Match Report: Watford 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Watford continue push for survival with point against Tottenham Hotspur

Watford and Tottenham Hotspur share spoils in Premier League draw

Nigel Pearson says Watford deserve ‘incredible credit’ for performance in Tottenham Hotspur draw

Watford players rated following Tottenham Hotspur stalemate

Craig Dawson praised Watford’s team spirit after Tottenham Hotspur point

Ignacio Pussetto’s goal-line clearance denied Tottenham a last-minute winner at Watford by just 10.04mm in a goalless draw at Vicarage Road.

Troy Deeney saw his spot-kick saved, but the Hornets extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to seven matches.

The truth was that Spurs started well, without causing Ben Foster any real moments of concern. By the half- hour, however, Watford were on top and during the first 15 minutes of the second half should have taken the lead. Their penalty came in the 69th minute, the result of incessant pressure that culminated in Jan Vertonghen desperately blocking a shot from Gerard Deulofeu with his arm. Deeney stepped up to take it, but his shot was soft and too close to Paolo Gazzaniga’s right hand. It was Deeney’s third miss in his past six Premier League penalties.

As it happened

In the minutes added on at the end of the game, the Watford substitute Ignacio Pussetto, an Argentine winger making his debut for the club, cleared one off the line that Erik Lamela had managed to steer past Ben Foster. The goal decision system later revealed that it was the breadth of an orange peel away from being the winner, which meant that Watford could also consider one point a good return.

It’s not a great penalty, very savable if the keeper goes the right way…  harsh to blame Troy really who more than pulls his weight throughout, but I’d always prefer he missed by absolutely spanking it if he’s going to miss at all.  Call me childish, but there’s great satisfaction in seeing the ball hit as hard as he did at Wembley.

From behind the goal it didn’t look to have crossed the line and the referee waved his ‘watch’ at the protesting Spurs players to indicate that they had not scored.  That was the last action of the game.  It had been a decent goalless draw.  The visitors had started the game strongly with the Hornets sitting very deep, but Watford came back into it and had a couple of decent chances.  Both defences played pretty well, and the forwards from both sides were very wasteful.

No goals? No problem! Jon, Jas, Jordi and Mike run the rule over another decent Watford performance as the recovery under Nigel Pearson continues. As well as looking forward to what could be one of the busiest Watford weeks of football, the boys try and choose their most improved Pearson era performer. It’s another From the Rookery End podcast!

The Guardian’s football cartoonist David Squires featured the game in his strip printed the following week.