Bristol City: Record crowd of 5,700 shows sport's growth, says boss Lauren Smith
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A bumper crowd watched Bristol City play Liverpool at Ashton Gate, setting a new league record
Bristol City head coach Lauren Smith says there is "loads to grow" within the sport after a record crowd of 5,752 watched their Championship defeat by Liverpool on Sunday at Ashton Gate.
The previous attendance record for the second tier was 4,100, set last October at Bramall Lane as Sheffield United hosted Liverpool.
Liverpool beat Bristol City 4-2 to win promotion to the Women's Super League.
The Robins, meanwhile, sit second in the league with three games remaining.
"The club have done excellent to get this today, and people wanting to be here and wanting to see the product and enjoy the experience," Smith told BBC Sport.
"It's excellent that we've got the numbers that we have and when it's a targeted approach, and it's done right and it's the right environment, it will grow and it's got loads to grow. I'm sure we can do it more.
"That attendance record, we've smashed it but we've smashed it by selling tickets. That's really important as well to know that we can get to this number in the season like this. I think it's exciting for the future of women's football and Bristol City."
In October, the Football Association announced new targets for crowd sizes in the women's game by 2024, with an aim of 6,000 fans per match in the WSL and an average of 1,000 in the Championship.
Bristol City, who were relegated from the WSL in 2021, have averaged 394 fans for their nine league matches at their usual home of the High Performance Centre.
The fixture against Liverpool, however, was the second time they have played at Ashton Gate. In November, 3,053 people watched them beat Blackburn Rovers 3-0.
"We made a decision, we thought two games at Ashton Gate this season was right. We're going to do three next year and we're looking to build slowly," Bristol City chief financial officer and board director Gavin Marshall said.
"We announced those games very early, went on sale very early and threw a lot of resources into promoting them, but also using the power of our sporting group."
City women are part of a wider Bristol Sport franchise, also home to the Bristol Bears men's and women's rugby teams and the Bristol Flyers' basketball teams. Being able to cross-promote the Liverpool match via their other teams has proved massively advantageous.
"We've really been one club and we've pushed that message across this season. We've had outstanding support from the top in terms of the men's club.
"Nigel Pearson was there [against Liverpool], he's attended many games, he's been very supportive - not just attending games but through the week with training. That's really helped."
It was noticeable how many fans remained after the full-time whistle at Ashton Gate and how the players spent time talking to them, taking photos and signing autographs, something that is continually encouraged to get more people into the sport.
Marshall said there has been a "real step change" in engagement with the women's team from fans, not least because of their success on the pitch - Bristol City's tally of 39 goals is the second highest in the league.
"The team have played very attacking football, we've got a very young homegrown team - 50% of the squad came through our academy," Marshall said.
"I think people really feel, more so than previous years, a real affinity with the team in terms of enjoying watching them play and feeling like they represent the community."
Teenager Brooke Aspin, right, has been a key part of Bristol City's defence this season
Building a squad from scratch
Smith was appointed head coach last July and spent the summer rebuilding the team. Eleven new players were brought in, while five academy players were promoted to the first-team squad. The average age of the starting 11 against Liverpool was 21.
Among them was 16-year-old defender Brooke Aspin, who's been a regular starter this season.
"To have 5,000-plus fans behind us was absolutely amazing. I could hear them throughout the whole 90 minutes and it's what we want," Aspin said.
"Being 16 years old and coming here playing in front of thousands of fans, my mum, my dad, is something really, really special."
Following Liverpool's path and gaining promotion back to the WSL is Bristol City's ultimate aim.
"The experience they've gained this season will be really, really important next year," Smith added.
"That's what brought me back to Bristol City, the fact that they want to have a player pathway they're proud of to give opportunities to young players who deserve them in the first-team.
"You could say we overachieved but knowing the players, it doesn't feel like that. We've got some really good players and they deserve this as well."