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16th September 2023- Championship, Watford 2 Birmingham City 0

https://www.skysports.com/football/watford-vs-birmingham-city/teams/484773

BBC: Birmingham City’s unbeaten start to the Championship season came to an end as two stoppage-time goals from Mileta Rajovic and Ryan Andrews gave Watford their first win since the opening day.

Sky: The visitors had started brightly, threatening inside the first minute when Oliver Burke’s pass from the right set up Fulham loanee Jay Stansfield for a low right-foot shot from outside the box only for Hornets goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann to save.

Watford Observer: Live Feed

It looked increasingly like the home side would have to settle for a point from a frustrating goalless draw, but with two minutes of normal time remaining the Blues were reduced to ten men when left-back Lee Buchanan was sent off for a second yellow card.

Head coach Valerien Ismael heralded the patience of the Watford fans as being a contributory factor in yesterday’s late, late show victory over Birmingham.

BHappy: It’s a tremendous header.  A Duncan Ferguson header.  Under challenge from several opponents, with the significant distraction of Dion Sanderson flying in to try to clear and having achieved very little in the game to that point – indeed one wonders if, had Vakoun Bayo been on the bench, he would have made it that far – Rajović kept his eye on it, held off the multiple distractions and directed a header cruelly beyond the helpless Ruddy (for whom this may have triggered an uncomfortable flashback to Wembley 2019).

Fran’s Watford Blog: The game seemed to being winding down when Chakvetadze squared for Andrews, but the youngster hit a low shot from distance that took a deflection and beat Ruddy.  He ran to the 1881 section of the Rookery and celebrated with Harry the Hornet while the crowd sang “He’s one of our own”.

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16th September 2017- Premier League, Watford 0 Manchester City 6

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Watford Observer

Relive – Watford miss chance to top Premier League as Sergio Aguero hat-trick leads Manchester City to thumping win

Sergio Aguero scores hat-trick as Manchester City demolish Watford at Vicarage Road

Watford head coach Marco Silva believes Manchester City’s first and third goals were offside in 6-0 defeat

RATINGS: How did Watford’s players get on in their Premier League hammering to Manchester City?

Watford’s Tom Cleverley hails Manchester City display as one of the best he has faced after Premier League mauling

Watford: Marco Silva rubbishes suggestions his sides struggle against bigger sides after heavy Manchester City loss

Watford players lost focus during 6-0 Premier League trouncing against Manchester City, says Heurelho Gomes

BBC SportSergio Aguero scored a hat-trick as Manchester City moved top of the table and handed Watford their heaviest ever top-flight defeat.

skySergio Aguero scored his 10th hat-trick for Manchester City as they thrashed Watford 6-0 at Vicarage Road to go top of the Premier League.

guardianManchester City have blasted their way to the top of the Premier League and only an exceptional team will be able to challenge them. Watford, watched by Elton John and unbeaten before Pep Guardiola’s men rocked up here, fancied their chances but were blown away by a three-goal salvo before half-time.

IndependentSergio Aguero’s superb hat-trick was the centre-point of a blistering Manchester City performance at Vicarage Road as they swept to the top of the Premier League.

BHappy imageSo.  Fourth in the League.  Early days, yes, but still.  Fourth in the league.  Cool, huh?

FranFor the second week running there was a Watford related event on Friday night.  This time it was Tony Coton’s book launch at the Vic.

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16th September 2014- Championship, Blackpool 0 Watford 1

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

WFC.Net goal commentary: 1

BBC: Watford climbed up to second in the Championship as Matej Vydra’s second-half penalty secured a 1-0 win at struggling Blackpool.

BHappy: Impatience in the away end was beginning to rear its graceless head, Matej Vydra too often on the receiving end.  This was inappropriate on any number of levels, the two most glaring being that barracking a striker low on confidence really isn’t likely to achieve the desired outcome and that, actually, this was a performance more assertive than many of those since his return.  For starters there was no shortage of effort and, yes yes,  “showing you’re bothered” as a meter of quality has its limitations but in Vydra’s energetic closing down there was at least evidence of something.  The pivotal change in the game was the introduction of Dyer for McGugan, which gave the side far better balance.  Within a minute Anya was screaming down the right, his clever ball inside to Vydra lashed hungrily into the side netting.  Then we got the goal and it was a far more elegant thing than a 68th minute penalty might sound, the sort of quality that can win a good side a game as the Premier League taught us all too well.  Pudil, a rival for Ekstrand as man of the match, sent an evil pass through for Dyer borne of the winger’s movement and Pudil’s awareness and leaving Tony McMahon with no option but to make a challenge that he was never going to execute successfully.  Deeney, one assumes, delegated penalty-taking responsibility to his strike partner and kudos to him for doing so as the Czech finished expertly… he needed a goal and acknowledged the travelling Hornets with a grin. 

Evening Standard, 17 Sep 2014
Independent, 17 Sep 2014
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16th September 2008- Championship, Watford 1 Plymouth Argyle 2

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Karl Duguid and Luke Summerfield fired Pymouth to the win they needed to rise off the foot of the table as Watford fell to a first home loss this season.

BBC-SPORT-_-Football-_-Championship-_-Watford-1-2-PlymouthDownload

What it all boils down to is that we don’t have enough goals in the team. By a long chalk. So going behind will always leave us with a bit of a problem, dramatic victories over Ipswich notwithstanding. We weren’t great in the first half hour last night but we were doing OK, by some distance the better side. After going behind we looked increasingly desperate and clueless, borne of not quite knowing where one goal, let alone two, was going to come from. Nothing that we didn’t fear and expect; that’s what you get for (having to be) selling all your leading goalscorers.

http://watford.fcdb.info?id=4821
https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=2008-09-16
https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-championship/16-september-2008/
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16th September 2007- Championship, Watford 3 Southampton 2

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http://watford.fcdb.info?id=4768
Daily Telegraph, 17 Sep 2007
Independent, 17 Sep 2007

Jordan.  Magnificent.  His slide into the far post towards Smith’s cross was almost a “Robbo vs Charlton” moment.

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16th September 2006- Premier League, Watford 0 Aston Villa 0

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BBC SportWatford keeper Ben Foster and his Aston Villa counterpart Thomas Sorensen stole the show as their two sides had to settle for a draw at Vicarage Road.

guardianAidy Boothroyd’s team are still confronting the Watford gap. It is a daunting prospect, despite the manager’s protestation that “performance-wise we’d be near the top of the Premiership. And I believe performances lead to results.”

BHappy imageSaturday’s one-word match report is : Thunk.

http://watford.fcdb.info?id=4720
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16th September 1997- League Cup Second Round First Leg, Watford 1 Sheffield United 1

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BSAD imageBSAD report: There’s a saying round my way – “If you can’t catch a goose in a bucket, there’s no point in trying to shove a cow into a carrier bag”. Wise words, I think you’ll agree.

http://watford.fcdb.info?id=4261

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16th September 1995- New Division One, Ipswich Town 4 Watford 2

https://watford.fcdb.info/index.php?page=matches
Sunday Mirror, 17 Sep 1995

BSAD: I still cannot believe how the hell we lost this match, and the scoreline sounds like a thrashing. It wasn’t. 4-2 to Watford would have flattered Ipswich. Listening to their local radio on the way home, I think I watched a completely different match. It is easy to blame defensive errors for the goals, but they made far more than we did. The difference was that we were punished for every mistake we made.

Sunday People, 17 Sep 1995
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16th September 1986-Division One, Watford 1 Manchester United 0

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http://watford.fcdb.info?id=3668
Daily Telegraph, 17 Sep 1986
The Guardian, 17 Sep 1986
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Evening Standard, 17 Sep 1986
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18th September 2016-Premier League, Watford 3 Manchester United 1
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16th September 1978- Division Three, Bury 1 Watford 2

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https://watford.fcdb.info?id=3243&s=164359&p=1

Watford Observer match report

Daily Mirror, 17 Sep 1978
Sunday People, 17 Sep 1978
https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=1978-09-16
https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=1978-09-16

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16th September 1972- Division Three, Blackburn Rovers 0 Watford 0

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This was the first time since he left Vicarage Road that Ken Furphy managed against us.

http://watford.fcdb.info?id=2935
Evening Standard, 16 Sep 1972
Sunday People, 17 Sep 1972

Watford Observer match report

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16th September 1968- Division Three, Hartlepool 2 Watford 1

http://watford.fcdb.info/index.php?page=matches
Daily Telegraph, 17 Sep 1968, Daily Telegraph
Daily Mirror, 17 Sep 1968
https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=1968-09-16
https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-three/16-september-1968/
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16th September 1961- Division Three, Halifax Town 2 Watford 0

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http://watford.fcdb.info?id=2381
Sunday People, 17 Sep 1961

Watford Observer match report

https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=1961-09-16
https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-three/16-september-1961/

12th September 2026- Championship, Watford 1 Stoke City 2

Watford Observer: Boadu could feature before international break, with others to be assessed

Watford Observer: MATCHDAY AS IT HAPPENED: Watford 1-2 Stoke City

Match Report: Watford fall to bleak 2-1 Stoke defeat

Dionisi: ‘I speak for my players – to be clear, this is a very difficult moment’

‘We have a good team with all of our players – I am working for the future’

BBC: Stoke City produced a dominant display to beat Watford at Vicarage Road and extend their unbeaten Championship run to four matches.

Sky: McGlynn opened the scoring for Stoke on half-time with Eric Bocat doubling the lead 13 minutes into the second half. Amin Nabizada’s reply came too late for the Hornets.

Fran’s Watford Blog: It was a poor performance by the Hornets. Stoke were fast and strong and spent most of the game on the attack, but any time the Hornets got into their half, they had 10 men behind the ball. Bravo and Maamma who had shone in midweek did very little in this game. The brightest spark was Nabizada who scored another gorgeous goal.

From the Rookery End: Watford’s injury-hit squad struggled to get going as Stoke City left Vicarage Road with a deserved 2-1 win. Jon, Kieran and DCW pick through a disjointed performance, the growing injury list and a midfield stretched almost to breaking point. There’s also discussion about which of Watford’s attacking options can make a position their own, whether the international break will really solve anything, and the difficult hand Alessio Dionisi has been dealt.

8th September 2026- Championship, Watford 2 Preston North End 1

Watford Observer: ‘We’re Watford, we’ve got to be pushing to win these games’

Watford Observer: MATCHDAY AS IT HAPPENED: Watford 2-1 Preston North End

Match Report: Doumbia header seals Watford comeback win over Preston

Dionisi hails ‘big, big result’ as Watford battle major fitness issues to win

Dionisi: ‘Fantastic Kayembe is an example every day’

Excellent Ravaglia is keeping Watford in every game

Doumbia: ‘I tell the wingers before every game, make the cross’

Match-winner Doumbia: ‘Dionisi tells me he loves me’

BBC:Watford came from a goal down to beat Preston North End 2-1 at Vicarage Road to bounce back from two successive Championship defeats.

Sky; Callum Lang had shot the visitors ahead in the sixth minute as the visitors threatened to overrun the Hornets, who hit back with two second-half goals in seven minutes from Edo Kayembe and Mamadou Doumbia.

Fran’s Watford Blog: It had been a terrible first half of football, but the changes at the break made all the difference and it was a decent performance in the second half. Bravo made all the difference as, finally, we had someone in the midfield battling for the ball and launching attacks. His cross for Doumbia’s goal was perfect. He was my man of the match, but praise should also go to Ravaglia without whom we would have been further behind when we scored. Maamma was another bright spark. He has struggled in recent games, but was back to his best, powering down the wing and making the goal for Kayembe. He was also seen on more than one occasion tracking back and making important tackles. Kayembe gets a hard time from a section of the fan base, but he worked hard and I was glad that he scored and received the adulation from the fans. Similarly, Doumbia, who worked hard all evening and was rewarded with a goal.

From the Rookery End: Watford came from behind to beat Preston North End 2-1 at Vicarage Road – but it took a dramatic half-time intervention to turn a pretty grim evening around.

5th September 2026- Championship, West Bromwich Albion 1 Watford 0

Watford Observer: Dionisi on when Watford’s three deadline night signings will be match fit

Short recovery time is a challenge for Watford squad

Watford Observer: MATCHDAY AS IT HAPPENED: West Brom 1-0 Watford

Match Report: West Brom condemn Watford to back-to-back away defeats

Watford hopeful Bove avoided serious injury at West Brom

WATCH: Immediate reaction to West Brom 1-0 Watford

BBC: West Bromwich Albion had the free-scoring Jimmy-Jay Morgan to thank at The Hawthorns, the summer signing scoring the only goal as they defeated Watford in a tense contest to move up to fifth in the Championship table.

Sky: Watford are now winless away from home in their last nine trips, since February.

Fran’s Watford Blog: The Hornets were a bit unlucky not to come away with a point from this game. It had been another battling performance and, if Maamma had taken his chances, we could even have won it. The new boys looked promising, particularly Coulibaly, who caught the eye such that he had a song dedicated to him soon after entering the fray

1st September 2026- Championship, Swansea City 2 Watford 0

Watford Observer: Match Report: Watford go down to first league defeat of the season at Swansea

WATCH: Immediate reaction to Swansea City 2-0 Watford

Dionisi ‘angry’ with Watford’s out-of-possession performance at Swansea

Three youngsters leave Watford at the end of summer window

BBC: Swansea’s blend of high tempo and quality on the ball proved too much for Watford to handle, with home debutant Stephen Eustaquio rolling a pass through for Idah to gallop in behind before centring for Eom to finish first time from point-blank range. It was roles reversed for the second goal, with Eom dancing into space on the halfway line before his delightful through-ball sent Idah scampering clear. The former Celtic striker – who was once again preferred to Zan Vipotnik up front – finished in style, rolling a shot between the legs of Hornets goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia.

Fran’s Watford Blog: It was a deserved defeat for the Hornets. Swansea are the best team that we have seen so far this season and were unplayable for a lot of the first half. Eom, Idah and Opoku caused us no end of problems, and their goals were both excellent moves. The second half was much more even as a contest and Watford did create chances, but Vigouroux wasn’t really tested. The positives for the Hornets were that Ravaglia pulled off a couple of good saves. I thought Zemura had another strong game. Mlačić made a good first impression, looking very assured despite his youth.