Paulton Rovers Ladies (0) 0 Bath City Women (2) 2 – Sunday 13 September 2026
South West Regional WFL Division 1 Central – Winterfield Stadium
Match Report by Mark Stillman.
Adella Clarke’s stunning volley helped rubber-stamp Bath City Women’s opening day win at Paulton Rovers in front of the club’s new owners.
The striker netted her side’s second just before half-time after Rosie Burridge fired City ahead.
Paulton keeper Emily Quinn kept the score to two in the second half with a string of fine saves.
The contest ended in unsavoury fashion as Rovers captain Alice Ford was sinbinned and a Paulton supporter requested to leave the ground by referee Robin Connolly.
It was the second meeting between the two this season with Matt Abreu’s side overcoming Paulton three weeks previous in the FA Cup, recovering from two goals down at Twerton.
Both scorers that afternoon – Maddy Brown and Tia Mahavevan – were unavailable, but captain Tara Taylor was among those returning in a strong squad.
On a damp afternoon at Winterfield Road, City nearly got off to the perfect start when Sophie Storey’s corner was headed goalwards by Abby Gray, but it flew inches over Quinn’s crossbar.
Having enjoyed a lot of possession, they took a seventh minute lead.
Taylor’s ball bypassed the ball defence and fell nicely for Jess Evans.
She squared for Burridge whose shot was too powerful for Quinn, the keeper only able to glove it into the net.
Kelsey Woodland narrowly avoided putting Steventon-Smith’s cross into her own goal before Paulton’s best chance saw Alisha Stuart capitalise on a rare slip in the defence, only to be denied by Lucy Clay who advanced well and blocked.
The Romans’ second was an early contender for goal of the season.
Bex Fry’s free-kick was headed up by Lara Allan to Clarke, who lashed home on the volley from 16 yards into the roof of the net, leaving Quinn helpless.
It atoned for an earlier miss when she side-footed wide from 20 yards after Quinn’s awry throw out, and Burridge also squandered a decent opening seconds after the break when she lofted Taylor’s looped ball over.
Paulton showed a lot of spirit in the second half but City’s defence kept them at bay with Gray and Allan near faultless, leaving Clay to deal with just long distance efforts from Stuart.
Burridge was denied one-on-one by the impressive Quinn before an unnecessary spat saw the game end in an ill-tempered manner.
With seconds remaining of the 90, Lily Button was cautioned for pushing out at Evans, a decision which sparked a nearby spectator to question why Evans also didn’t go in the book for the initial shirt-pulling.
In the aftermath, referee Connolly sinbinned Ford for dissent, leaving Paulton with 10 players. Further arguments ensued between referee and supporter with Connolly instructing the supporter to exit the venue.
When the match did resume, Quinn’s bravery blocked Burridge and stand-out debutant Pearl Abboud in the final attack of the match.
A second clean sheet in a row confirmed a first opening day success in the league for Matt Abreu’s team at the fourth attempt.
Andrew Stalbow, Richard Rivlin and Kurt Smith congratulated the players afterwards as their result and performance replicated the men – a commanding two-goal first half lead with further damage only prevented by the opposition goalkeeper’s heroics.
The women’s first team have now won their first three games in all competitions and will be hoping to continue that run at Bishops Cleeve this Sunday 20 September in the FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round.
City’s Line-Up: Clay; Taylor, Gray, Allan, Key; Fry, Storey; Steventon-Smith, Clarke, Evans; Burridge. Subs used: Bloomfield, Edwards, O’Sullivan, Abboud.
Scorers: City – Burridge (7), Clarke (45); Paulton – none
Referee: Robin Connolly