Match ends, Bristol City Women FC 2, Liverpool Women 1.
Two first-half goals were enough for Bristol City to beat Liverpool and inflict a third consecutive defeat on the Reds in the Women's Super League.
Lucy Graham's powerful header opened the scoring and Ella Rutherford pounced on a loose ball to double City's lead.
Liverpool pulled one back when Courtney Sweetman-Kirk turned in Laura Coombs' cross before the break.
Vixens defender Poppy Pattinson cleared off her own line and Sophie Baggaley saved well from Sweetman-Kirk late on.
After Graham was left unmarked at the back post from a left-wing corner on 16 minutes to put the hosts ahead, Rutherford made it 2-0 five minutes later from six yards out.
The 18-year-old striker was quickest to react after Liverpool goalkeeper Anke Preuss was unable to hold on to Julie Biesman's shot from long range, notching her first goal for the club.
Liverpool came close to getting an equaliser in the second half when Leandra Little deflected the ball goalwards after Baggaley had failed to gather a corner, but Pattinson managed to clear the danger.
Little flicked a header wide and Coombs tested Baggaley from 25 yards before the Bristol City keeper blocked Sweetman-Kirk's effort from close range.
The Vixens hung on to register their first win in three league games and leapfrog Liverpool in the table, moving up to sixth, two points ahead of the Reds.
Bristol City defender Poppy Pattinson:
"We ground out the result and I think the victory shows how together we are as a team.
"Lucy Graham gets her head on the end of everything and her goal showed the hard work we have been doing in training pays off.
"Ella Rutherford is my best friend here, so I'm really pleased for her that she got her first goal for us today.
"Our keeper Sophie Baggaley has got us out of trouble quite a few times this season and she was there again today when we needed her."
Liverpool centre-back Leandra Little:
"We are really disappointed and feel we let ourselves down in the first half.
"We knew that if we came here and worked harder than they did for the full 90 minutes then we could get a result, but that wasn't the case before the break.
"It was disappointing to concede the opening goal from a set-piece because we have been solid against them in our other games and it was uncharacteristic of us.
"We just feel deflated at the moment because we know we can perform better than that."
Line-ups
Bristol City Women
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Baggaley
- 2Dykes
- 5BrownSubstituted forKerkdijkat 50'minutes
- 3Evans
- 7Pattinson
- 8Humphrey
- 20Biesmans
- 17Ayane
- 14Graham
- 10Rutherford
- 9KemppiSubstituted forPayneat 66'minutes
Substitutes
- 4Johnson
- 6Kerkdijk
- 16Payne
- 18Wilson
- 22Watson
- 23Robinson
- 27Woolley
Liverpool Women
Formation 4-1-4-1
- 1Preuss
- 44Murray
- 6Bradley-Auckland
- 12Little
- 4Roberts
- 5FaheyBooked at 69minsSubstituted forDanielsat 77'minutes
- 9Sweetman-Kirk
- 10MurraySubstituted forRodgersat 66'minutes
- 8Coombs
- 20BabajideBooked at 60mins
- 24LinnettSubstituted forClarkeat 53'minutes
Substitutes
- 7Clarke
- 11Daniels
- 18Kitching
- 19Rodgers
- 29Thomas
- Referee:
- Richard Gardner
- Attendance:
- 554
Match Stats
- Possession
- Home41%
- Away59%
- Shots
- Home9
- Away12
- Shots on Target
- Home4
- Away5
- Corners
- Home4
- Away4
- Fouls
- Home16
- Away14
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Bristol City Women FC 2, Liverpool Women 1.
Post update
Corner, Bristol City Women FC. Conceded by Sophie Bradley.
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Foul by Yana Daniels (Liverpool Women).
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Julie Biesmans (Bristol City Women FC) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Attempt blocked. Yana Daniels (Liverpool Women) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
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Attempt saved. Courtney Sweetman-Kirk (Liverpool Women) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Rinsola Babajide with a cross.
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Offside, Liverpool Women. Anke Preuss tries a through ball, but Courtney Sweetman-Kirk is caught offside.
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Delay over. They are ready to continue.
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Delay in match Gemma Evans (Bristol City Women FC) because of an injury.
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Attempt blocked. Jessica Clarke (Liverpool Women) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Courtney Sweetman-Kirk.
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Attempt saved. Laura Coombs (Liverpool Women) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Jessica Clarke.
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Yana Daniels (Liverpool Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Julie Biesmans (Bristol City Women FC).
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Foul by Rhiannon Roberts (Liverpool Women).
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Lucy Graham (Bristol City Women FC) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Substitution
Substitution, Liverpool Women. Yana Daniels replaces Niamh Fahey.
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Attempt missed. Jessica Clarke (Liverpool Women) left footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high following a set piece situation.
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Jessica Clarke (Liverpool Women) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Foul by Carla Humphrey (Bristol City Women FC).