Monthly Archives: December 2023

29th December 2023- Championship, Watford 1 Stoke City 1

WFC.Net Jon Marks goal commentary: 1

Official site: Match dashboard

https://www.watfordfc.com/match-report/match-report-watford-1-1-stoke-city

Sky: Watford held out for a 1-1 draw at home to Stoke despite losing Vakoun Bayo early in the second half to a straight red card for lashing out at Luke McNally.

BBC: Jake Livermore gave the Hornets the lead from close range with his first goal for the club, but Ryan Mmaee turned his marker before firing home the equaliser.

Watford Observer: RECAP: Watford 1 Stoke City 1

Ten-man Watford secure deserved point against Stoke

‘The spirit was unbelievable in the stadium. I got some goosebumps’

Performance from Morris was anything but minor

Spirit shown against Stoke put right most of the wrongs of the Boxing Day blip

OPINION-Nobody wants to batter officials, but yesterday was simply too bad

BHappy: Comes to something when a 1-1 draw against Stoke – no disrespect intended, but the sort of result that even an ardent follower of the Championship would skip over without a second thought – was so full of the stuff, surely, that we all go for?  Adrenaline, drama, emotion, heroes, villains?

Fran’s Watford Blog: It was a difficult game.  It was great to see Livermore score his first goal.  He has been so valuable for us since his return to match fitness.  It was also great to see Chakvetadze put in a storming performance that deserved a goal and would have produced one but for the fingertips of Jack Bonham.  Having been disappointed with Asprilla on Boxing Day, I thought that he was a lot more positive going forward.  The goal that was conceded was a little unlucky as the Porteous deflection wrongfooted Dele-Bashiru and gave Mmaee space to take the shot.  But, ultimately, the game changed when Bayo was sent off.  His reaction was foolish, but the strange decisions of the referee had wound a lot of the players up at this point.  I was just glad that they calmed down after that and mounted a tremendous rearguard effort that kept Stoke at bay while the Hornets continued to look for a winner.  They were bolstered by the Vicarage Road crowd who were incredibly noisy, roaring the boys on.  It was great to be a part of it.

From the Rookery End: After an away win at Blackburn, a horrendoous home loss to Bristol City, Watford stood firm against Stoke to get a 1-1 home draw. Jon, Jason and Mike met after the game to discuss how the last few games fit together, quickly agree the ref was poor but the Hornets showed something new, even with the obvious frailaties were clear to see.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67798477

26th December 2023- Championship, Watford 1 Bristol City 4

WFC.Net Jon Marks’ Goal Commentary: 1

Official site: Match Dashboard

https://www.watfordfc.com/match-report/match-report-watford-1-4-bristol-city

Sky: The hosts just could not stop losing the ball in midfield and Manning’s men cashed in with a strike from Cameron Pring and an own goal from Wesley Hoedt to lead at the break.

BBC: Half-time substitute Giorgi Chakvetadze made an immediate impact, pulling a goal back for Watford four minutes after the interval. But Mark Sykes scored a minute later and Andreas Weimann capped a resounding Robins victory by adding a late fourth.

Watford Observer: RECAP: Watford 1 Bristol City 4

The ghosts of home games past return to haunt Watford this Christmas

‘We gave the game away from the first minute’ – Ismael

Watford haven’t enjoyed a half-time lead for eight games

‘We need to work on being more stable and calm in possession of the ball’

Lewis looks set to be out until mid-January

Fran’s Watford Blog: It was a very disappointing showing from the Hornets who struggled to keep hold of the ball and couldn’t control the opposition.  Too often, passes were misplaced or just aimed for a space that was only ever going to be taken up by an opposition player.  Andrews had one of the poorest games that I have seen from him and Asprilla seemed very reluctant to take on the defenders, so their faltering partnership was exploited by City.  It is hard to pick out a good performance although I thought that Healey did well in a game in which he was allowed to make more than his usual cameo appearance.  But the positive that I will take out of the game is that the heads never dropped, and the players continued to attack right to the end, even if it was largely ineffective.  I was pleased that more than one of the people that I spoke to after the game questioned the booing.  I don’t think that the players deserved that after their recent performances. But it was another disappointing Boxing Day.  Let us hope that this is just a blip, and we return to winning ways on Friday.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67756822

23rd December 2023- Championship, Blackburn Rovers 1 Watford 2

Blackburn Rovers no longer produce matchday programmes.

WFC.Net Jon Marks goal commentary: 1  2

Official site: Match dashboard

https://www.watfordfc.com/match-report/match-report-blackburn-rovers-1-2-watford

BBC: Two Watford substitutes scored in the final seven minutes to beat Blackburn Rovers 2-1 in the Championship.

Sky: Watford’s bench ultimately made the difference as Yaser Asprilla’s shot was parried into the path of Mileta Rajovic to equalise in the 83rd minute and, four minutes later, Rhys Healey’s second of the season secured the points for Watford, who have won four of their last six.

Watford Observer: RECAP: Blackburn 1 Watford 2

Two goals in the last ten minutes make it three straight away wins

Ismael relishes fightback that sets up a happy Christmas but also issues a warning

‘You don’t know me to say that boy’ – Louza’s odd social posts during game yesterday

‘I am really happy for the fans’ – Asprilla

Fran’s Watford Blog: It is hard to think now that we went 9 months this year without an away win.  Now we have had three in a row, two in the North-West which has generally not been a happy hunting ground.  The celebrations at the end were joyous.  As soon as the final whistle went, Koné sprinted from the bench to the away end to celebrate with us.  The others joined him once the niceties with the opposition players and the officers were done.  Healey was being pushed forward for plaudits and he has certainly impressed.  His opportunities have been few and far between, but he has now twice come off the bench and scored late goals.  The team spirit is just wonderful to witness and the willingness to attack means that the games are so much more enjoyable than they were earlier in the season.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67735157

16th December 2023- Championship, Preston North End 1 Watford 5

https://www.skysports.com/football/preston-north-end-vs-watford/teams/484961

WFC.Net Jon Marks goal commentary: 1  2  3  4  5

Official site: Match dashboard

https://www.watfordfc.com/match-report/match-report-preston-north-end-1-5-watford

Sky: Vakoun Bayo netted a brace as Watford scored four second-half goals to earn a comprehensive 5-1 Championship comeback victory at Preston.

BBC: The Hornets made it three victories in their last five after Will Keane had touched in the opening goal for the hosts in the first half. Bayo headed in the equaliser just before the break against a Lilywhites side that has won just one of their past seven home games. Watford opened up in the second half as Matheus Martins, Edo Kayembe, Bayo again and Ismael Kone all found the net.

Watford Observer: RECAP: Preston 1 Watford 5

Can they do it in the north-west in the winter? Yes they can

Ismael said what Watford fans were thinking: ‘That is what we want’

No end of fun at North End – the 5-1 away win in pictures

Fran’s Watford Blog: Football really is fun again.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67667436

12th December 2023- Championship, Watford 1 Ipswich Town 2

WFC.Net Jon Marks Goal Commentary: 1

Official site: Match dashboard

https://www.watfordfc.com/match-report/match-report-watford-1-2-ipswich-town

BBC: Watford went ahead when Yaser Asprilla punished an error by goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky, but George Hirst brought Town level before half-time from close range.

Sky: It looked likely that whoever managed to score again would win the contest – and it turned out to be Ipswich thanks to Wesley Hoedt’s error in the 80th minute.

Watford Observer: RECAP: Watford 1 Ipswich Town 2

Hornets suffer tough but self-inflicted defeat

Watford weren’t ruthless and didn’t stay calm enough head coach admits

‘The performance was better than we think’ – Livermore

Head coach shows support for Hoedt after error

Fran’s Watford Blog: The players were rightly applauded at the end of the game.  It had been a great performance as they matched a team that are running away at the top of the table and should feel very unfortunate not to have got anything from the game.  But they didn’t take their chances and Ipswich capitalised on a mistake from Hoedt.  It was another very encouraging showing though and should send them into the busy Christmas period with plenty of confidence.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67621466

9th December 2023- Championship, Watford 1 Southampton 1

https://www.skysports.com/football/watford-vs-southampton/teams/484941

WFC.Net Jon Marks Goal Commentary: 1

Official site: Match dashboard

https://www.watfordfc.com/post-match/watford-mens-team-southampton-first-team-2023-12-09

BBC: Rhys Healey’s stoppage-time goal ensured a point for Watford as they drew 1-1 with fellow play-off chasers Southampton.

Sky: Until then, it seemed that a Che Adams goal would be enough for Southampton to keep pace with the three sides above them in the Championship table.

Watford Observer: RECAP: Watford 1 Southampton 1

Healey the hero as Hornets snatch dramatic late point

‘The evolution of the team is there to see’ – Ismael

BHappy: this was a tremendous game of football however run-of-the-mill a 1-1 scoreline might appear.  It carried all of the hallmarks of a fine work of theatre…  heroes, villains, complex subplots, skulduggery, drama and a fabulous closing twist.   Despite the biting wind that rattled through the Rookery pre-match, necessitating emergency purchase of hat and gloves from the wide range wisely stocked in the in-stand Hornet Shop stalls, Daughter 2 left the stadium glowing with excitement.  We don’t know how this campaign will end – it’s quite plausible that we’ll be in a comparable mid-table irrelevance to last year but irrespective of that this is already hugely more enjoyable than any season since the pandemic.

Fran’s Watford Blog: It was an impressive performance from the Hornets who easily matched a team that are flying high in the Championship.  The first half had been very cagey.  The second was more open and the Hornets could easily have won the game.  The equaliser was certainly no more than they deserved, and the timing elicited a mad celebration and ensured that all the Watford fans went home happy.  The team continue to look solid and are playing with a confidence that was completely missing earlier in the season.  It was a great team performance, but the plaudits will go to Rhys Healey for striking the winner as well as launching a number of late throws into the box in a manner that we haven’t seen since the days of Lee Sinnott.

From the Rookery End: A speculative shot and awesome throw in saw Rhys Healey score his first goal for the Hornets and grab a last minute draw against Southampton. Jon, DCW, Mike and Jason look back at the game plus our Jon talked to John Preston, author of the new Watford book “Watford Forever” written in collaboration with Sir Elton John. And, with the sad passing of Martin Patching this week, we share an article he wrote for Watofrd fanzine, ‘Look to the Stars’ about his final game at Watford, whrere he scored a goal and we beat Liverpool to finish second in the top division.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67598466