Women: Watford 5-0 Plymouth Argyle

Watford FC Women eased to victory over Plymouth Argyle at The Vic with all the damage done in a blistering opening 22 minutes.

Strikes from Jessie Gale, Flo Fyfe, Bianca Baptiste and Lucy Lyon meant the result was not in doubt at the break, with the rapid start leaving Argyle shellshocked.

The game calmed down from that point on but Madison Perry still added a fifth 10 minutes from time as the majority of the 2,019 crowd – a record for the women’s team – went home happy.

Golden Girls keeper Hermione Cull needed to get down to save Charlotte Whitmore’s low strike in the third minute, before Baptiste saw an effort charged down at the other end.

Watford needed just six minutes to take the lead after Coral Haines’ through-ball went right through the Argyle defence.

Gale was sent clear and she made no mistake by sliding the ball past visiting keeper Lily Felgate.

It was two with only 12 minutes on the clock as Fyfe finished off a lovely passing move with a close-range finish at the back post.

The Golden Girls were in an unforgiving mood with Plymouth unable to cope with the pace and power of their attacks, and they made it three with a quarter-of-an-hour not yet on the clock.

Perry was the provider this time with another dissecting through-ball, and Baptiste did the rest by finishing with aplomb past Felgate.

Haines had a go from the edge of the box with Felgate able to catch, but yellow shirts continued to charge forward as they got in and behind at will.

Two scorers combined as Fyfe crossed for Gale, but Felgate made an excellent save from the striker’s hooked shot.

Haines then forced another save from range but Argyle could not stop the upward trajectory of the scoreboard for much longer.

Lyon grabbed her first Watford goal as the dual-signed Arsenal defender rose high to head home from a Gemma Davison corner.

Davison’s free-kick went over the bar as the tempo eased off slightly towards the end of the half, and Cull had a simple claim from an Ella Stephens shot.

From the resulting counter-attack, Fyfe angled in on goal but Felgate rushed out to thwart the danger.

Annie Rossiter then had the ball in the net again for Watford shortly before the break but the flag went up for offside.

Cull couldn’t quite claim a cross as the second half begun but Plymouth were unable to pounce, before Gale sent a shot just wide of the far post at the other end.

Haines nearly turned home a corner but it was blocked on its way through to goal, and Rossiter and Lyon then went close with headers following another set-piece.

It was a much more low-key affair following the fireworks of the opening minutes, but the Golden Girls continued to press and probe in a bid to add to their tally.

Izzy Fisher was brought on to replace Baptiste for her Watford debut, before Gale sent a header wide at the far post.

There was a dangerous moment when Watford sub Daisy Hind nearly turned into her own net before Cull was able to smother, but the incident was soon forgotten about as the hosts added a deserved fifth.

Fyfe swung in a perfect cross and Perry got on the end of it to add some extra shine to the score.

There was still time for Gale to chest down and force Felgate into a near-post save, while Cull made a great stop to tip over a Whitmore effort.

Lachante Paul stung the gloves of Felgate in stoppage time, as a thoroughly satisfying afternoon at The Vic was brought to a close.

Watford: Cull (GK), Lyon, Meiwald (Tambula 64), Davison (Paul 82), Perry, Rossiter, Chandler (C) (Hind 75), Fyfe (Mehmet 82), Haines, Gale, Baptiste (Fisher 72).

Unused subs: Millington-Stanbury (GK), Head.