Memories of Liverpool's 4-2 win over Bristol City a year ago were in Furness' mind as she prepared for the decisive game, and she hoped sharing the experience would help her team-mates. I very much felt a part of everything we managed to achieve.' 'I hit rock bottom a few months ago' It was a different feeling but I'm just so proud I'm sat here with another medal. 'I came in to try and have an impact with my experience, having been there before. Teams are getting stronger, which is making it even harder. 'But at Bristol City this has been the most competitive Championship season that we've had and it went down to the wire. There was relief in the Liverpool promotion. 'If we didn't win it, it would have been such a disappointment.

We had the squad, the money and there was an expectation at such a massive club,' she said. Liverpool were expected to do it last year. So how did the successes compare for Furness? When the club were relegated in 2021 it seems to have acted as a wake-up call, not dissimilar to the situation at Furness' former club Liverpool, where they had received long-overdue backing before their title win in 2022. It is the latest move which indicates the club's growing support after closer integration with the men's team was forged when the women moved to the High Performance Centre training base to share facilities.įormer England defender Anita Asante joined the backroom staff last summer, while manager Lauren Smith has steadily built a strong squad through smart recruitment and development. Since their promotion to the WSL, Bristol City have confirmed the women will play all their home matches at Ashton Gate next season. Yes, for myself doing it back-to-back was an amazing feeling, but having worked with people at this club, I felt they deserved it.' 'It's two completely different feelings' Rachel Furness won the Championship title at Ashton Gate on both occasions The squad is so young and inexperienced and hadn't been in situations like that before. 'The league was going down to the wire and the pressure was on. 'To do it at home in front of a record crowd was extra special,' the midfielder told BBC Sport. It paid off as City won the league in front of a record crowd of 7,045 at Ashton Gate with one match to go, sitting four points clear of Birmingham City in second. The Northern Ireland midfielder helped Liverpool beat Bristol City at Ashton Gate a year ago to secure promotion to the Women's Super League (WSL).įurness, 34, left the Reds in January in search of more game time, hoping to use her experience to drive Bristol City to success against stiff competition in the second tier.

Women in Sport by Rachel Ignotofsky