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.
The Robins took control shortly before half-time when Rio Hardy produced a superb finish into the top corner to give the visitors the lead. Hardy then doubled Bristol City’s advantage shortly after the restart as the away side continued to dominate.
Watford gave themselves hope of a comeback when Saoirse Noonan pulled a goal back in the 66th minute, but their hopes were quickly extinguished.
Hardy completed her hat-trick from the penalty spot after Watford defender Lotte Lyon was shown a red card for bringing her down inside the area.
The hosts’ afternoon went from bad to worse nine minutes from time when substitute Emma Gray was also dismissed, leaving Watford with just nine players on the pitch.
Bristol City made their numerical advantage count late on, with Watford’s Aimee Clancy turning the ball into her own net to make it 4-1 before Katie Robinson added a fifth deep into stoppage time.
The victory moves Bristol City up to eighth in the WSL 2 table, while Watford remain without a win from their opening games of the season.
