Everton were defeated upon their return to league action as Arsenal beat the Blues 2-1 at Meadow Park.

It was a performance full of character from Brian Sorensen's side who went toe-to-toe with one of England's best sides. 

Katja Snoeijs continued her goalscoring start to the year as she cancelled out Caitlin Foord's earlier opener. However, it was the hosts who clinched the points deep into first-half stoppage time via a Beth Mead header.

Boss Sorensen named an unchanged side to the team that beat Aston Villa 3-0 in the opening game of the calendar year.

The hosts started strongly and their early pressure saw them rewarded with a goal on nine minutes. 

Victoria Pelova played the ball across goal for Foord to tap home past the helpless Courtney Brosnan.

Arsenal's confidence grew but were dealt a hammer blow when the Toffees drew level.

Last weekend's goalscorers, Karoline Olesen and Snoeijs combining as the former played a perfectly weighted pass for the Dutch forward who broke through on goal.

With only Manuela Zinsberger to beat, Snoeijs calmly tucked the ball into the far corner on 24 minutes for her first league goal of the season.

The equalising effort appeared to inspire the visiting side as they grew more into Saturday afternoon's encounter.

Everton competed well with the hosts, but were dealt a cruel setback as Arsenal regained their lead five minutes into stoppage time in the opening half.

Lia Walti's inviting delivery was headed home by Mead past Brosnan. 

Everton coped well in the second half against a dominant Arsenal but were unable to break the Gunners defence in a harsh outcome on Sorensen's side.

The Blues go again with a double-header against Leicester City next week. The Foxes hosting Everton in the League Cup on Wednesday evening followed by the reverse fixture in the Women's Super League on Sunday afternoon.