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Wilfried Zaha saw two penalty claims turned down as Watford and Crystal Palace edged towards Premier League safety after playing out an eventful 0-0 on Saturday.
Zaha was cautioned by referee Chris Kavanagh after going down inside the Watford penalty area following a challenge by Adrian Mariappa.
Last season, Watford mascot Harry the Hornet mocked Zaha by diving in front of him at the end of a league match at Vicarage Road.
Watford’s traditional poor springtime form meant they had gone five matches without a victory, conceding 15 goals in the process, so the decision to pair the Italy international Stefano Okaka in attack with Troy Deeney was a brave one with the former chairman Elton John, watching on from the stands. Yet it almost paid off as early as the fourth minute when Deeney found space on the right and his cross was headed against the crossbar by Okaka.
Key in the first half exchanges and throughout was the redoubtable partnership of the newly returned Christian Kabasele and the slightly less newly returned but much missed Craig Cathcart.
It had been a thoroughly entertaining half of football. Watford were a completely different team from last week, playing positively and battling for everything. We had managed 11 shots on goal, but without really testing Hennessey. The Watford fans were also putting in a good performance, loud and proud in support of their team, which was essential as Palace usually bring a very noisy crowd with them.
Whilst we go another game without a win, we did at least see a bit of fight and spirit and a much better performance than recent weeks. With safety all but confirmed that’s all we ask for during the run-in and we got that during this game.
An enjoyable 0-0, which puts Watford on 38 points. Jon, Jas and Mike gather to converse about the game, the 4-4-2, the returning centre backs and if having two up front made a difference. There’s a report from Russia, DCW is over there ahead of the World Cup with work, and they discuss longer managers.
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