Watford ladies assistant boss Davey ‘chuffed’ with victory over London Bees

“We’re really pleased with the result,” says assistant manager Lauren Davey. “Although we knew we couldn’t progress further in the competition, it’s massive for us to get three points. I think it was an impressive overall team performance and I’m chuffed with it.

“It’s one of those things, when you don’t win for a while it almost becomes a habit. We’ve got over the line in a game that was tight in the end and got that victory. It’s now a huge encouragement for the girls that we can go on and start winning more games.”

There was clearly a plan of shooting from distance and it was a tactic that was rewarded, as three stunning strikes from Ellie Mason, Anneka Nuttall and Tricia Gould helped the side to a 3-2 victory.

“All three were screamers,” Davey continued. “Tricia’s at the end was a great strike, although you can’t take anything away from Anneka or Ellie’s goals, they were all really good finishes.

“That’s what we know we can get from the girls, we’ve got great quality in the squad so it’s good that it’s reaping its rewards now.

“We wanted to be positive and get at them today, so I’m pleased with the girls that they were shooting at every opportunity because that’s how you win games.”

The display at Canons Park is likely to boost confidence ahead of the return to WSL2 action, where promotion chasing Reading will visit Berkhamsted next.

“We know that we’ve still got things to improve on and bits that we need to sort out at training,” explains Davey. “However there’s massive belief now from the group.

“The development side had a game the week before. A lot of the team that featured today were involved in that and it was just a great buzz around the squad.

“Hopefully after this match, we’ll see really good attendance and positivity at training. We’ll now go into a pressure game against Reading next weekend with plenty of confidence and belief.”

In what turned out to be the decisive goal of a game that ended 3-2, Gould gave Watford Ladies a 3-1 lead at the weekend with a great effort into the top corner.

“We had to bring it against Bees,” Gould said. “Having lost 4-0 against them previously, today was about a bit of pride and confidence, we knew we could beat them.

“Last time it didn’t go our way, so we came out and gave it our all, everyone worked hard and put the effort in. It showed and we deserved the win.”

It was a mini goal of the season contest at The Hive, with three goals that could all lay a claim for the best strike of the day.

“That’s probably the most shots we’ve had in a first half over the whole season,” Gould explains.

“Everyone’s getting confident, we just need to keep it going now for the rest of the year. We’ve got to continue getting those shots away, if you don’t shoot, you don’t score.”

So what about the one that proved to be crucial?

“It was definitely a great strike! That was my first of the season, it was good to know that I’ve scored the winning goal for the team,” the forward added.

“Let’s see who does get the goal of the season, it could well be from this game!”

Such an encouraging performance is likely to lift the mood amongst the group ahead of the fixture against Reading on Sunday.

“It’s really important to maintain momentum,” added Gould. “It was good that we won this cup match for confidence but for us we really need to get points in the league.

“With everyone confident knowing that we can do it now, we can take this into the league games and get more points on the board.

“We know what Reading are like having played them recently, so it gives us more of an outlook on how to try and beat them and how to play.”