Monthly Archives: August 2018

29th August 2018- League Cup Second Round, Reading 0 Watford 2

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Screen Shot 2018-09-01 at 20.38.01 Referee:Andy Davies Attendance:9,265

clips of Jon Marks BBC 3CR commentary Goals: 1 2

Watford Observer

RELIVE – Reading vs Watford: Isaac Success and Domingos Quina send Hornets through in Carabao Cup

Isaac Success and Domingos Quina goals send Watford to Carabao Cup victory over Reading

Watford’s Javi Gracia praises Nathaniel Chalobah and Stefano Okaka after Carabao Cup win over Reading

Reading vs Watford ratings: Domingos Quina and Ben Wilmot impress in Carabao Cup win

Isaac Success: Watford forward pleased with Carabao Cup contribution

Domingos Quina: Debut strike leaves Watford youngster hungry for more

Domingos Quina scored a stunning goal on his Watford debut help them progress to the Carabao Cup third round at the expense of Championship side Reading.

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Watford – fourth in the Premier League after winning their opening three games – made 11 changes from the side that defeated Crystal Palace 2-1 at Vicarage Road on Sunday.

There are certain prerequisites when it comes to the early stages of the Rumbelows Cup. Some of these are met in sunny Berkshire tonight… a half-empty stadium (albeit a respectable enough 2500 make the short journey from Hertfordshire), much-changed starting line-ups (eleven changes for the Golden Boys in the green away kit’s first outing). Check, check.

Team news was that Gracia had made 11 changes with debuts for Navarro, Masina, Wilmot and Quina and the return of Chalobah, so the starting line-up was Gomes; Navarro, Mariappa, Prödl, Masina; Femenía, Chalobah, Wilmot, Quina, Sema; Success. I have to say that looked like a pretty decent team. Reading had also made 8 changes, but the main Watford connection with the opposition was in the dug out in the person of Sir Nigel Gibbs.

Watford’s record in this competition is infamous. In the past ten seasons we’ve been knocked out by lower league opposition a total of eight times. So it’s no wonder I was surprised when Watford won comfortably away at Reading on Wednesday evening.

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26th August 2018- Premier League, Watford 2 Crystal Palace 1

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Referee:Anthony Taylor Attendance:20,014

clips of Jon Marks BBC 3CR commentary Goals: 1 2

Watford Observer

RELIVE – Watford vs Crystal Palace: Perfect Premier League start continues for Hornets

Watford make it nine points from nine with battling Crystal Palace win

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Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson reflects on Watford defeat

Watford: Javi Gracia says it’s ‘special’ to get three consecutive Premier League wins

PICTURES: A selection of images from Watford’s historic win over Crystal Palace

Ben Foster: Javi Gracia’s style key to Watford’s flying Premier League start

Player ratings: Watford’s Christian Kabasele on song as Hornets down Crystal Palace

Watford: Javi Gracia pleased with Roberto Pereyra’s all-round contribution

Watford’s Christian Kabasele highlights importance of team spirit as winning run goes on

The Hornets maintained their perfect start in the Premier League to move behind Liverpool and level with Chelsea at the top of the table on goal difference.

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Wilfried Zaha struck 12 minutes from time at Vicarage Road to raise hopes of a visiting fightback but the hosts held on as Roberto Pereyra’s 53rd-minute strike and Jose Holebas’s freak second (71) proved enough.

Graham Taylor never managed three straight wins at the start of a first division season, a run that carried Gracia’s team to second place ahead of Chelsea’s game against Newcastle United and pegs Watford above champions Manchester City for the week. They might not have played any of the title contenders yet, but amongst those for whom survival is the first thought – Brighton, Burnley and now Crystal Palace – Watford have been ruthless.

This snarl of a game was deep into stoppage time when Luka Milivojevic swung over one last hopeful corner kick and, with the majority in the arena anxiously holding their breath, Joel Ward leapt unchallenged into the six-yard box only to head wide of the post. The locals’ outpouring of relief at the miss was almost as deafening as the raucous delight which greeted the final whistle moments later.

The build-up to this game was all about Harry Hornet who, in answer to a question from a journalist, had been branded a ‘disgrace’ by Roy Hodgson for an incident two years ago that I doubt Hodgson had actually ever seen, when Harry collapsed behind Zaha while the post-match handshakes were happening. Sticking up for your player is all well and good but Roy lost all credibility when he claimed, with a straight face, that Zaha didn’t dive. Sorry, Roy he gets booked for it, which was what provoked Harry’s action. You couldn’t help but feel that Roy’s words would come back to haunt him.

It feels more like March than August bank holiday weekend. Palace have brought the traditional Croydon microclimate with them and it dampens our quick start before it gets going. Only the hissing, spitting hot fat of this fixture burns on unperturbed, and it hadn’t needed Roy Hodgson ambling into a Harry-shaped animal trap in the visitors’ pre-match press conference to ignite it. Our encounters have a bad-tempered, even spiteful undercurrent all of their own.

It only took four minutes for the game’s first talking point to occur. As Capoue tripped Zaha in the middle of the pitch, the referee awarded the midfielder a yellow card. At the time and due to where I was sitting I thought this decision was harsh. Replays show however that Capoue may have been lucky to stay on the pitch, after a potentially dangerous challenge.

It was raining, but oh the Hornets kept on shining. 3 wins in a row for the Golden Boys and this one might have been a little trickier, but also sweeter due to a certain Wilf Zaha.

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19th August 2018- Premier League, Burnley 1 Watford 3

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Referee:Paul Tierney Attendance:18,822

clips of Jon Marks BBC 3CR commentary Goals: 1 2 3

Watford Observer

RELIVE: Watford score three high-quality goals to beat Burnley

Will Hughes put the finishing touch to a rare away win for Watford, who ended a torrid run on the road by putting away Burnley 3-1 at Turf Moor.

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Frustrated Burnley boss Sean Dyche believes Watford’s Will Hughes should have been sent off

Watford: Javi Gracia delighted to get off away mark at Burnley

PICTURES: Watford score three fine goals to beat Burnley

Watford: Javi Gracia keeping his feet on the floor

RATINGS: Troy Deeney gets top mark as Watford beat Burnley

Watford’s Will Hughes targeting more goals after scoring against Burnley

Watford’s Troy Deeney has got the ‘buzz’ back after Burnley goal

Andre Gray struck on his return to Burnley as Watford scored an away goal for the first time since January to continue their winning start to the Premier League season.

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All the goals came at the start of each half, with Andre Gray netting inside three minutes before James Tarkowski’s header levelled things up three minutes later.

Watford took advantage of leggy-looking hosts, who alarmingly ran out of steam in what was their sixth competitive game in 25 days at the outset of the campaign, thanks to their ongoing attempts to qualify for the group stages of the Europa League.

Gracia paid tribute to his strikers. “When you score three times it makes it easier to manage the game,” he said. “I know it is not easy to get points here, but I can only be pleased at the start we have made.” Gracia had not even seen an away goal since becoming Watford manager but he had to wait only three minutes for his side to nose in front, Andre Gray scoring against his old club after pushing the ball out to Troy Deeney on the right and moving up to meet the return with a sweetly struck right-foot volley.

As I was on a flight to the US last Saturday for work, I missed the Brighton game, so I was really looking forward to my season starting properly. But, as Watford hadn’t scored away from home since January 2^nd and we never get anything at Burnley, my expectations were pretty low prior to kick-off.

FTRE image An away win AND goals away from home… 3 of them no less! Things are looking very different this season.

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11th August 2018- Premier League, Watford 2 Brighton & Hove Albion 0

Screen Shot 2018-08-15 at 15.02.27 Referee:Jonathan Moss Attendance:20,051

clips of Jon Marks BBC 3CR commentary Goals: 1 2

Watford Observer

RELIVE – Pereyra stars as Hornets down Seagulls

Watford’s Premier League campaign is up and running from day one after a Roberto Pereyra brace fired them to a deserved and impressive 2-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion victory at Vicarage Road.

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Gracia: Manner of win ‘more important to us’

Formation ‘can change depending on opponents’

Pictures: Watford off to a winning start

RATINGS: Pereyra the star in excellent team performance

Doucoure had ‘worked very hard’ despite no pre-season match minutes

Pereyra can be ‘important player’ for Hornets

Pereyra praises team display after starring role against Seagulls

Brighton manager Chris Hughton said he was left to “wonder what happened” after his side were comfortably beaten by Watford at Vicarage Road.

It was all too comfortable for Watford, who controlled the game impressively in the second half, while Brighton have plenty of work ahead after failing to register a single shot on target throughout the 90 minutes.

If, as most bookmakers have predicted, this is the season Watford’s stay in the Premier League comes to an end, then somebody had better tell their players. Judging by the manner of their victory here, they have not seen the odds or have done so and been fuelled by a sense of defiance.

Watford had never previously won an opening day fixture in the Premier League yet came through this one with little alarm. Roberto Pereyra, the former Juventus winger, scored both goals on a day when Brighton rarely troubled Ben Foster in the home goal.

In many respects the question on Brighton is quite how bad they were, versus how bad we made them look. The goal is an example… someone should have been keeping an eye on Pereyra but he arrived late to fill the space on the edge of the box vacated by decoy runs to the near post. Yes, Albion were dozy but we forced the issue. Similarly in midfield, Albion were overrun and perhaps even complacent but it was in the face of our relentless and disciplined pressing that it crumpled. When we broke, particularly in the first half having regained possession deep we hurtled through the midfield; there’s maybe a concern that we didn’t capitalise but with Deulofeu’s pace and Chalobah’s awareness to return you’ve got to fancy us away from home.

A relatively stress free afternoon on the opening day. I’m happy to say that all the nerves I had before the game were put to rest fairly early on. Watford looked sharp and hungry. The pressure that Deeney and Gray applied to the Brighton back line was telling and the visitors couldn’t cope. Capoue bossed the midfield whilst the centre back pairing of Kabasele and Cathcart gave Foster little to do all afternoon.

The Hornets start the season with a Bobby Dazzler game at the The Vic and Jon, Jason and Mike discuss the consummate performance and the players who influenced the game.

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4th August 2018- The Graham Taylor Matchday, Watford 1 Sampdoria 1

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Duxbury pays tribute to greatest manager GT

Blissett hails history-maker Taylor

‘In the words of dad: I have never changed my opinion that football is a game for the people’

RELIVE – Deeney on target in draw as Hornets pay tribute to Taylor

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Watford ended pre-season unbeaten after drawing 1-1 with Sampdoria in their final outing before the Premier League starts next weekend in the Graham Taylor Matchday at Vicarage Road.

Head coach hails outstanding pre-season

Saturday was to be an important day for Watford fans with the long awaited unveiling of the GT statue.

Back for the final podcast in preseason, Jon and Colin were at Vicarage Road to see the unveiling of the Graham Taylor Statue. You’ll hear some moments of the ceremony, the reaction of Lionel Birnie, author of Graham’s autobiography, and we hear your memories of meeting Graham.