Oxford United Women visited league-leaders Watford on Sunday, with the home side winning an entertaining game 4-3 to end Liam Gilbert’s seven-game winning run.
Nicola Gibson scored an early goal to give the U’s the lead, but finishes from Lachante Paul and Poppy Wilson turned it around to give Watford a half-time lead.
Almost immediately after the restart, former Oxford striker Flo Fyfe, who had come on as a half-time substitute, stretched the home side’s lead. Three minutes later, Emma Thompson reduced the deficit with a clinical strike. Fyfe grabbed her second of the afternoon to restore Watford’s two-goal cushion and, despite another Thompson goal, that was enough to earn the Golden Girls the points.
United, with a one hundred per cent record in Gilbert’s second spell in charge, started confidently and were ahead after four minutes, with Gibson heading home from Holly Manders’ free kick.
However, the lead was always vulnerable to Watford’s high press, with Coral Haines hitting the bar with a free kick, and it was no surprise when Paul put the ball into the net after a Wilson shot was deflected into her path midway through the first half.
Five minutes later the hosts took the lead as Watford looked to break quickly, with Wilson taking the ball into the area and beating Beth-May Wookey with an unstoppable shot into the far corner.
Wilson came close to extending Watford’s lead on the stroke of half-time as she weaved her way into the area and drew an excellent stop from Wookey at the foot of the near post.
It was even more of an uphill battle for the U’s six minutes into the second half as Oxford gave the ball away with a poor pass while on the attack. Fyfe’s fresh legs took her clear of the United defence, and she fired home from inside the area.
Oxford were back in the game just three minutes later as Nicole Barrett found Thompson inside the area and her shot on the turn beat Sophie Hillyerd. However, it took Watford just another three minutes to give themselves daylight as Fyfe struck again, her cross from the right deceiving Wookey and somehow ending up in the back of the net.
It took ten minutes for United to give themselves another chance of a result as Thompson seized on a loose pass and beat Hillyerd from a tight angle to complete the scoring.
Try as they might, the U’s were unable to find an equaliser to give them the point that their second-half display had deserved and, for the first time since Sunday 16 November, Oxford found themselves on the wrong end of a scoreline.
“I thought we played within ourselves in the first half”, manager Liam Gilbert confirmed after the game.
"Watford are a very good team and we know how they want to play and some of our play wasn’t good enough. It became a transitional game that they could dictate.
“The second half wasn’t ideal with the goals we conceded, but we put up a fight. I’d love to have seen what it would have looked like if both halves were like that.”
United remain in fourth place, with another huge game coming up on Wednesday 18 February, when they welcome third-placed Bournemouth to the MGroup Stadium (kick off 7:45pm).
UNITED: Wookey, Gibson (Trinder 83), Provan (Sealey 61), Wiseman, Bedeau, Casley, Barrett (Kendall 90+2), Thompson, Richardson (Bussey 70), Barker, Manders
