A stunning late comeback saw Watford Ladies secure a 2-2 draw against the London Bees in their opening match of the Women’s Super League 2 season.

The Golden Girls appeared to be heading for defeat and trailed 2-0 to a Nikki Watts penalty and Jo Wilson’s strike with two minutes remaining.

However, Charlotte Kerr pulled a goal back to give Watford hope before Mollie Burgess grabbed a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser.

The late turnaround was a fitting way to mark new head coach Katie Rawson’s first game in charge in a match which also saw four players make their debuts for the club.

New signing Sophie Cheadle was at the centre of proceedings early on as she made a great save to tip Evdokia Popadinova’s effort onto her crossbar.

Her next involvement would not be as impressive though, as she brought down Wilson in the box to give the home side a chance to take the lead from the spot just after the 15-minute mark.

Watts stepped up and calmly rolled the ball into the bottom right corner to give her side a deserved early advantage which they held onto until the interval.

A quick start to the second half saw Watford assert more pressure on the Bees defence, but while their approach play was excellent, the final ball often let them down.

With a quarter of an hour to play Watford conceded a goal which looked set to provide a fatal blow to their hopes, as Wilson collected the ball 25 yards from goal and found the top corner with a powerful drive.

But the Golden Girls were handed a lifeline as the game ticked towards its conclusion when a loose clearance fell to Kerr, who lashed home to make it 2-1.

The visitors still had a mountain to climb but set about their task in a committed fashion to win a free-kick on the edge of the box deep into injury time.

Anneka Nuttall’s cross found its way to Burgess at the back post and she planted a strong header past the Bees keeper to earn the most unlikely of points. They will hope to take the positivity gained from the late drama into their first home match of the season against Yeovil Town Ladies on Sunday.

Watford Ladies: Cheadle, Pepper, Wotton (Farrow 88), M Burgess, Tullett, Miller, Read (Donnelly 52), Littleboy, Nuttall, Stanley, Richardson (Kerr 62). Subs not used: Mason, Gunn.