Thirteen minutes. That's all it took for Everton's carefully laid game plan to unravel against Arsenal.
The Blues went into Wednesday's clash with the Gunners off the back of a chastening 7-0 defeat to league leaders Chelsea. Manager Brian Sorensen had decried his side's capitulation in the capital as "disappointing", urging his players to "work together more" and get "stuck in" defensively.
And it seemed like the Blues' had heeded the Dane's rallying cry, as they kept pace with top-three-chasing Arsenal in the opening exchanges at Walton Hall Park. For the best part of half an hour, Everton managed to contain one of the most prolific attacking outfits in Europe, limiting Jonas Eidevall's side to innocuous spells of possession on the flanks and triumphing in a number of midfield duels.
READ MORE: Aggie Beever-Jones sees red as Everton thrashed by Arsenal in Women's Super League
READ MORE: Everton share worrying Jess Park injury update as England World Cup fears build
Perhaps the measured tempo of the contest allowed some complacency to creep in among the Everton ranks as it was a defensive mistake that brokered the first clear-cut chance of the game. Nathalie Bjorn surrendered posssession to Arsenal full-back Noelle Maritz, who quickly picked out Caitlin Foord in acres of space inside the Blues' penalty area.
The Australian's tidy finish outfoxed Emily Ramsey in the Everton goal and proved to be the catalyst for the opening of Arsenal's attacking floodgates. In the space of just 13 minutes, Everton's hopes of emerging from the clash with any kind of positive result were pulverised, with Lotte Wubben-Moy's 42nd-minute header putting the visitors four goals to the good heading into the interval.
"I think we actually played the football we wanted to play," Sorensen reflected in his post-match press conference. "In the first half we actually had quite good possession of the ball.
"I was also really hard on them at half time because we can’t switch off like we did. We started the second half well and then the game plan was thrown out of the window."
Indeed, any green shoots of second-half Everton recovery were quashed just four minutes after the restart, when 19-year-old striker Aggie Beever-Jones was dismissed for a lunging challenge on midfielder Lia Walti. Arsenal's no. 13 was forced to leave the field on a stretcher while Beever-Jones was ushered off the pitch in tears, clearly distraught at having put a fellow professional's World Cup hopes in serious jeopardy.
It was a sad way for the young Chelsea loanee to end her time on Merseyside. Over the course of the campaign, Beever-Jones has excelled as a regular fixture in Everton's new-look front line and it feels cruel that her stay at Walton Hall Park should be marred by Wednesday night's unfortunate incident.
Sadder still is the fact the teenager felt compelled to draft a heartfelt statement of apology just minutes after the final whistle following a torrent of online abuse.
"She [Beever-Jones] is very, very emotional and devastated about it, because of course she didn’t mean to hurt [Walti]," Sorensen admitted after the game. "I just spoke to her and said ‘everybody knows that you didn’t try to do anything bad’ but that happens unfortunately in football."
A raft of late changes inspired something of an Everton resurgence, although the Gunners admittedly appeared to lose their momentum following Walti's premature exit. A late consolation goal from Katja Snoeijs - who nodded home from a well-taken Elise Stenevik corner - may not have yielded any tangible rewards but at least ensured the hosts could escape from the evening's disappointing encounter with some dignity still in tact.
"We have to learn from it," Sorensen said, analysing his side's overall display. "I was very happy with a lot of the football that we played at the beginning. We were up against a team that almost made it to the Champions League Final. It’s just going into the final third we need to do better.
"The goals we conceded were the softest goals I’ve seen in a long time and we can’t allow that or they’ll hurt us. I think Arsenal are a great team despite all the injuries so I’m pleased that we can play with them but we just have to do better at both ends of the pitch."
Wednesday's result means Everton have conceded 11 goals in their last two games, scoring just once in the process. There are, of course, mitigating circumstances for the Blues' recent subpar showings.
While both Arsenal and Chelsea are still competing for the league title and European qualification, Everton have had little to play for since January, when back-to-back wins against Reading and West Ham allayed any fears they could be drawn into a relegation scrap.
Furthermore, Sorensen's first season at the helm was always likely to have its peaks and troughs. The Blues boast the youngest squad in the Women's Super League and the financial disparity that exists between clubs languishing in mid-table and those competing for the top honours is alarming. The fact that Arsenal had the money in the coffers to submit a world-record bid for Manchester United striker Alessia Russo in January is proof enough of that.
Crucially, this confluence of challenging factors has been compounded by the fact Jess Park and Gabby George - Everton's two standout performers this term - have missed the last two games through injury. Still, after exhibiting signs of real promise on a number of occasions throughout the season, it would be a shame for the Blues to go out with whimper.
They will get the chance to return to winning ways when they host Brighton at Walton Hall Park this weekend before travelling to Manchester City on the final day of the season. And Sorensen will be hoping his players can draw from the pain of their back-to back defeats and finish the campaign strongly.
"I don’t feel like we lack motivation in training," he said. "We know it’s a process and we want to do as well as we can.
"We know we don’t maybe have the top, top international players that some other teams have but we’re trying to create something with the way that we play and I still believe we’re playing in the right way. I think we’ve come a long way but we need more output so that’s what we’re working on."
READ NEXT:
Everton's Clare Wheeler lifts lid on Brian Sorensen influence and World Cup dream
Liverpool's Missy Bo Kearns left 'speechless' by stunning new mural
Ceri Holland makes Liverpool vow and outlines Women's Super League aim
Lucy Hope signs new Everton deal as Brian Sorensen makes 'consistency' claim
What Matt Beard showed Liverpool players in dressing room to spark WSL win over Man City
