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17th August 2024- Championship, Watford 3 Stoke City 0

https://www.skysports.com/football/watford-vs-stoke-city/teams/509365

WFC.Net goal commentary: 1  2  3

Report: Watford 3-0 Stoke City – Watford FCDownload

Sky: Watford continued their winning start to the season with a convincing 3-0 victory at home to Stoke.

BBC: Victory put Watford behind only pacesetters Burnley in the Championship table, yet it will have been the cutting edge in front of goal – they have now scored six in two league outings – that will please Cleverley most.

Watford Observer: RECAP: Watford 3 Stoke City 0

A blistering and brilliant second-half performance saw Watford sweep aside Stoke and make it three wins from three with a 3-0 success at sun-drenched Vicarage Road.

Watford 3 Stoke City: five talking points from Hornets’ win

Cleverley delighted with Watford’s second-half intensity

BHappy: What is utterly stunning about Watford’s second half performance is the business-as-usualness of it.  “Nothing to see here, this is just what we do…”   …when anyone who’s seen us play in the last few years knows that this isvery f***ing far from what we do!  But it keeps coming, relentlessly and without the excitability of an unforeseen or unexpected circumstance – not that it’s not joyful but it’s… expected.  By those on the pitch, at any rate.  Larouci cuts between his now terrified markers, his deflected effort finds its way to Edo whose shot comes back off the crossbar, this perhaps adding to the sense of carnage more than another goal at this stage would have done.  Another Larouci run and a cross is met by Bayo whose flicked near post header beats the keeper but lacks the power to cross the line before it is swiped clear.

Fran’s Watford Blog: It was a tremendous half of football with accurate passing and incisive moves that made me wonder if I had imagined the pre-season. I had been concerned that we wouldn’t score many and have now been treated to eleven goals in three games. There were no weak links, with everyone doing their jobs and playing as a team. While I had no complaints about Ngakia’s contribution, the introduction of Larouci completely changed the game. He had the freedom of the left wing and just made things happen. He was a joy to watch. Kayembe scored two and could have had more. His first was a real poacher’s goal. Andrews was lively with a goal and an assist (sort of). Pollock is looking strong in defence and the headband is just so reminiscent of Steve Terry. Chakvetadze is a joy to watch, but I almost wish he would reign it in a bit until the transfer window shuts.

From the Rookery End: Mike, Jon and Jas convened after the Stoke game to discuss Watford’s third win from three, as Tom Cleverley and his Hornets continue their perfect start to the season.
The lads talk through the win, which seemed to be inspired by the half time introduction of Yaser Larouci, building on a hard fought but largely even first half showing.
You can also hear from new Watford Women Head Coach Renee Hector and captain Meg Chandler as the Golden Girls look to bouce back to the Championship at the first time of asking.

https://www.skysports.com/championship-table

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17th August 2019- Premier League, Everton 1 Watford 0

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Referee: Lee Mason
Attendance: 39,066

Watford lose poor match against Everton in first away game of the season

Early Bernard goal enough gives Everton victory over Watford

Everton vs Watford: Javi Gracia felt a ‘good performance’ deserved more

Watford players rated after another winless trip to Everton

Watford head coach Javi Gracia: ‘I don’t know when it’s a penalty or not’

Gerard Deulofeu feels Watford deserved something from their game against Everton

A selection of images from Watford’s defeat at Everton

Watford boss Javi Gracia pleased for Danny Welbeck after striker’s return to action

Bernard’s first Premier League goal of the season helped Everton edge a 1-0 win over Watford in a tight contest at Goodison Park. The Brazilian’s deflected strike into the bottom corner in the first half (10) proved the difference in the swirling conditions on Merseyside, but the visitors came close when Craig Dawson’s header hit the woodwork midway through the first half. Richarlison squandered two great chances to score for Everton. Despite Watford’s sporadic efforts to equalise, including Troy Deeney’s strike which forced a brilliant save from Jordan Pickford, the hosts held on for their first win of the season.

The Hornets are on a poor run having won just one of their last eight league matches, and have yet to score in this campaign.

Moise Kean, a late substitute, missed two chances to secure victory for Everton, but Watford were the stronger unit throughout the second half. Keane and Mina proved immovable obstacles and the visitors, despite showing a vast improvement on last week’s performance against Brighton, departed empty handed once again.

It should be clear to all who indulge in such things that the First Home Game Of The Season and The First Away Game Of The Season are distinctly special things. The First Game Of The Season has a lustre of its own, of course, but above and beyond that there’s something special about returning to the Vic and something equally special about hitting the road again.

Everton had placed flags at each seat in the home stands which were to be waved as the players emerged from the tunnel.  It has to be said that they were not a patch on the flags at Vicarage Road.  Maybe we were unlucky with our positioning, but we were surrounded by some of the worst of our fan base and started the game with our ears being assaulted by an abusive song aimed at Silva.  Now I have no love at all for the man, but he won’t give a damn what we think about him (that was obvious when he left), neither will the Everton fans, so chanting abuse at him is totally futile and detracts from supporting our own team.

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17th August 2013-Championship, Reading 3 Watford 3

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Diego Fabbrini scored a late goal to rescue a draw for Watford at Reading. The home side took the lead through Adam Le Fondre’s powerful left-footed strike and Jem Karacan bundled in from a set-piece to add a second. Watford’s Marco Faraoni scored a header but Karacan slotted in a Le Fondre knock down to restore a two-goal lead. Troy Deeney converted a penalty for the visitors after Danny Guthrie’s foul on substitute Fabbrini, who prodded home in the 89th minute.

Reading-3-3-Watford-BBC-SportDownload

It’s easy to paint the game as being of two halves.  Actually, for the first fifteen minutes or so of the second period we looked perhaps even less likely to get back into the game…  possession was suddenly being ceded cheaply as we struggled to up the pace and looked for ambitious passes.  A recurring theme under Gianfranco Zola however has been that of continuous improvement; we saw it through much of last season, and within a game he’s proven himself capable of changing the lie of the land to our benefit.  It helps to have such quality on the bench of course, and we’ll get to that.  But no small credit is due to the manager here for a bold substitution that changed our shape subtly and gave Reading something else to think about.  Reading fans will naturally focus on the contrast in their own team’s performance vs earlier in the game, but the R’s didn’t just “lose it”.  Much of the game is psychological of course and as things started to run for us belief grew in our camp whilst doubts entered Reading minds on and off the pitch.  Everyone who’s watched a football match has seen that before.  But something had to start that ball rolling, something had to change the game and give us an edge.  Sometimes it’s a lucky break, or a piece of individual skill…

http://watford.fcdb.info?id=5071
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17th August 2002-New Division One, Watford 3 Wimbledon 2

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The side we played that day were really an embryonic MK Dons.  In May the FA had given the go ahead for the then owners of Wimbledon to relocate the club to Milton Keynes, although they wouldn’t actually move for another year.  In response the supporters of Wimbledon re-launched the club as AFC Wimbledon and by the time of this game were already playing in the Combined Counties League which explains the rather empty away end.

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http://watford.fcdb.info?id=4508

Lets just pretend Tommy Smith doesn’t fall over whilst celebrating Allan Nielsen’s goal.

Allan Nielsen sealed an improbable win for Watford over Wimbledon with a last-gasp goal at Vicarage Road.

BBC-SPORT-_-Football-_-Eng-Div-1-_-Watford-3-2-WimbledonDownload

Screen Shot 2016-09-01 at 22.52.13BSAD report:When else do I get to write a match report that can be as biased and as blinkered as I like, safe in the knowledge that there were no opposition fans present to offer conflicting witness statements?

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Taken from 26 Aug 2002 Watford v Coventry City programme

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17th August 1996- New Division Two, AFC Bournemouth 1 Watford 2

http://watford.fcdb.info/index.php?page=matches

BSAD: This was a result that we managed to grind out. We probably deserved to get something out of the game, but we were lucky to hang on for the win. If we are going to get anywhere near promotion, this is exactly the sort of result we need to hang on for. The performance was not what I would classify as good, but the fact that we won made it a very happy day.

https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=1996-08-17
https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-2/17-august-1996/
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17th August 1985- Division One, Tottenham Hotspur 4 Watford 0

http://watford.fcdb.info/
Sunday Telegraph, 18 Aug 1985
Sunday Mirror, 18 Aug 1985
https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=1985-08-17
https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-one/17-august-1985/
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17th August 1982- Football League Trophy Group One, Watford 2 Colchester United 1

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Same programme issued as on 14th August 1982- Football League Trophy Group One, Watford 4 Orient 1

http://watford.fcdb.info?id=3449
https://oldwatford.com/1982/08/28/28th-august-1982-division-one-watford-2-everton-0/
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I assume a bonus point was awarded for scoring three goals or more.

Watford Observer match report

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17th August 1977-League Cup First Round Second Leg, Reading 1 Watford 0 (2-2 on aggregate, replay on 23rd August 1977)

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http://watford.fcdb.info?id=3181
Daily Telegraph, 18 Aug 1977
Reading Evening Post, 18 Aug 1977

Watford Observer match report

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Taken from 27 Aug 1977 Watford v York City programme
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17th August 1974- Division Three, Colchester United 1 Watford 1

http://watford.fcdb.info/index.php?page=matches
Sunday Mirror, 17 Aug 1974
Sunday People, 17 Aug 1974

Watford Observer match report

https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=1974-08-17
https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-three/17-august-1974/

16th August 2026- Championship, Watford 2 Southampton 1

Watford Observer: Dionisi on tough start: ‘It won’t be easy for the opposition either’

Watford Observer: MATCHDAY AS IT HAPPENED: Watford 2-1 Southampton

Match Report: Outstanding Watford produce memorable 2-1 win over Southampton

WATCH: Immediate reaction to Watford 2-1 Southampton

‘We were one team’ – Dionisi hails Watford mentality in Saints win

Dionisi: ‘Keben was probably better than everyone’

Keben and Bravo lead the way as Watford walk the walk

Nabizada: ‘I want to live this feeling every week’

BBC: Southampton were beaten in their first Championship match since the Spygate scandal, as Watford got off to a winning start under new boss Alessio Dionisi.

Sky: Summer signing Iker Bravo and teenage academy product Amin Nabizada gave new Watford manager Alessio Dionisi a fine win, while Southampton’s players were heckled, both on the pitch and from the stands, for their actions at the end of last season.

BHappy: The visitors look confident, capable, and are dominating the ball while we look a bit edgy. Dobbin escapes down the left and squares… we clear it unconvincingly, he’s flagged off anyway. Hector is booked for a clumsy foul… we can’t surely be this desperate, this stretched after only ten minutes? Then we score, and everything changes.

From the Rookery End: A 2-1 win over Southampton gave Vicarage Road the sort of afternoon that has been in short supply recently, with two young players finding the net, a captain leading from the front and plenty of early signs of what Alessio Dionisi wants from his team.

8th August 2026- League Cup First Round, Watford 1 Crawley Town 0

Watford Observer: Team news: Ngakia close to return but Akomeah suffers injury

Watford out to defy poor EFL Cup record in Dionisi’s first competitive match

Watford Observer: MATCHDAY AS IT HAPPENED: Watford 1-0 Crawley Town

Match Report: Last-gasp Bola rocket wins it for Watford against Crawley

WATCH: Immediate reaction to Watford 1-0 Crawley Town

Dionisi hails ‘incredible’ Bola winner but has mixed views on Watford display

Bola raves about ‘breath of fresh air’ Dionisi, style of play and culture shift

Dionisi asking for daily updates on centre-back hunt and wants Irankunda replacement

Crawley boss to clip up Watford’s goal celebration as motivation

BBC: The Alessio Dionisi era at Watford began in unconvincing fashion with a last-gasp 1-0 Carabao Cup victory over League Two side Crawley Town at Vicarage Road.

Fran’s Watford Blog: As the clock reached 99 minutes, the ball came to Doumbia in the box, his shot was blocked and the clearance fell to Bola outside the box where he powered it home, to send the home fans wild with celebration. It was a cracking goal and no more than the Hornets deserved after a game in which they had 36 shots, 11 of which were on target.

29th July 2026- Friendly, Watford 0 Fiorentina 1

Watford Observer: MATCHDAY AS IT HAPPENED: Watford 0-1 Fiorentina

Match Report: Watford beaten 1-0 by Fiorentina in final Vicarage Road friendly

Fiorentina Official Site:

BHappy: There was lots to like here beyond, you know, it just being football at Vicarage Road. There were things that weren’t quite right too, but we know that we have players to come in and the onset of actual competitive football to sharpen things up. As ever, looking forward to it.

25th July 2026- Friendly, Watford 3 Hansa Rostock 0

Watford Observer: Inside the safety plans as 6,000 Hansa Rostock fans set to head to Watford

Hansa Rostock tell fans to ‘treat the venue with respect’ as 6,000 head to Watford

WATCH: Hansa Rostock fans’ ‘walk-up’ to Vicarage Road

MATCHDAY AS IT HAPPENED: Watford 3-0 Hansa Rostock

Match Report: Watford beat Hansa Rostock 3-0 in remarkable Vicarage Road atmosphere

WATCH: Immediate reaction to Watford 3-0 Hansa Rostock

Hansa Rostock: https://www.fch.de