Delighted with his side’s 2-0 win over Gillingham on Sunday (March 12), Watford Head Coach Damon Lathrope hailed the Golden Girls’ strength in depth as they look ahead to two more league games within a week.

Bianca Baptiste and Poppy Wilson fired in second-half goals to bring three points back to Hertfordshire at the expense of a rigid Gills unit who sat deep and looked to frustrate the Hornets’ fluid attacking line, with Lathrope praising a professional performance in Chatham.

With the scores level at half-time Lathrope noted that his players remained confident and composed after the break, with quality shining through thanks to a rebounded penalty and a stoppage-time tap-in.

“We dominated the whole game,” Lathrope began. “Coming into half-time at 0-0 I was pleased with the performance but we knew we could have scored four or five, and needed to do more of the same.

“The girls weren’t frustrated because they knew they were doing things very well, so it was more about trusting the process and knowing that if we create that amount of chances again, we would convert in the end.

“We didn’t want to get desperate and wanted to manage things well, and we got what we deserved in the end.”

Wilson influenced the game from the bench alongside fellow substitutes Adekite Fatuga-Dada, Helen Ward and Jade Bradley. The Watford boss highlighted the importance of his wider squad in a busy period, and praised Wilson’s courage to step up after her penalty was saved.

“Poppy’s a top player, everyone knows that and the only thing you can affect is the next thing you do,” the Head Coach continued. “It was nice for Bee [Baptiste] to stick it away, that takes the spotlight off the penalty but she got her goal, she gets into very dangerous situations and that’s why she’s got a lot of goals and assists this season.

“We’ve got three games in a week and training sessions which are going to be taxing on their bodies, so it was always going to be about trying to manage the group. The changes weren’t to lift us, but instead to maintain the standard we had set. We have a strong squad and the subs had the impact we hoped for.”

Crawley Wasps visit Grosvenor Vale on Wednesday (March 15, 7.45pm KO), looking to bridge the six-point gap between themselves and second-bottom side Bridgwater United at the foot of the table.

Aware of the Wasps’ capabilities having faced them in league and cup action already this term, Lathrope doesn’t take the challenge lightly.

He added: “They’ve got nothing to lose; they’re at the wrong end of the table at the moment and we won’t take them lightly by any means.

“This league has shown that anyone can compete with anyone and we know it’s a tough spell for us with a lot of games to come, but we’re really excited to go into the next game.”