Head coach Damon Lathrope had words of praise for summer signing Carly Johns after the striker marked her debut with the goal that earned a 1-1 draw with Durham.

Johns caught the eye playing against Watford for Oxford United last season, and it was her clever lob which cancelled out Durham’s early opener yesterday.

“Carly’s going to be a great asset for us,” Lathrope enthused.

“She's not played at this level before, but I think today proves to us that she’s going to be a real big threat in this league, and I'm really pleased she got off the mark.”

Another of the 11 players that moved to Watford during the summer, Harley Bennett, captained the side in the absence of the injured Megan Chandler.

“I was really pleased that Harley’s taken the armband,” said Lathrope.

“She looked like a complete leader, in performance, voice, and competing. I thought she was outstanding.

“She’s taken on this new style of football, and she gets it now, and she looks really comfortable doing it.”

The Watford boss admitted his felt his side made a case for taking all three points, not just one.

“I'm pleased we’ve got something to show for our work, for sure,” he said.

“We’re a little disappointed that we didn’t get all three points because I feel like our performance over the 90 minutes probably warranted more.

“That being said, on clear-cut chances, it was a fair result, I can’t overly complain about a point.

“It’s a good sign that we're disappointed with a point against Durham, who are a very good Championship side.”

It was, overall, a positive start for a squad that finished last season later than most due to the play-off, and has seen the arrival of so many new faces.

“I was really pleased with them. They’re probably further ahead than we anticipated they would be at this stage,” said Lathrope.

“I think it was evident in the second-half. We played some superb football and with a little bit more cutting edge at the top end of the pitch, we could have really made that tell. But all the new signings have come in and taken to it really well.”