Category Archives: August

30th August 2022- Championship, Watford 2 Middlesbrough 1

This game was the 100th anniversary of the first ever game played at Vicarage Road.

https://www.watfordfc.com/post-match/watford-mens-team-middlesbrough-first-team-2022-08-30/statistics

BBC Sport: Vakoun Bayo scored a stoppage-time winner for Watford as they beat Middlesbrough 2-1 on a historic night at Vicarage Road.

Sky Sports: Watford wore black and white striped shirts – a replica of the kit they wore in 1922 – for this one after the centenary had been marked by a pyrotechnics display, Elton John music and chats with former Hornets favourites.

BHappy: The thing is, it isn’t like anywhere else.  Other places…  homes, schools, where you work… might have similar long standing but nowhere has this permanence in significance and role.  None of it looks like it did when I first came in 1980, not even the now-more-green-than-brown stuff in the middle.  There are no longer busses visible trundling along the top of the northern end of the ground.  There’s no longer a hotchpotch of bits of stand and terracing down the east side, nor is there any longer a place where you can swap panini stickers (is there?). The Shrodells Stand has long gone, as has the Watford Observer Clock (though – spoiler alert – only as far as the Museum’s excellent commemorative exhibition).

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62641671

27th August 2022- Championship, Watford 2 Queens Park Rangers 3

https://www.watfordfc.com/post-match/watford-mens-team-queens-park-rangers-first-team-2022-08-27/statistics

Attendance: 19,977

BBC Sport: Substitute Albert Adomah scored the winner for Queens Park Rangers to end Watford’s unbeaten start in the Championship.

Sky Sports: Ilias Chair and Chris Willock were also on target for Michael Beale’s side, who won for the first time away from Loftus Road under their new head coach. Ken Sema and Joao Pedro had equalised for Watford, who saw a late goal ruled out for a questionable offside.

BHappy: Losing’s fine of course… well, not fine but certainly part of the tapestry, and a part that we’ve been all too familiar with over the past couple of years that we’ve been able to “enjoy” at Vicarage Road. This is different though, a different flavour of defeat to last season’s regular diet of inadequacy and helplessness.  This is stomp around scowling and looking for someone to argue with, nobody talk to me for a month frustration.  This is outrage at the unjustness and the AAAAARRRRGHHHH of it all.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62614069

20th August 2022- Championship, Preston North End 0 Watford 0

https://www.watfordfc.com/post-match/preston-north-end-first-team-watford-mens-team-2022-08-20/statistics

Attendance:15,317

BBC Sport: Preston North End played out a fourth goalless draw in five Championship games against a Watford side who also continued their unbeaten start to the season.

Sky Sports: The home side had the better of the first half, with Alan Browne and Ryan Ledson forcing saves from Daniel Bachmann. Vakoun Bayo and Rey Manaj squandered huge chances for the Hertfordshire side either side of the break.

BHappy: The team selection betrays a dilemma that would have been difficult to anticipate at the start of last season when, after promotion on the back of a solid defensive record we attempted to re-arm the attack.  Things didn’t go well for Ashley Fletcher, whose recruitment was surely with half an eye on the possibility that we wouldn’t get promoted in 2021, but if he’s the sixth cab off the rank for a newly promoted side (and without the benefit of “less than the sum of our parts” hindsight) you’re surely doing OK. But all six are unavailable for today’s game.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62529130

16th August 2022- Championship, Birmingham City 1 Watford 1

https://www.watfordfc.com/post-match/birmingham-city-first-team-watford-mens-team-2022-08-16/statistics

Attendance 16,811

BBC Sport: Watford preserved their unbeaten start in the Championship with a hard-fought draw against Birmingham at St Andrew’s.

Sky Sports: The Hornets, who were missing the injured Ismaila Sarr, failed to make the most of their chances and fell behind to George Hall’s first senior goal. Ken Sema finally found a way through with a second-half equaliser but the visitors missed the chance to go top of the Championship table.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62473320

12th August 2022- Championship, Watford 1 Burnley 0

https://www.watfordfc.com/post-match/watford-mens-team-burnley-first-team-2022-08-12

Attendance: 19,225

BBC: Tom Cleverley’s winner helped 10-man Watford extend their good start to the Championship season and end Burnley’s unbeaten start under Vincent Kompany.

The Guardian: Hassane Kamara was shown a straight red card for a professional foul nine minutes from time but the Clarets could not get the better of the home goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann and succumbed to their first defeat under Vincent Kompany.

8th August 2022- Championship, West Bromwich Albion 1 Watford 1

https://www.watfordfc.com/post-match/west-bromwich-albion-first-team-watford-mens-team-2022-08-08

Attendance: 22,365

BBC: Ismaila Sarr scored a spectacular David Beckham-style chip from his own half but then had a late penalty saved as Watford drew with West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns.

Sky: A moment of inspiration from Sarr illuminated a game that the home side dominated, firing Watford ahead against the run of play, with Daniel Bachmann’s trio of astounding saves immediately upstaged by the brilliance of the game’s opening goal.

The Guardian: Albion manager Steve Bruce admitted he was torn between applauding Sarr’s wonder goal and criticising Button. “Like everybody in the ground, did I want to applaud it or look at my goalkeeper, thinking ‘where are you?!”’ said Bruce. “It’s a wonderful piece of skill by a very good player. I think he looked to see where my goalkeeper was and he [Sarr] executed it.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/championship/scores-fixtures/2022-08?filter=results

1st August 2022- Championship, Watford 1 Sheffield United 0

BBC Sport: Rob Edwards made a winning start to life as Watford manager as Joao Pedro’s goal proved enough to beat Sheffield United in a highly-competitive Championship game at Vicarage Road.

https://www.watfordfc.com/post-match/watford-mens-team-sheffield-united-first-team-2022-08-01/statistics

Attendance:19,536

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/championship/scores-fixtures/2022-07
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/championship/table

29th August 2021- Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur 1 Watford 0

Attendance: 57,672

BBC Sport: Juraj Kucka twice failed to capitalise on good opportunities to score and Emmanuel Dennis also gave Spurs some uncomfortable moments.

Sky Sports: Watford reacted well after the break, creating two big chances. First, Kucka lashed over the bar in acres of space from Sarr’s centre, before Josh King got in Sarr’s way eight yards out as he looked to turn home from a Moussa Sissoko cut back.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58295881

BHappy: There are a fair few “free hits” in the Premier League, and there’s a frustration here in that having been within a slug of a mugging we couldn’t find that goal, deserved or otherwise, or better still kept that free kick out.  Nonetheless.  We’re at a stage where the team is virtually brand new;  to look so convincing so quickly, albeit without points today, is no bad thing.  We need to hit the ground running with an attractive looking run of games coming after the international break, but on this evidence you’d back us to add to our tally.

From the Rookery End: After a respectable 1-0 lose away at Tottenham Hotspur, Jon, Mike and Jason talk through a far more postive performance than 7 days ago in Brighton. With changes across the team the boys reflect on the strengths and weaknesses but find themselves in a better place than last weekend.

24th August 2021- League Cup Second Round, Watford 1 Crystal Palace 0

WFC.NET Jon Marks goal commentary: 1

Attendance: 9,011

BBC Sport: Watford, who only had one shot in the first half, improved after the break with Troost-Ekong and Hernandez both having chances before the latter found space down the left swing, cut back and curled over a delightful cross for Fletcher, who joined the club on a free transfer after leaving Middlesbrough this summer, to poke home.

Official site: Supporters enjoyed the first fixture under the lights of the new campaign, and although there wasn’t much action to speak of until the finish, a positive atmosphere buzzed around Vicarage Road throughout.

BHappy: I’d resigned myself to penalties, I suspect I wasn’t the only one… gazing across the pitch and wondering who might be up for a spot kick when suddenly one of those breaks connected, like a misfiring engine that suddenly, unexpectedly, clicks into gear.  Rose fed Cucho on the left, the Colombian cut a tremendous cross through to the far post where Fletcher was hurtling in to tuck the ball home.  The vigour of the celebration testified to the popularity of the goalscorer in the dressing room – whatever his future involvement there are worse ways to debut than scoring a late winner against Palace.

From the Rookery End: As Watford defeat Crystal Palace in the League Cup, Jon, Mike and DCW look at the player who impressed and who might be staking a claim for a starting spot in the Premier League.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021%E2%80%9322_EFL_Cup