Bristol Academy WFC 2008-09 Season

National Premier League: 8th
League Cup: 3rd round; WFC Fulham a. lost 4-2 on penalties.
FA Cup: 6th round; WFC Sunderland a. 2-4

Highlight:
3-1 win away to Watford in the FA Cup 4th round, 18/1/09

Low Spot:
4-2 defeat at Sunderland in the FA Cup quarter finals, 22/2/09

Good:
Gwennan Harries
Really found her feet during this season, her second for the club. Genuinely quick and a fine finisher when confident Harries can worry any defence and was near her best form during the second half of the season.
Grace McCatty
A very promising player who can play just about anywhere. Seemed to have established a position in the Academy back four by the end of the season and it is most likely that her future, which appears bright, will be at the heart of the defence.

In Brief:
Bristol continue to occupy the middle ground in the Premier League and can be satisfied with that position. They are not ideally placed to attract, or keep, the top players and remain largely reliant on the crop of youngsters coming through the Filton academy.
At the moment the team is comfortably good enough to maintain its’ place among the countries elite but confidence for the future would be massively increased if a worthy successor to Siobhan Chamberlain in goal could be found.
Losing in the cups to Watford and Sunderland was a major disappointment for a club noted for its' exploits in knockout competitions.

Bristol Academy Womens Football Club was formed in 1998 and has led an eventful existence.

The club was formed when girls playing in the Bristol Rovers junior sides became too old to continue and needed a senior team in order to carry on playing.

To manage this objective they merged with the Welsh side Cable-Tel LFC and joined the South West Womens Combination.

In 2001 the club won the Combination and were promoted into the National Premier League South and two years later they were the champions of that division, thereby gaining promotion to the National Premier League.

Last season the club finished a creditable fifth in the league but their future was then thrown into considerable doubt in the summer when Bristol Rovers FC were unable to continue financing the team.

Fortunately a deal was struck with Filton College's Academy of Sport and the club was able to continue, now as Bristol Academy WFC.

This deal only runs for twelve months, however, so the long term future of the club, certainly as a Premier League outfit, remains unsure.

It must be hoped that the club can overcome these difficulties, all too commomn in the womens game, and continue to flourish.

Bristol Academy have certainly responded with spirit to their problems in the summer and possess a competitive side with several outstanding prospects.

Siobhan Chamberlain, England's reserve goalkeeper, is one such talent and the club are also well served by the England under 19 captain Katie Holtham, Welsh international Michelle Green and the Republic of Ireland winger Stef Curtis.

The club has enjoyed almost total domination of the Gloucestershire FA Womens Cup, winning six out of seven trophies, but have suffered consistent heartache in the FA Womens Cup proper.

In three years out of four from 2001 the club reached the semi finals only to lose to Arsenal Ladies on each occassion.

Then, in 2005, they reached the last four again, this time to face Charlton Athletic Ladies, unfortunately with no more joy.

The club is still easy to identify with Bristol Rovers, playing in their distinctive blue and white quarters and retaining the nickname of the Gas Girls.