The Alex Scott column: Sometimes you have to take one for the team, but the women's game is as clean as it comes

Bookings are a rarity in the Women's Super League, so you could say I blotted my copybook against Bristol Academy on Thursday night.

I picked up my first caution of the season as we were held to a 1-1 draw in a match which saw us lose our 100 per cent home record.

As a footballer sometimes you find yourself in a situation where the best option is to take a yellow card.

That was the case for me. I turned on the ball and then I went to play it back to the keeper, but Laura del Rio, Bristol's Spanish international, nipped in front of me and could have started a breakaway so I pulled her back.

It was my mistake. You might say it was like a professional foul, but sometimes you have to take one for the team. I certainly can't have any complaints!

People inevitably make comparisons between the men and women's game when it comes to things like yellow cards, tackles and dissent.

I would say the attitude in women's football can be summed up with the phrase: "Just get on with it."

We don't really moan about decisions, though I'll admit I do draw incidents to the referee's attention, especially if I feel a player on the opposition is time wasting.

For example, against Bristol their keeper Siobhan Chamberlain was taking a really long time with goal kicks, so I was saying to the ref: "Look, you need to hurry this up."

It's all good-natured though. If the ref doesn't like it, they'll tell you, but generally referees in the WSL talk a lot and engage with the players. Usually they'll just joke with you and say: "I know what I'm doing. I'm counting the seconds."

Thursday's match was the second of three for Arsenal in a little over a week.

Last weekend we beat Doncaster 4-0 and the draw with Bristol, though disappointing given the number of chances we had, still meant that we kept our unbeaten record.

On Monday we face Bristol again at their place, with a spot in the Continental Cup final up for grabs.

I'll be majorly disappointed if we don't make the final. I'm a winner. I want to win every competition I play in.

Recovering properly is crucial when the matches are this frequent. We have a lot of stretching and cycling sessions on the days after matches, and many of the players take protein shakes too.

Bristol have had a tough run of games too. At the end of the match on Thursday a few of their players were going down with cramp, so we need to be ready to take advantage of that.

On the subject of cup competitions, Arsenal have been drawn against Barcelona in the last 32 of the Champions League, with the first leg on September 26.

I don't know a huge amount about them, but obviously they're a big name in football. It'll be up to our coach Laura Harvey to scout them and let us know what they're about.

One thing's for sure, if they play anything like the men's team, it'll be some match!