Last updated on .From the section Football

Bristol City have previously used Ashton Gate for Women's Champions League games

The Women's Super League One Spring Series season began with a solid win for Reading over newly-promoted Bristol City at Ashton Gate.

After an even first half Reading - in their second season as a top-flight club - hit three quickfire goals.

Rachel Furness' header, Rachel Rowe's low strike and Melissa Fletcher's tap-in did the damage.

Lauren Hemp tucked in a consolation for the hosts, who were runners-up in WSL 2 in 2016.

A crowd of 1,127 watched the match, which kicked off shortly after Bristol City's men's side beat Barnsley in the Championship in a rare double-header.

The Vixens had gone close to opening the scoring early on, but Scotland winger Claire Emslie's close-range shot was well saved by Reading's Mary Earps.

The Spring Series is a one-off, transitional competition in which each team will play each other just once and no side can be relegated, devised to bridge the gap between the 2016 summer and the 2017-18 campaign, as the WSL switches to a winter calendar.