Bristol City claimed their first points of the Barclays Women’s Super League 2 season with a convincing 5-1 victory over newly promoted Watford at Vicarage Road.
Rio Hardy opened the scoring shortly before half-time with a superb strike into the top corner before doubling the Robins’ advantage shortly after the break.
Watford pulled a goal back through Saoirse Noonan on 66 minutes, but their hopes of a comeback were ended soon after.
Hardy completed her hat-trick from the penalty spot after Watford defender Lotte Lyon was sent off for bringing her down inside the area.
The home side were reduced to nine players when substitute Emma Gray was also dismissed with nine minutes remaining.
Bristol City took advantage of the extra space, with an own goal from Watford’s Aimee Clancy making it 4-1 before Katie Robinson added a fifth deep into stoppage time.
The result sees Bristol City move up to eighth in the WSL 2 table, while Watford remain without a win from their opening games.
