Brentford FC Women’s First Team suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to Watford Development on Sunday. Despite only being able to name a squad of 11 due to a mixture of COVID-19 and illness striking the camp, The Bees gave a good account of themselves and could have easily come away with a point in what was a tightly contested fixture.

Head Coach Karleigh Osborne was pleased with the effort his side displayed despite the setback of having no available substitutes and said: “We had a COVID outbreak and a couple of people had to isolate for other reasons. It was a little bit frustrating because it left us bare to the bones, however the girls gave 100 per cent as they always do. We were unfortunate with the result but it’s all about bouncing back next week now.”

Midfielder Jasmine King and goalkeeper Sophie Boycott both earnt their first starts for the First Team and were impressive in the performances they produced. This didn’t go unnoticed and Karleigh was full of praise for them both.

Karleigh said: “Their performances were brilliant. Sophie was fantastic. She got a late call up around half past nine the night before and played immensely well; she didn’t deserve to be on the losing side and made some great saves. I was really pleased for her. As for Jasmine she stepped up. She has trained with us a couple of times before and with the injury to Mollie Holmes it’s only right we bring her up. She likes to get on the ball and is a very talented footballer, I look forward to working with her in the years to come.”

Just five minutes before half time Watford managed to find the breakthrough. A defensive error allowed them through on goal and despite an initial save from Boycott, a calm finish handed the home side a 1-0 edge. On 70 minutes Brentford’s persistence paid off when Jodie Reid found the net with a fine right footed strike. Unfortunately, the score didn’t remain level for long when another mistake at the back handed Watford the lead and this was enough for them to claim all three points.