LAURA Rafferty said she was hopeful of enjoying a productive spell at Oxford United Women, despite going down to a 4-1 defeat away to Bristol City on her debut.

The defender was thrown straight in against the FA Women’s Super League 2 promotion hopefuls after signing on loan from Chelsea alongside Jenna Legg just 24 hours earlier.

But she enjoyed her first taste of life at the U’s, despite the result.

“It’s good to be thrown in at the deep end, but the first half was tough,” she said.

“It didn’t go the way we wanted, but to come out for the second half and put in the performance that we did was really pleasing.”

All five goals came in an action-packed first half, with the home side firmly seizing control in the closing minutes.

United withstood considerable early pressure, but were finally breached in the 18th minute when Millie Farrow tapped in.

Oxford hit back against the run of play, thanks to top-scorer Ini Umotong.

When Holly Pickett’s deft 25-yard lob came back off the crossbar, Umotong was waiting to pounce.

However, United were level for just three minutes as debutant Claire Emslie restored City’s lead with a curling effort into the far corner.

Emslie’s second was almost a carbon copy of the first, bending a shot beyond the grasp of goalkeeper Hannah Cox from just inside the area three minutes before half-time.

And when Farrow added her second and Bristol’s fourth just a minute later after racing free of the United backline, the visitors’ chances had gone.

Umotong was left frustrated after the break as she was unable to help the U’s back into the match.

After skewing a 60th-minute free-kick high and wide, Umotong similarly squandered another opportunity soon after, cutting in from the left flank before slicing horribly wide.

Her replacement, Mollie Dyer, fared little better, racing onto a well-weighted ball over the top in stoppage time before being denied one-on-one by goalkeeper Caitlin Leach.

They will now bid to bounce back on Thursday when hosting Yeovil Town at Abingdon United’s Northcourt Road.

Oxford Utd: Cox, Frampton, Haynes (Noble 73), Lane, Umotong (Dyer 82), Nutman (Baker 64), Franklin-Fraiture, Pickett, Rafferty, Lee, Timms. Subs not used: Deeley, Lambourne.

Attendance: 475.