Watford Ladies’ disappointing run continued as they lost their eighth straight game with a 5-0 drubbing at home to Women’s Super League 2 table-toppers Doncaster Rovers Belles on Sunday.

Bethany England and Courtney Sweetman-Kirk helped themselves to braces before Sue Smith added a fifth late on for the visitors.

Watford manager John Salomon said: “It was tough and we’re disappointed with the result but there are a lot of positives to take away.

“We’ve got to take motivation from the things that we did well this afternoon and know that we can take confidence from that going in to some of the fixtures we’ve got coming up.”

The Ladies Hornets are five points adrift of London Bees and are without a win since May when they beat Aston Villa 1-0.

Salomon made three changes from the side that was thrashed 7-1 by Yeovil Town Ladies last time out.

Emily Heaslip and Ellie Mason returned to the starting line-up while Salomon gave a debut to defensive midfielder Poppy Mason, who has joined the club on loan from Birmingham City for the remainder of the new season.

Another recent arrival, forward Adekite Fatuga-Dada, made her debut in place of Ellie Mason after the break and the second half also saw the return of captain Megan Wynne following a lengthy injury lay-off.

Two England strikes had put the visitors 2-0 up at half time with the second coming just before the break, a moment Salomon believed was key.

He said: “If you were looking for a turning point in the match, the second goal on the stroke of half-time could well have been it”.

WSL2’s top scorer Sweetman-Kirk grabbed a brace in the second period before Smith completed the scoring just before the end of the game.

The Hornets restricted the league leaders well in the first half and created a few chances of their own, although they weren’t able to take advantage.

Salomon said: “In the first half, we found space in attacking areas and we won it and broke out with purpose. It was a much0improved performance then what we showed for example, at Donny, a month ago.”

Sweetman-Kirk’s two second0half strikes were cruel on Watford but Rovers were in no mood to hold back; Smith adding the a fifth with a stunning free-kick.

“Sometimes you’ve got to look past the result and look at the performance that the players have put in. 5-0 is probably a little harsh on us, it’s not really a fair reflection of their efforts and the way that they’ve applied themselves in today’s game.” Salomon said.

Watford return to action tomorrow evening when they travel to Millwall Lionesses in the Continental Tyres Cup.