Category Archives: September

2nd September 2023- Championship, Coventry City 3 Watford 3

https://www.watfordfc.com/match-report/match-report-coventry-city-3-3-watford

BBC: Mileta Rajovic’s double on his first Watford start was not enough to clinch victory as Coventry fought back three times to share the points in a thriller at the CBS Arena.

Sky: Mileta Rajovic’s opener was brilliantly cancelled out by Milan van Ewijk to leave the score 1-1 at half-time. Matheus Martins and a second from Rajovic had Watford ahead twice in the second half, but Wesley Hoedt’s own goal and Matt Godden’s late strike salvaged a point for the Sky Blues.

Watford Observer: Live Feed

For three games Watford struggled to score goals. Today that wasn’t the problem – it was giving them away down the other end that cost them all the points in a crazy 3-3 draw at Coventry.

BHappy: City’s second goal owed less to struggling with the demands of the new system than it did to a complacent and expensive lack of concentration.  At 2-1 for ten minutes or so early in the second half, we were bossing the game.  City looked beaten following Martins’ merciless strike, Watford were knocking it around and making the home side chase the ball.  Porteous’ pass across the back line to Hoedt didn’t place the Dutchman under particular pressure, but a moment’s hesitation as an opponent half-heartedly considered closing down saw him panic, turn away from the centre of the pitch and without looking play a firm back pass towards the goal.  No blame attached to Bachmann here – he has been told to be a passing option and so had to be a long way out of his goal. There’s no excuse for a back pass without a look, much less one that’s on target and with comic precision finds the narrow path between the goalkeeper’s tortured lunge and the inside post.   The away end slumped in stunned disbelief, the home stands were rejuvenated and the basketball resumed.

Fran’s Watford Blog: It was then Coventry’s turn to have a defensive shambles as Thomas played a short back pass, Bayo nipped in to pick it up and rolled it back to Rajović who prodded it past Wilson to give the Hornets the lead for the third time in the game. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66624456

17th September 2022- Championship, Watford 2 Sunderland 2

This was the first home game since the death of HRH Queen Elizabeth II. The programme had a special wraparound with a tribute from club CEO Scott Duxbury.

Attendance:19,767

BBC Sport: Jewison Bennette’s late equaliser earned Sunderland a draw at Vicarage Road to deny Watford a fourth home win of the season.

Sky Sports: Colombian teenager Yaser Asprilla curled a clever ball into space on the left for Hassane Kamara to chase. The full-back’s cross was shovelled into the path of Keinan Davis by Sunderland goalkeeper Patterson, leaving the on-loan Aston Villa striker the easiest of tap-ins on his first Watford start.

BHappy: We can’t implore the club to exercise more patience on the one hand and then turn on a young manager in a challenging position if things look a bit tricksy after ten games.

Fran’s Watford Blog: There were boos at the final whistle that were baffling to me.  This had been a hard fought game with a lot of skill shown by the Watford players.  The draw was a fair result as the Watford players had run out of steam by the end, which allowed the visitors to get back in the game, but it was not a performance that deserved to be booed.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62858313

13th September 2022- Championship, Blackburn Rovers 2 Watford 0

Attendance: 11,803

BBC Sport: Ryan Hedges and Dominic Hyam scored their first goals for Blackburn as they beat Watford in the Championship at Ewood Park.

Sky Sports: The scoreline scarcely did justice to Jon Dahl Tomasson’s men who hassled and harried their opponents who couldn’t match their hunger, workrate and quality.

BHappy: It’s bloody awful.  Or at least, we’re bloody awful… Blackburn do a reasonable job of looking like a competent football team.  So we’re bloody awful.  Or rather…   we’re not completely awful, but the bits that are awful are so awful that they render the less problematic bits sort of obsolete.  For instance, I don’t really think there’s much wrong with our defence as far as actual defending goes.  Nothing that something more cohesive going forward to release the pressure wouldn’t relegate to merely something to work on in the goodness of time, for all Christian Kabasele’s generosity with possession.  Kortney Hause’s number has come up on the “who’s missing today?” spinning dial – a worryingly non-specific sprained ankle depriving us of the option of his surges out of defence and swinging crossfield balls.

Fran’s Watford Blog:  It had been a dreadful performance.  The home side had completely dominated the first half and really should have been further ahead at the break.  I had hoped for better after a bright start to the second half, but it didn’t last long and the hosts were happy to sit back and catch us on the break.  It was a deserved win for them and a troubling loss for the Hornets.  The only player who came out of it with any pride was Bachmann. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62803562

3rd September 2022- Championship, Rotherham United 1 Watford 1

Attendance: 10,607

BBC Sport: Evergreen defender Richard Wood continued his fine run by heading in his fourth goal of the campaign to put the Millers ahead inside three minutes.

Sky Sports: The first bit of quality the visitors produced got them level on 33 minutes. Ken Sema wriggled free down the left flank and his cross was volleyed in emphatically by Bayo.

BHappy: The other significant contributor to the first half was Kortney Hause, making his full debut on the left side of the defence in front of us… indeed, so tall and broad is Hause that he blocked our view of much of the rest of the pitch during the first half from our position three rows back in the corner. 

Fran’s Watford Blog:  In the end, while winning a point away is always a good thing, on this occasion it felt like two points lost.  While we had been poor in the first 25 minutes or so, we dominated the rest of the game and really should have been more clinical with our finishing.  Bayo has come in for a lot of criticism but has scored twice in the last two games and only the post stopped him getting the winner.  Asprilla looked very bright in the second half.  He doesn’t always make the right decisions, but he does get in some great positions and is fun to watch.  Hause is a beast and had a very impressive game indeed.  Davis also impressed in his cameo.  These guys all need some time to bed in and get to know each other’s games, but I am confident that we will soon see the best of them and will start putting in more impressive performances.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62696868

25th September 2021- Premier League, Watford 1 Newcastle United 1

WFC.Net Jon Mark’s Goal Commentary: 1

Watford

Newcastle United

BBC Sport: Sean Longstaff gave Newcastle the lead, but Ismaila Sarr levelled for the improved hosts after the break.

Sky Sports: Vicarage Road then erupted with one minute to go when King fired home from close range but referee Jarred Gillett – the first overseas official to referee a Premier League game – was instructed to disallow the goal by VAR for offside.

BHappy: If there’s anything more enjoyable than scratching and fighting and shithousing your way to an away win it’s depriving an opponent of doing so.  The few seconds between Joshua King tucking away the loose ball after João Pedro’s tidy lay-off had set up Sissoko to drive at Darlow were a wonderful thing but  it wasn’t to be.  Referee Gillett rubbed salt into the wound unnecessarily by getting his handpointing all wrong and invoking a second abortive goal celebration, but VAR confirmed that Newcastle’s offside trap was in better working order than ours had been and King had stepped beyond it.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58606474