Olympique Lyonnais, 2013 and 2014 champions VFL Wolfsburg and FAWSL rivals Liverpool Ladies. The draw will be made on August 22nd and the Vixens will play the home leg at Ashton Gate in a partnership agreement with Bristol Sport Ltd.
Facilities
There’s plenty going on off the field at Bristol Academy with a brand new sports pavilion being built at SGS College which will be open in September. The new facility will see the Vixens make use of a brand new state of the art gym, extended physiotherapy department, new changing rooms, a bar and a bistro catering for athletes’ nutritional requirements. The Vixens are fortunate enough to be based at the fantastic SGS College facilities at the Wise Campus which boasts two full sized 3G artificial pitches (one which is FIFA 2 star and IRB accredited), an indoor 3G pitch, a sports hall, grass pitches and the Stoke Gifford Stadium pitch. The pitch is ground graded C and is the only dedicated pitch for women’s football in the country.
Match Day Experience
Attendances are growing steadily at the Stoke Gifford Stadium, and the Vixens currently boast the third highest attendances in the league. The majority of spectators are young families and local clubs, many who have enjoyed programmes delivered by the Vixens’ Community Department. The school holiday camps are delivered in partnership with Bristol City’s Community Trust and are attracting an average of 37 per day. Our FAWSL players deliver on the camps, including Natasha Harding, Georgia Evans and Angharad James.
As FA Club of the Year 2011 and 2013, the Vixens pride themselves on being a community club who create an exciting match day experience. If you haven’t visited the Stoke Gifford Stadium this season then you are missing out, with tickets £5 for adults and £3 for concessions, its great value for money.
Information
To purchase tickets: https://sales.webticketmanager.com/default.aspx?companyid=986
To keep up to date with news on and off the field:
@BristolAcademy
www.facebook.com/bawfc
SHE KICKS – the online community for women’s football
