Millwall Lionesses remain unbeaten in the WSL 2 after securing a 3-2 victory against the 10 players of Watford Ladies on Sunday.
The Lionesses went 2-0 up in the first 20 minutes of the fixture at the Harlow Arena, and are now fourth in the league.
Naomi Cole opened the scoring from the penalty spot before two more goals from set-pieces secured all three points for the hosts.
Anneka Nuttall came off the bench for travelling Watford, and made quite the early impression – scoring within minutes of entering the field of play and then being sent off moments after that.
Millwall took the lead in the 13th minute after a Watford hand-ball in the box left the referee with no choice but to award a penalty, which Cole dutifully converted, sending Watford keeper Shayla Burgess the wrong way.
And just 7 minutes later the Lionesses were 2-0 up when Ashlee Hincks’ free-kick found Rosella Ayane who rose highest to head the ball home.
Despite creating few chances, the Hornets got back in to the game just before half time when Ellie Mason pulled one back for the visitors with a fiercely struck thunderbolt from 30 yards out.
But within the first 10 minutes of the restart, Millwall regained their two-goal advantage when Hincks curled a peach of a free-kick in to the top corner.
With time left for his side to get back in to the game once more, Watford manager John Salomon made a tactical substitution and brought on striker Nuttall who made an instant impact with a well-taken goal on 60 minutes.
Moments later Nuttall was presented with another chance for her side but shot wide of the target, and in the aftermath ended up in a tangle with Millwall goalscorer Cole who crashed to the floor as the referee reached for his pocket.
Although down to 10, Watford had several chances to level the scores in the closing stages but struggled to breakdown a resilient Millwall defence who before this fixture had only conceded 5 goals so far this campaign.
The victory for Millwall saw them climb to within two points of third placed Yeovil.
Salomon spoke of the incident involving his player, that envitably changed the game for his side, after the match: “Anneka has done incredibly well and has scored within seconds of coming onto the pitch, she made a massive difference, and took her goal really well,” said Salomon.
“We almost recreated that within seconds of the restart, she’s gone through on goal again and it’s not quite worked for her. Then there’s been a little tangle between two players and she’s ultimately came away from it with a red card.
“There’s been an unfortunate bit of acting from one of the Millwall players. It’s disappointing because it’s not something that’s ever been a part of women’s football.
“For the five years I’ve worked at this level, it’s always been a very honest game. I think today shows that perhaps it’s not the same as in the past and we certainly feel a little bit let down by that.”
