Watford Ladies manager John Salomon was pleased with his side’s reaction to going 2-0 down at Sunderland Ladies inside the first ten minutes.

A quick-fire brace from Beth Mead meant the Hornets were always facing an uphill battle. Sasha Adamson hit back before the break for Watford, who had been spirited in the face of adversity.

Keira Ramshaw added Sunderland's third in the second half, before Sophie Williams rounded off the scoring with eight minutes remaining.

The scoreline did not tell the story of the match, though, and Salomon was quick to praise his players.

He told the club’s website: "We went 2-0 down early on, so the thing that pleased me the most from today was the reaction to that, getting ourselves a goal back just before half time.

"It was a really solid, strong performance and a great reaction to the start that we didn’t want. We also used a new system today and I thought the players adapted really well."

Salomon singled out goalscorer Adamson for a special mention too - the young forward marking her senior debut with the goal which hauled the Hornets back into the contest before half-time.

"Sasha’s made her debut today and come away with a goal as well, which is fantastic. It capped off a very good first performance from her," enthused Salomon.

"It’s her first game at senior level ever, she’s come out of the Under 17’s at Essex Centre of Excellence and been training with us over the summer.

"She gave a really good strong performance, worked really hard and her goal was just reward for everything that she did during the game."

The Black Cats were ahead after two minutes when Holly Wride felled Abby Holmes inside the penalty area, allowing Mead to score from the spot.

Just eight minutes later, Mead had bagged her second, heading home from Kelly McDougall’s free-kick.

Watford refused to roll over and die and two minutes before half-time, Adamson scored from close-range after Helen Alderson was put in all kinds of trouble by an ill-advised back-pass.

Six minutes after the break, Sunderland’s two-goal advantage was restored when Ramshaw benefitted from Mead’s mis-guided volley to steer home a third for the hosts.

Defeat was finally confirmed in the 82th minute when Williams controlled a Ramshaw flick-on before firing beyond Lauren Davey in the Watford goal.