Monthly Archives: April 2012

28th April 2012- Championship, Watford 2 Middlesbrough 1

Final programme notes from Sean Dyche and Laurence Bassini

http://watford.fcdb.info?id=5015

Middlesbrough missed out on the play-offs with a defeat at Watford. The visitors needed a win and Cardiff, to lose in order to sneak into the top six.

As you always do on the final day, you look around the pitch for signs of what next season might bring, for the points that need addressing, for the players who need tying down lest they fly away. One last look before a summer of idle discussion and speculation…and we’ll mostly leave all of that for the footie-less weeks.

21st April 2012- Championship, Peterborough United 2 Watford 2

http://watford.fcdb.info?id=5014

Paul Taylor’s stunning equaliser at London Road saved Peterborough from a fourth straight Championship defeat. Lee Tomlin converted a penalty after just 13 minutes for the home side, but Troy Deeney levelled with scrappy goal midway through the first half. Watford went ahead early in the second half with a sweetly-struck free-kick by Sean Murray from 30 yards.

https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=2012-04-21

https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-championship/21-april-2012/

17th April 2012- Championship, Brighton & Hove Albion 2 Watford 2

https://www.skysports.com/football/brighton-vs-watford/teams/238774

BBC Sport: Brighton’s slim hopes of claiming a Championship play-off spot are over despite them coming from two goals down to snatch a draw with Watford. Albion were facing defeat after Sean Murray’s free-kick and a Troy Deeney penalty put the Hornets in control. But Inigo Calderon pulled one back and Will Buckley scored a late goal against his former club to salvage a point.

Sky Sports: Will Buckley completed a dramatic Brighton comeback with the equaliser as they fought back to draw 2-2 with Watford at the Amex Stadium.

BHappy: The Amex, then, is a stadium which reflects an affluent and aspirational city. In any other hands, I suspect that this would be an impressive, vaguely stylish but ultimately vacuous ground, another out-of-town fibreglass sponsordome. The choice of lucky chocolate gives it away: a Marks and Spencers Mint Truffle, for pity’s sake, bought at the station because you know there’s not a corner shop (or even a corner) within a country mile of the ground… But there’s been so much energy, so much heartache and struggle, invested in this place. Finally, they’re here; finally, this is a club that’s no longer held back by the weight of bitter history, as much a righting-of-wrongs in its own way as Wimbledon’s regained League status. The Amex is rather more than the sum of its parts…and the noise that rolls around the sweeping, sculpted roof is pretty bloody heart-warming, if you’re at all inclined towards empathy. It’s a wonderful place, frankly.

https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=2012-04-17

https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-championship/17-april-2012/

14th April 2012- Championship, Watford 1 Hull City 1

http://watford.fcdb.info?id=5012

Troy Deeney’s ninth of the season earned Watford a 1-1 draw against Hull to cancel out James Chester’s opener at Vicarage Road.

Having played 4-5-1 at Cardiff, Sean Dyche had explained his aspiration to a tactical flexibility that would leave us comfortable switching between a number of formations. Now is undoubtedly the time to try new things of course, but despite that it it has now seen us take points from consecutive games against teams above us in the table there was little sign of 4-5-1 proving terribly effective.

https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=2012-04-14

https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-championship/14-april-2012/

9th April 2012- Championship, Cardiff City 1 Watford 1

http://watford.fcdb.info?id=5011

Nyron Nosworthy’s late leveller dealt a blow to Cardiff City’s stuttering play-off charge as the defender rescued mid-table Watford a Championship point.

Nosworthy’s conversion of Sean Murray’s free-kick with eight minutes left earned a deserved point for the visitors, who have now lost only once in nine league games.

https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=2012-04-09

https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-championship/09-april-2012/

6th April 2012- Championship, Watford 0 Blackpool 2

http://watford.fcdb.info?id=5010

Two goals from Stephen Dobbie earned Blackpool victory over Watford and further cemented their position in the play-off places. The striker – on-loan from Swansea – scored his first by beating keeper Tomasz Kuszczak after a mazy run.

The defeat brought an end to Watford’s seven-match unbeaten run which had raised hopes of gatecrashing the play-offs at Vicarage Road.

Sean Dyche, the Watford manager, could not hide his feelings after his side let their unbeaten run slip. “I’m disappointed in our performance today. We’ve gone along very well lately, a couple of hiccups since Christmas but got over that swiftly and had a great run, so I’m disappointed.

Palpable disappointment. Obviously. And that’s the fault of nobody bar those of us who’d allowed ourselves to get a bit carried away with things. There are mitigating circumstances, there’s context, there’s stuff that didn’t quite fall our way (see below). But there’s no two ways of interpreting your visitors being able to take off two key attacking players in the closing twenty minutes or so, for a bit of a rest.

https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=2012-04-06

https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-championship/06-april-2012/