Sheffield United Women chief Neil Redfearn blasts his side's defending after Bristol City thrashing

Teenage hotshot Lucy Watson, who represented England Under-19s on international duty this week, had got the Blades off to a perfect start with her fifth goal of the season before Courtney Sweetman-Kirk hit the bar from distance just moments later, but two goals from the hosts shortly after that gave them a 2-1 advantage at the interval.

The scoreline went from bad to worse in the second half as the Robins, who were relegated from the WSL last term, added three more to their tally without reply.

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To make matters worse, 17-year-old Watson limped off injured late on following a late tackle.

"We didn't defend well at all,” Redfearn admitted.

"You can't give good sides a leg up and that's what we did.

"We started well, probably the better of the two sides, went ahead and played some good stuff, could have had more but the two goals we concede turn the game on its head.”

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The result leaves United’s women seventh in the Women’s Championship following their second successive defeat.

They have a chance to bounce back on Wednesday when they take on Liverpool – 3-0 winners at Bramall Lane earlier this month – at home in the League Cup before another home game against Charlton on Sunday.

Readfearn added: “The girls have got to get their heads up because we have a big week, two big games.

“It’s a wake-up call for everyone. I thought we played well in the first half. Defensively we need to have a little more resolve than that.”