Aston Villa Women were dismantled by a second-half blitz at the hands of Arsenal, losing 4-0 at the Banks's Stadium on Sunday.
Villa held firm in disciplined style for 45 minutes, only to be taken apart in the closing half an hour by goals from Vivianne Miedema, Jordan Nobbs, Katie McCabe and Lisa Evans.
The result itself is a setback of sorts following our previous 1-0 success over Tottenham Hotspur at the start of the month.
But there were positives aplenty in that opening half that can be used in the games to come.
Just one change was made from our last game against Spurs, as a slight tweak in formation saw the returning Chloë Arthur come back into midfield to replace Diana Silva.
The defensive discipline that enabled us to pick up three points against Rehanne Skinner's side was on display again in the first half on Sunday.
Aside from a couple of Lisa Weiß saves, Arsenal were limited to very little as Anita Asante and co. stifled the Gunners.
At the other end, Villa were also limited in terms of what they were able to create, but there were several promising moments created by Arthur's drives through the middle of the pitch and Stine Larsen's work rate.
Despite Villa's determination in the opening period, their resistance was broken just shy of the hour-mark.
Not often thwarted, Vivianne Miedema was on hand to turn home a teasing cross to give Arsenal the lead.
Villa didn't stop fighting from there on, but fell further behind in somehwhat fortuitious circumstances on Arsenal's part.
Miedema had a sight at goal inside the area, but having been thwarted by Weiß, Jordan Nobbs saw the ball richochet off of her and into an unguarded net.
Arsenal added another to their lead in spectacular fashion through Katie McCabe, putting the game well and truly out of Villa's reach.
Lisa Evans headed in a fourth late on to add further gloss to an already comfortable scoreline.
Despite the disappointing outcome, Villa will take the experience of that first half into next weekend's fixture versus another powerhouse in Manchester United.
Villa: Weiß, Ale, N'Dow, Asante, Haigh, Hutton (Gregory 59'), Ewers (C), Hanssen, Arthur, Iwabuchi (Follis 76'), Larsen
Unused Subs: Rogers, West, Siems, Syme, Hayles
Goals: Miedema (58'), Nobbs (67'), McCabe (73'), Evans (87')
