Hector rues

The Golden Girls fielded six new signings from the start as they got their WSL 2 campaign under way, with eight of them all on the pitch at one stage.

Hector's side struggled a little on the first half but were dominant int he second and probably ought to have secured a victory on the opening night.

But while the head coach was frustrated, she was not discouraged.

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She said: "There's only one word I would use to describe that performance: 'nearly'.

"I thought we were excellent. I think the first couple of minutes were a little bit shaky, probably with nerves on both sides, but I'm so happy with how the team responded and it was clear they took on board the messages during the week.

"When we found our feet we were able to control the game and impose our style. We created loads of chances.

"There's always an element of uncertainty about how we'll step up to the level but we've worked really hard over pre-season and I think we dominated them. They couldn't get near us in the second half.

"It's a shame it was 0-0 but we take a clean sheet and we move on."

Watford head coach Renee Hector (Image: Andrew Waller Images)

Safia Middleton-Patel, Zara Bailey, Hannah Greenwood, Aoibheann Clancy, Karin Muya and Saoirse Noonan were the new recruits in Hector's starting XI, with Pheobie Poole, Tianna Teisar and Ellie Noble making debuts in the second half.

Noonan had a big chance to score her first goal for the club after half-time, while Teisar was a real threat down the left.

Hector said: "It won't take long to gel, to be honest. Especially afetr seeing tonight.

"They've gelled really well as people. The way we ask players to play is quite unique and probably not what they've done in other environments, but they've picked it up really quickly."

A point to start our season 🤝 pic.twitter.com/eSnJ9xfwgL

— Watford FC Women (@WatfordFCWomen) September 4, 2026

Watford set up in an aggressive back-three shape, the system that powered them to promotion last season, but Hector does not want to rein them in a level higher.

She said: "When we're on the ball we want to make sure we're overloading teams and suffocating them.

"We want to be asking questions in the middle and final parts of the pitch.

"When we lose it we might have to tweak it sometimes, so it might look like a four or five, and when we win it we might have to look after it to allow players to get up the pitch.

"Maybe they have to do some extra running but after tonight I've got no issues that they're going to."