Beard searching for consistency against top teams.

Man City ran out 3-0 victors at Twerton Park on Wednesday night thanks to goals from Caroline Weir, Ellen White and Sam Mewis. However, they were kept at bay for large spells of the game.

Bristol City had the ball in the back of the net in the second half as Abi Harrison picked out the bottom corner, but she was adjudged to be offside by the linesman.

Aimee Palmer also went close with a looping volley before City had claims for a penalty turned down by officials as Yana Daniels’ freekick looked to have struck the hand of a Manchester City defender.

Beard was left frustrated by the decisions that did not go the way of his side.

“We’ve done ok tonight. In the second half we were a lot more aggressive in terms of stepping on and not letting them play,” said Beard.

“I felt one or two decisions went against us tonight. I thought the freekick [from Yana Daniels] struck an arm but I need to see it back again.

“Overall, I didn’t think we got much tonight in the way of decisions, which is frustrating, but I am really pleased with the second half.

“We need to tidy up on the goals we are conceding. When you are playing the top teams, you have got to make sure that your touch is right but for the most part we have done well.

“The key thing now is that we recover, and we have got a massive game for us on Sunday away to Tottenham.

“I have said that when we play against the big teams like Man City and Chelsea that we need to shift the mindset, because tonight we have proved that we can play, and we have created a few great chances.

“I can see it’s beginning to change, and we have proved that we can stop these top teams from playing but we need to do it more consistently. As long as we stay positive then I am confident we can stay in this division.”

Bristol City Women head to the capital again this weekend as they travel to The Hive to take on Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, March 21^st (2pm KO).