Bradford City Women suffered defeat on Sunday, falling 4-1 at home to Stockport County.
Despite an improved second-half showing, the Bantams were unable to salvage anything from the game, having found themselves three goals down at the interval.
Without key players Chelsea Stanford and club captain Zoe Robers due to inury, City struggled to gain a tight grip on the first half, falling behind on 15 minutes.
After a corner was swung in from the right, a Stockport header took several deflections before eventually rolling into the back of the home net.
The second goal came just a couple of minutes later, courtesy of an unstoppable volley dispatched from another wide ball into the area.
However, the Bantams grew into the opening period and proved unlucky having nothing to show for their pressure.
Top scorer Falone Sumaili headed the ball against the foot of the post before Meg Maxted had a shot well saved by the visiting goalkeeper.
Despite their dominance, City conceded a penalty on the half-hour mark when goalkeeper Aimee Routledge collided with an onrushing Hatters striker.
Routledge was unable to keep out the spot-kick, diving the wrong way as the visitors took a 3-0 lead into the break.
City begun the second 45 very much on the front foot - following the introduction of Jemma White and Jenny Clarke - though their opponents stood firm.
In what proved a rare Stockport attack after the restart, the away side extended their lead further with an unstoppable strike after the ball broke - 15 yards out.
With five minutes remaining, the hosts pulled a deserved goal back when Sumaili latched on to a lose back pass after applying pressure on the visiting rearguard.
The forward rounded the goalkeeper and walked the ball in to the empty net to ensure her side had something to show for their second-half performance.
Steve Winterburn’s side will look to respond to a disappointing setback when hosting Liverpool Feds, next Sunday (September 29).