Watford Ladies boss John Salomon felt the timing of Everton’s first goal proved decisive as the Lady Hornets lost 3-1 in the Women’s Super League on Sunday.

It was Watford’s first defeat in five at their Broadwater home and after a bright start it was a sucker punch to concede the opener a minute before half time; Simone Magill finding herself in enough space to leave goalkeeper Shayla Burgess with no chance.

“Conceding late on in the half was a bit of a blow to the girls, had we seen it out to half time, that would have given us some solid foundations to build on,” stated Salomon.

“When you go 1-0 down against a side like Everton and you’re chasing the game it becomes difficult. We gave ourselves that tough task today and weren’t able to get back in the match unfortunately.

“It’s disappointing to not come away with anything but we’ll pick ourselves up and go again for the Villa game in two weeks’ time.”

The Toffees doubled their lead soon after the restart as Millie Turner met Lindsay Johnson’s cross to head home powerfully.

But Watford refused to roll over and die for the Merseyside outfit, instead halving the deficit when Jenna Dear opened her account for the season direct from a corner.

But despite finding a route back into the contest, the Lady Hornets could not salvage anything from the game and instead conceded a third when Lucy Whipp curled home Everton’s third goal 15 minutes from time.

It could have been a more damaging defeat for the Hornets had it not been for the excellence of Burgess between the sticks and Salomon was quick to laud the showing of his goalkeeper.

“I’m not one to single out individuals for positives or negatives, it’s best to have those conversations in person but we highlighted Shayla’s performance,” said Turn to Page 106 Salomon.

“Her handling today was superb, she dealt with lots of different situations and her kicking was very good.

“She works really hard, is always at training and loves her football. Shayla’s got a fantastic attitude towards her own development and progression and is always wanting to improve.

“It’s hard on her conceding three today but they were all very well taken goals, other than that she was superb and she’ll continue to get better because that’s the type of person that she is.”

There was a debut for Ellie Mason in debut against the Toffees, with recent acquisition Ellie Mason coming on as a half-time substitute.

The 19-year-old attacker joined the Hornets from Chelsea last week after previously turning out for Watford’s Centre of Excellence.