Enfield Water Polo Club crashed to a disappointing defeat to Watford on Sunday, as a depleted squad took its toll on the home side in the London League Division Two.

Five of the side’s starting seven were taking part at the National Age Group finals in Manchester and in their absence, Watford secured a convincing 20-10 (3-5,2-6, 1-4, 4-5) victory.

But it was the away side Enfield who made a strong start and found themselves 2-0 up inside two minutes following a couple of excellent moves involving Rob Lucas and Rob Threadgold.

But Watford finished the quarter 5-3 ahead as their numerical advantage began to show.

Watford’s dominance continued, scoring ten to Enfield’s three in the middle quarters.

Despite a valiant fourth quarter performance from Enfield, in which Stefano Cortellini and Lucas both sealed their hat-tricks, 13-man Watford took home the points.

On Wednesday Enfield contested a closely fought tie with Reading, losing 14-15 (7-3, 4-5, 2-2, 1-5) despite not going behind until the last few minutes.

Enfield raced into an early lead and were 7-3 up by the end of the first quarter, aided by a quick-fire hat-trick from Charlie Briers.

The middle periods were tightly contested and it looked as though Enfield would hold on.

But they collapsed in the fourth quarter, conceding five and scoring once, as Reading went ahead for the first time with just a minute and a half to go.