Midfielder Francesca Ali was more focused on Watford getting a positive result at Bridgwater United than scoring, but couldn’t hide her delight at netting a first goal for the Hornets.

Ali, signed in 2020 and into her third season in Hertfordshire, has established herself as a hardworking, creative midfielder for the Golden Girls, and enjoyed a competitive battle at Fairfax Park that ended 2-0 in Watford’s favour.

“It was a tough one,” Ali began. “It’s always going to be tough coming here, having an overnight stay and we were a bit sluggish to start with, but we grinded and got the result!”

Ali felt the quality of the squad was key to the victory in Somerset, acknowledging that opposition teams will be wary of their threat having spent last season in the second-tier.

“We’ve just come down from the Championship, it’s no secret that we’ve got a really strong squad,” the 29-year-old continued. “Every team that comes up against us is going to dig deep and put in a solid performance against us. We’ve got to keep our composure and stay focused, and the girls did really well.”

A close-range finish - after Helen Ward’s early opener - gave Damon Lathrope’s side breathing room for the final few minutes. Ali credited the Head Coach and Assistant Matt Bevans for pushing her to get into attacking areas more often.

Ali added: “At the end of the day, the main thing is that we won. It was a really intense game, but to get the second goal was really nice.

“I’ve forgotten how long it’s been! I’m into my third season at Watford so it’s about time I scored. Damon and Matt have made it no secret that they want their No.8s to get in the box and they’ve been going on about it, so to get a goal was really nice.”

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