A new-look Coventry United side suffered a 1-0 defeat to Bristol City at the Butts Park Arena in their opening match of the season on Sunday afternoon.
After a week which saw new Coventry United boss Lee Burch add 11 more players to his squad, Jess Woolley scored the only goal for Bristol City as The Red and Greens started the season with a defeat.
Getting a positive result against a Bristol City side which flirted with promotion last season was always going to be a tall order for Coventry United but new boss Burch came away from the game with a positive outlook on proceedings.
“We either wanted a result or a performance,” Burch said. “We definitely needed at least one of them and I was happy with the performance we got today.
“I think overall, Bristol were the better side but what we did was we gelled quickly and showed what we’re going to be about this season.”
Coventry United were able to restrict last season’s second top scorers to just the one goal which will be some cause for concern for other teams looking to break down this stubborn defence. That being said, Burch believes that things could get even tougher for Coventry United’s opponents as the season progresses.
He said “We’re only going to get better. We got better throughout the game and we’ve got better every game since I’ve been here.”
“Bristol finished third last season and we’ve managed to go toe-to-toe with them with players missing. We only had three subs they had five because of things that are out of our hands and that’ll only sort itself out.”
Not only were Coventry United faced with a team with far greater depth, they also came up against one of the most prolific strikers in the Barclays Women’s Championship in Abi Harrison. The Scot ended the 2021/2022 season with 17 goals in the division and Burch felt that his players dealt with her presence expertly.
“Jodie (Whiteman) has made one really good save from Abi (Harrison) and apart from that, we’ve managed to limit one of the best strikers in the league and top goal scorer in the league to small moments,” Burch said.
Once Coventry United are able to name a full-strength side and if they continue clicking as a unit, they might very well stave off the relegation that several have tipped them for prior to the start of the season. Avoiding the drop is an obvious ambition for the club but Burch has something much bigger in mind.
He said “The target is to be the best Coventry that there has been and there’s lots of different parameters for that. We just want to get better and better, gel as a side and make sure we’re competitive in every game.”
The Red and Greens were certainly competitive against Bristol City and they will need to replicate that next week as they travel to Crystal Palace, another team who are expected to be in and around the top of the table.
About The Author
