Everton boss Willie Kirk praised his side’s character despite losing to WSL leaders Arsenal Women 3-1 at Southport on Sunday.

The Blues came up against a formidable Gunners team that had scored 23 goals in their past three matches in all competitions coming into the game.  

Kirk highlighted the bravery Everton showed in getting back into the match late on through Chloe Kelly’s 78^th-minute strike after WSL top scorer Vivianne Miedema’s brace either side of a Kim Little penalty put the visitors into a 3-0 lead with over 30 minutes to play.

The Blues showed great fight to put further pressure on Arsenal late on after pulling a goal back and could have made it a nervy finish for the league leaders with a flurry of chances.

Reflecting on the match, Kirk said: “We showed good character and bravery on the ball against a top side, we tried to get numbers in the box and we had a few good moments but there just wasn’t enough of them because it was so hard to get the ball back.

“We have been beaten by a better team, that was quite clear. They’re so good on the ball and so good with their movement and they make you work so hard to get the ball.

“But there were lots of encouraging signs out there, we showed a lot of character to get back into the game and score a goal in the last 15 minutes of the match.

“A team like Arsenal can really punish you so we did well to keep it to 3-0 then get the goal.  

“We had a 10-minute spell at the end where we put them under some good pressure, if we scored a second we could have made it really uncomfortable for them.

“There are plenty of positives to take from the match, we are aspiring to get to their level of performance and I’m determined we will get there one day.”

The result leaves Everton fifth in the WSL table with 15 points from nine games heading into 2020.