2023–24 Bristol City W.F.C. season

Bristol City

2023–24 season
Head coach	Lauren Smith
Stadium	Aston Gate, Bristol
WSL	12th (relegated)
FA Cup	Fourth round
League Cup	Group stage
Top goalscorer	League: Amalie Thestrup (9) All: Amalie Thestrup (9)
Highest home attendance	14,138 (vs. Manchester United, 26 November)
Lowest home attendance	4,112 (vs. Everton, 18 May)
Average home league attendance	6,974
Home colours Away colours Third colours

The 2023–24 Bristol City W.F.C. season was the club's eighth season under the Bristol City affiliation and the organisation's 25th overall season in existence. It was their first season back in the Women's Super League, the highest level of the football pyramid, following promotion as Championship winners, ending a two-year absence. Along with competing in the WSL, the club also contested two domestic cup competitions: the FA Cup and the League Cup.

Ahead of the season, the club confirmed the women's team's primary home ground would be the club's main stadium, Aston Gate, moving from the Robins High Performance Centre in Failand after one season. Megan Connolly was announced as the new captain on 19 September.[1]

On 28 April 2024, Bristol City were relegated to the Championship after a 4–0 home defeat to Manchester City left the team eight points adrift from safety with two games left to play.

Squad

As of 25 January 2024[2]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ENG Fran Bentley 2 DF  WAL Ella Powell 3 DF  DEN Sille Struck 4 DF  ENG Naomi Layzell 5 DF  ENG Brooke Aspin (on loan from Chelsea) 6 MF  IRL Megan Connolly (captain) 7 FW  SCO Abi Harrison 8 MF  ENG Amy Rodgers 9 FW  JAM Shania Hayles 10 MF  NIR Rachel Furness 11 DF  SCO Jamie-Lee Napier 12 DF  IRL Chloe Mustaki 13 GK  WAL Olivia Clark 15 MF  ENG Jasmine Bull

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 MF  ENG Emily Syme 17 FW  DEN Amalie Thestrup 18 MF  CAN Sarah Stratigakis 22 MF  SCO Lisa Evans 23 FW  WAL Carrie Jones 24 FW  WAL Ffion Morgan 25 GK  ENG Erin Foley 29 DF  ENG Mari Ward 30 GK  USA Shae Yáñez 36 MF  ENG Fearne Slocombe 38 MF  WAL Manon Pearce 39 FW  ENG Maya Kendall 44 DF  JAM Satara Murray

Preseason

Manchester City v Bristol City

2 September 2023 Friendly	Manchester City	3–2	Bristol City	Manchester
	Castellanos Aspin (o.g.) Shaw	Report	Harrison (pen.) Furness	Stadium: Academy Stadium Attendance: Behind-closed-doors

West Ham United v Bristol City

10 September 2023 Friendly	West Ham United	3–0	Bristol City	Dagenham
	Asseyi 58', 63', 90'			Stadium: Victoria Road

Women's Super League

Main article: 2023–24 Women's Super League

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
22	1	3	18	20	70	−50	6	0	0	11	7	32	−25	1	3	7	13	38	−25

Last updated: 18 May 2024.
Source: WSL

Results by matchday

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Ground	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H
Result	L	L	L	L	W	L	D	L	D	L	L	L	D	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Position	11	12	12	12	11	12	12	12	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12

Source: ^[citation needed]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results

Bristol City v Leicester City

1 October 2023 1	Bristol City	2–4	Leicester City	Bristol
14:00	Jones 33' Thestrup 85' (pen.)	Report	Palmer 45+2' O'Brien 49' Petermann 52' Cain  78' Rantala 83' Green  90'	Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 4,132 Referee: Elizabeth Simms

Tottenham Hotspur v Bristol City

8 October 2023 2	Tottenham Hotspur	3–1	Bristol City	Leyton
14:00	Neville  23' Ahtinen 31' Thomas 35' Summanen 45+4'	Report	Napier  12' Aspin  59' Thestrup 64' (pen.)	Stadium: Brisbane Road Attendance: 1,605 Referee: Lauren Impey

Manchester City v Bristol City

15 October 2023 3	Manchester City	5–0	Bristol City	Manchester
13:00	Roord 9', 45+2' Aleixandri 33' Shaw 38', 45+6'	Report	Rodgers  48'	Stadium: Academy Stadium Attendance: 3,789 Referee: Stacey Fullicks

Bristol City v Arsenal

22 October 2023 4	Bristol City	1–2	Arsenal	Bristol
18:45	Furness 16',  84' Murray  90+3'	Report	McCabe 7', 59' Wubben-Moy  31' Russo  78'	Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 12,008 Referee: Adewunmi Soneye

West Ham United v Bristol City

5 November 2023 5	West Ham United	2–3	Bristol City	Dagenham
15:00	Asseyi 27' (pen.) Ueki 45+3'	Report	Napier  5' Furness  17' Thestrup 32' Powell 37' Aspin 55' Harrison  80' Connolly  90+2'	Stadium: Victoria Road Attendance: 791 Referee: Kirsty Dowle

Bristol City v Aston Villa

12 November 2023 6	Bristol City	0–2	Aston Villa	Bristol
14:00	Jones  38'	Report	Leon  35' Connolly 77' (o.g.) Salmon 86'	Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 4,407 Referee: Melissa Burgin

Everton v Bristol City

19 November 2023 7	Everton	2–2	Bristol City	Liverpool
13:00	Piemonte 5',  69' Finnigan 57'	Report	Rodgers 45+1' Thestrup 82'	Stadium: Walton Hall Park Attendance: 886 Referee: Adewunmi Soneye

Bristol City v Manchester United

26 November 2023 8	Bristol City	0–2	Manchester United	Bristol
12:30	Aspin  4' Connolly  64'	Report	Miyazawa 50' Parris 55'	Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 14,138 Referee: Stacey Fullicks

Liverpool v Bristol City

10 December 2023 9	Liverpool	1–1	Bristol City	Birkenhead
14:00	Hinds  22' Bonner  46' Fisk  55' Haug 57'	Report	Harrison  12' Thestrup  43', 50'	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 1,341 Referee: Stacey Fullicks

Bristol City v Chelsea

17 December 2023 10	Bristol City	0–3	Chelsea	Bristol
14:00		Report	James 17' Charles  24'  90+6' Cuthbert 34' Kerr 59'	Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 9,442 Referee: Amy Fearn

Brighton & Hove Albion v Bristol City

21 January 2024 11	Brighton & Hove Albion	3–2	Bristol City	Crawley
14:00	Terland 31', 90+5' Robinson 57'	Report	Rodgers  52' Harrison 55' Jones 83'	Stadium: Broadfield Stadium Attendance: 2,049 Referee: Lisa Benn

Bristol City v West Ham United

28 January 2024 12	Bristol City	1–2	West Ham United	Bristol
14:00	Connolly  46' Thestrup 48' Powell  90+8'	Report	Hayashi 13' Harries  23' Asseyi 55' Shimizu  90+5' Smith  90+14'	Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 6,214 Referee: Lauren Impey

Aston Villa v Bristol City

3 February 2024 13	Aston Villa	2–2	Bristol City	Walsall
12:30	Nobbs 13' Leon 60'	Report	Napier  11' Thestrup 15' Jones 75' Hayles  83' Yáñez  90+2'	Stadium: Bescot Stadium Attendance: 2,190 Referee: Stacey Pearson

Leicester City v Bristol City

18 February 2024 14	Leicester City	5–2	Bristol City	Leicester
15:00	Momiki 33' Takarada 45+1' Cayman 54' Rantala 76',  81' Draper 89'	Report	Morgan 20' Powell  24' Napier  63' Thestrup 49'	Stadium: King Power Stadium Attendance: 2,219 Referee: Stacey Pearson

Bristol City v Brighton & Hove Albion

3 March 2024 15	Bristol City	3–7	Brighton & Hove Albion	Bristol
14:00	Powell  22' Connolly 47' Aspin 71' Thestrup 74'	Report	Terland 20', 54' Bremer 24' Pinto 64',  90' Haley 89' Losada 90+2' (pen.) Robinson 90+6'	Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 3,468 Referee: Adewunmi Soneye

Manchester United v Bristol City

17 March 2024 16	Manchester United	2–0	Bristol City	Leigh
12:00	Naalsund 9', 90+5'	Report	Napier  2'  82' Harrison  90+9'	Stadium: Leigh Sports Village Attendance: 4,254 Referee: Elizabeth Simms

Bristol City v Tottenham Hotspur

24 March 2024 17	Bristol City	0–1	Tottenham Hotspur	Bristol
14:00	Ward  89'	Report	England 2'	Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 5,262 Referee: Phoebe Cross

Arsenal v Bristol City

14 April 2024 18	Arsenal	5–0	Bristol City	Borehamwood
18:45	Mead 7', 32' Powell 34' (o.g.) Rusoo 59', 73'	Report		Stadium: Meadow Park Attendance: 3,565 Referee: Lisa Benn
Note: Rescheduled from 31 March 2024 due to Arsenal's participation in the 2024 FA Women's League Cup final.

Bristol City v Liverpool

20 April 2024 19	Bristol City	0–1	Liverpool	Bristol
12:30	Aspin  25'	Report	Höbinger 13' Kearns  35' Haug  85'	Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 4,780 Referee: Phoebe Cross

Bristol City v Manchester City

28 April 2024 20	Bristol City	0–4	Manchester City	Bristol
18:45		Report	Fowler 62', 75' Rodgers 77' (o.g.) Greenwood 90+9'	Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 8,749 Referee: Cheryl Foster

Chelsea v Bristol City

5 May 2024 21	Chelsea	8–0	Bristol City	Kingston upon Thames
18:45	Reiten 6' (pen.), 56', 70', 77' Nüsken 23' Beever-Jones 52', 88' Charles 74'	Report	Rodgers  86'	Stadium: Kingsmeadow Attendance: 4,289 Referee: Stacey Fullicks

Bristol City v Everton

18 May 2024 22	Bristol City	0–4	Everton	Bristol
15:00		Report	Snoeijs 16' S. Holmgaard 23' Bissell 48' Piemonte 90+4'	Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 4,112 Referee: Grace Lowe

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
8	Everton	22	6	5	11	24	37	−13	23
9	Brighton & Hove Albion	22	5	4	13	26	48	−22	19
10	Leicester City	22	4	6	12	26	45	−19	18
11	West Ham United	22	3	6	13	20	45	−25	15
12	Bristol City (R)	22	1	3	18	20	70	−50	6	Relegation to the Championship

Source: Women's Super League Table
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated

Women's FA Cup

Main article: 2023–24 Women's FA Cup

As a member of the first tier, Bristol City entered the FA Cup in the fourth round proper.

Bristol City v Liverpool

14 January 2024 Fourth round	Bristol City	0–1	Liverpool	Bristol
13:00	Mustaki  36'	Report	Holland  39'  60' Bonner 85'	Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 2,563 Referee: Lisa Benn

FA Women's League Cup

Main article: 2023–24 FA Women's League Cup

Bristol City v Southampton

11 October 2023 Group stage	Bristol City	1–1 (3–4 p)	Southampton	Failand
19:30	Furness 33'	Report	Lloyd-Smith 50' Peake  87'	Stadium: Robins HPC Attendance: 597 Referee: Will Finnie
	Penalties
	Rodgers Teisar Ward Jones Napier Aspin		Peake Peplow Purfield Thompson Kraft Morris

Arsenal v Bristol City

9 November 2023 Group stage	Arsenal	3–1	Bristol City	Borehamwood
19:00	Maanum 27' Wubben-Moy 36' Blackstenius 90+5'	Report	Struck 70'	Stadium: Meadow Park Attendance: 1,974 Referee: Lisa Benn

Tottenham Hotspur v Bristol City

22 November 2023 Group stage	Tottenham Hotspur	3–0	Bristol City	Leyton
19:30	Graham 19' (pen.) Ayane 29', 72' Percival  31'	Report	Aspin  35'	Stadium: Brisbane Road Attendance: 506 Referee: Sunny Singh Gill

Bristol City v Reading

13 December 2023 Group stage	Bristol City	1–1 (4–5 p)	Reading	Failand
19:30	Hayles 21' Kendall  90+6'	Report	Mayi Kith  68' Wellings 86'	Stadium: Robins HPC Attendance: 648 Referee: Lisa Benn
	Penalties
	Rodgers Jones Woolley Hayles Thestrup Napier		Troelsgaard Wade Wellings Primmer Woodham Houssein

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Arsenal (Q)	4	3	1	0	0	14	5	+9	11	Advanced to knock-out stage
2	Tottenham Hotspur (Q)	4	3	0	1	0	15	3	+12	10	Possible knock-out stage based on ranking
3	Southampton	4	1	1	0	2	3	6	−3	5
4	Bristol City	4	0	0	2	2	3	8	−5	2
5	Reading	4	0	1	0	3	1	14	−13	2

Updated to match(es) played on 24th January 2024. Source: FA Women's League Cup
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Number of wins; 5) Head-to-head record
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated

Squad statistics

Appearances

As of match played 18 May 2024

Starting appearances are listed first, followed by substitute appearances after the + symbol where applicable.

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		WSL		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	ENG	Fran Bentley	5	0	5	0	0	0	0	0
2	DF	WAL	Ella Powell	22	1	18+2	1	1	0	1	0
3	DF	DEN	Sille Struck	13	1	8+1	0	0	0	4	1
4	DF	ENG	Naomi Layzell	19	0	15+1	0	1	0	0+2	0
5	DF	ENG	Brooke Aspin	20	2	16+1	2	0	0	2+1	0
6	MF	IRL	Megan Connolly	25	1	22	1	1	0	2	0
7	FW	SCO	Abi Harrison	16	1	8+7	1	1	0	0	0
8	MF	ENG	Amy Rodgers	26	1	22	1	1	0	1+2	0
9	FW	JAM	Shania Hayles	19	1	3+12	0	0	0	4	1
10	MF	NIR	Rachel Furness	12	2	7+3	1	0	0	1+1	1
11	DF	SCO	Jamie-Lee Napier	22	0	18+1	0	1	0	1+1	0
12	DF	IRL	Chloe Mustaki	11	0	5+1	0	1	0	3+1	0
13	GK	WAL	Olivia Clark	8	0	6+1	0	0	0	1	0
15	MF	ENG	Jasmine Bull	13	0	3+6	0	0	0	4	0
16	DF	ENG	Emily Syme	27	0	11+11	0	1	0	4	0
17	FW	DEN	Amalie Thestrup	26	9	22	9	1	0	0+3	0
18	MF	CAN	Sarah Stratigakis	6	0	1+5	0	0	0	0	0
22	MF	SCO	Lisa Evans	9	0	3+6	0	0	0	0	0
23	FW	WAL	Carrie Jones	23	3	16+2	3	1	0	1+3	0
24	FW	WAL	Ffion Morgan	24	1	19+3	1	0+1	0	1	0
25	GK	ENG	Erin Foley	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
29	DF	ENG	Mari Ward	26	0	1+20	0	0+1	0	4	0
30	GK	USA	Shae Yáñez	8	0	7	0	1	0	0	0
36	MF	ENG	Fearne Slocombe	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
38	MF	WAL	Manon Pearce	2	0	0	0	0	0	0+2	0
39	FW	ENG	Maya Kendall	3	0	0+1	0	0	0	1+1	0
44	DF	JAM	Satara Murray	5	0	2+2	0	0	0	1	0
Players who appeared for the club but left during the season:
19	DF	ENG	Jess Simpson	2	0	0+1	0	0	0	1	0
21	GK	USA	Kaylan Marckese	5	0	4	0	0	0	1	0
41	GK	NOR	Benedicte Håland	3	0	0+1	0	0	0	2	0
Players away from the club on loan:
27	FW	ENG	Jesse Woolley	4	0	0+1	0	0	0	2+1	0
28	FW	WAL	Tianna Teisar	5	0	0+1	0	0	0	2+2	0

Transfers

Transfers in

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Ref.
3 July 2023	MF		Amy Rodgers	London City Lionesses	[3]
26 July 2023	DF		Satara Murray	Racing Louisville	[4]
14 August 2023	DF		Jamie-Lee Napier	London City Lionesses	[5]
	FW		Amalie Thestrup	PSV	[6]
24 August 2023	MF		Megan Connolly	Brighton & Hove Albion	[7]
6 September 2023	FW		Carrie Jones	Manchester United	[8]
13 September 2023	DF		Sille Struck	Levante Las Planas	[9]
19 November 2023	GK		Benedicte Håland	Hibernian	[10]
5 January 2024	GK		Shae Yáñez	San Diego Wave	[11]
20 January 2024	MF		Sarah Stratigakis	Vittsjö GIK	[12]
25 January 2024	MF		Lisa Evans	West Ham United	[13]

Loans in

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Until	Ref.
7 July 2023	DF		Brooke Aspin	Chelsea	End of season	[14]
2 August 2023	GK		Kaylan Marckese	Arsenal	4 January 2024	[15][16]
14 September 2023	DF		Jess Simpson	Manchester United	21 October 2023	[17][18]

Transfers out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Ref.
1 May 2023	DF		Lia Cataldo	Crystal Palace	[19][20]
	FW		Lily Greenslade	Rugby Borough	[19][21]
	DF		Jodie Hutton	Sheffield United	[19][22]
	MF		Aimee Palmer	Leicester City	[19][23]
	MF		Chloe Bull	Swansea City	[19][24]
12 May 2023	MF		Elysia Boddy	Newcastle United	[25][26]
7 July 2023	DF		Brooke Aspin	Chelsea	[14]
4 September 2023	DF		Vicky Bruce	Western Sydney Wanderers	[27]
19 January 2024	GK		Benedicte Håland	Southampton	[28][29]

Loans out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Until	Ref.
30 July 2023	DF		Maddi Wilde	London City Lionesses	End of season	[30]
1 August 2023	GK		Olivia Clark	Watford	8 October 2023	[31][32]
12 January 2024	FW		Jesse Woolley	Reading	End of season	[33]
22 January 2024	FW		Tianna Teisar	Cardiff City Ladies	End of season	[34]

References

1. Dougherty, Noah (19 September 2023). "Connolly named City captain". Bristol City FC.
2. "Women's first team". Bristol City.
3. "Rogers signs for City". Bristol City.
4. "Murray returns to City". Bristol City FC. 26 July 2023.
5. "Napier signs for City". Bristol City FC. 14 August 2023.
6. "Thestrup is a Robin". Bristol City FC. 14 August 2023.
7. "Connolly is a Robin". Bristol City FC. 24 August 2023.
8. "Jones signs for City". Bristol City FC. 6 September 2023.
9. "City strike to sign Sille". Bristol City FC. 13 September 2023.
10. "Goalkeeper Haaland signs". Bristol City FC. 19 November 2023.
11. "City sign goalkeeper Yanez". Bristol City FC. 5 January 2024.
12. "Stratigakis signs". Bristol City FC. 20 January 2024.
13. "Evans signs for City". Bristol City FC. 25 January 2024.
14. "Brooke Aspin signs for Chelsea". www.chelseafc.com.
15. Dougherty, Noah (2 August 2023). "Marckese signs on loan". Bristol City FC.
16. "Marckese returns to Arsenal for recovery". Bristol City FC. 4 January 2024.
17. "Jess Simpson joins Bristol City on loan". www.manutd.com.
18. Dougherty, Noah (21 October 2023). "Simpson returns to Manchester United". Bristol City FC.
19. "City Women confirm released list". Bristol City. 1 May 2023.
20. "Crystal Palace Women sign Lia Cataldo - News". Crystal Palace F.C. 14 July 2023.
21. "Lily Grreensalde Rugby Borough WFC". www.rugbyboroughfc.co.uk.
22. "Hutton joins United". Sheffield United FC. 26 July 2023.
23. Frith, Wilf (1 August 2023). "Leicester City Women sign midfielder Aimee Palmer". She Kicks.
24. "Swansea City Women sign Chloe Bull". www.swanseacity.com. 18 August 2023.
25. "Boddy departs City Women". Bristol City. 12 May 2023.
26. "Boddy signs for Newcastle United Women". Newcastle United FC. 12 July 2023.
27. "Wanderers sign Women's Championship winner Bruce". Western Sydney Wanderers. 4 September 2023.
28. "Haaland departs City". Bristol City FC. 19 January 2024.
29. "Southampton FC Women sign goalkeeper Benedicte Haaland". www.southamptonfc.com.
30. "London City Lionesses land defender Maddi Wilde on loan from Bristol City". London City Lionesses. 30 July 2023.
31. Frith, Wilf (1 August 2023). "Watford Women sign Welsh international keeper on loan - SheKicks". She Kicks.
32. Dougherty, Noah (8 October 2023). "Clark recalled from Watford loan". Bristol City FC.
33. "Reading FC Women welcome Jesse Woolley on loan till the end of the season". Reading FC. 12 January 2024.
34. "Teisar leaves on loan". Bristol City FC. 22 January 2024.