Bristol Academy face key week of the season
Bristol lie bottom of the FA Premier League National Division with one win from their eight outings so far, but face two other clubs in the bottom half in their next two matches.
This weekend's trip to the Keepmoat Stadium is followed by a home game against third-from-bottom Birmingham a week tonight, and another fixture at Oaklands Park against Millwall the following Sunday.
"If we could pick up four or six points from these three games, it would put us in the mix and give us a bit of a chance because there are teams above us who aren't really pulling away," said Sampson. "It's a really big week for us."
The Academy will be looking to bounce back from an 8-0 mauling by Chelsea in the quarter-finals of the Premier League Cup, Lianne Sanderson netting a hat-trick.
"We made a conscious decision to change things around because we had a number of players who weren't fully fit, so we made eight changes to the side," said Sampson.
"But Chelsea played well and we didn't – the scoreline reflects that.
"We are travelling to Doncaster on Saturday and will have a training session and then an overnight stay to prepare properly and give ourselves the best chance."
Keynsham Town turned in a creditable display at cup holders Arsenal, keeping the National Division champions at bay for 25 minutes before going out 4-0. Julie Fleeting – making her return to action after becoming a mum – netted twice and Katie Chapman added another just before the interval. Kim Little rounded things off after 78 minutes to put the Gunners into the last four.
Keynsham return to Southern Division action on Sunday when they entertain Fulham.
Heavy rain took its toll on a fair proportion of the local women's weekend fixture list, and there was little joy for two of the clubs in the bottom three of the SW Women's League Premier Division.
Basement side Bristol Ladies Union suffered their eighth defeat in 10 games as they went down 3-0 to Saltash, while Oldland Abbotonians lost 1-0 to Weymouth.
"We had the wind at our backs in the first half but didn't use it – they did it better than us in the second half," said Oldland's assistant boss Steve Lavis.
"Their goal came from a mis-hit shot which looped over our keeper and went into the net almost vertically – it just about summed the game up."
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