Interim Everton boss Chris Roberts believes his side let themselves down in the closing stages as his side fell 2-1 to visitors Reading.
It was a first match in charge for Roberts and Claire Ditchburn, who have taken over as interim coaches after Jean-Luc Vasseur parted ways with the club on Wednesday.
The Toffees got off to a fine start after Anna Anvegard put them up 1-0 inside five minutes but missed a handful of chances to extend their lead, including a saved Izzy Christiansen penalty.
And strikes from Natasha Dowie and Tia Primmer in the final 20 minutes saw the visitors take all three points, with Everton tasting a seventh loss of the Barclays FA WSL season.
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Roberts said: “We were really happy with the control and the performance the girls put in for the first 55 or 60 minutes.
“It was really difficult coping with the wind and the weather, but that’s not an excuse. We just needed to manage the game a bit better towards the end.
“The girls have given us everything, though, so it’s just making sure we take those positives and hopefully turn those into results in the coming games.
“I don’t think missing the penalty changed anything in terms of the way we were playing. Izzy is a leader and will continue to be one of our main driving forces.”
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Roberts and Ditchburn are undoubtedly in a tricky position, not knowing how long they will be standing in at the helm of the club, who also saw Willie Kirk
However, Roberts insisted said his sole focus was trying to bring the best out of the players.
He said: “Claire and I know the club very well and we know the team very well, and we’ve got a great working relationship.
“We’ll continue to do this job to the best of our abilities and make sure the team are prepared properly and in a position to win every week.
“We’ll carry on like that until such time as the club tell us otherwise.”
