Graham Scott
Attendance:
29,164
Highlights: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Watford
Gallery: Tottenham Hotspur v Watford
Cathcart: “We’re Disappointed, But It’s A Good Sign”
Gracia: “A Big Chance Missed”
Match Report: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Watford
Watford lose 2-1 to Tottenham Hotspur after taking a first half lead
Watford see advantage slip as Tottenham Hotspur claim late win
Tottenham Hotspur vs Watford: Javi Gracia rues not adding to points tally
Watford’s players rated from their 2-1 defeat at Wembley against Tottenham Hotspur
Ben Foster thinks Watford deserved more after disappointing defeat at Tottenham Hotspur
Javi Gracia has said Watford striker Isaac Success should ‘behave better’ after ball boy incident at Wembley
Such is the media obsession with the ‘big six’ that the following four reports barely contain a mention of us.
Watford were a little more than 10 minutes away from their first league double over Tottenham.
clips of Jon Marks BBC 3CR commentary Goals:
Isaac Success put Watford ahead, goals from Alli and Erik Lamela made it 2-1 before Etienne Capoue equalised.
If you want my personal opinion on playing at a neutral venue, I thought it was an absolute farce and makes a mockery of the whole competition. If you are entering a cup competition and you know full well you will not be able to fulfill a fixture, you either agree to reverse it and play away from home, or you don’t enter the competition at all.
clips of Jon Marks BBC 3CR commentary Goals: 
Watford came from behind to maintain their 100 per cent start to the season as two quickfire headers gave them a 2-1 win over Tottenham at Vicarage Road on Super Sunday.
Tottenham had scored a fortuitous opener as Watford midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure bundled into his own net but, after winning their first four league games for the first time in 30 years, it is the Hornets who join Liverpool and Chelsea on maximum points at the top of the table.
To the delight of Elton John, who sat in the posh seats, and every one of their other supporters, it was Watford rather than Tottenham who maintained their 100% start to the season. It is four wins out of four for them in the league and, for the first time since 1987, Watford triumphed in this fixture.
Next up for Watford, after the international break, are Manchester United and a group of players with their own vulnerabilities. The likes of Deeney, unapologetically destructive on days like these, will target United’s pressure points with snarl and venom. “He is the captain, the spirit” said Gracia. “You can see always his example. He has not changed, he wants to win.”
Having had to man the barricades at the end of the first half, Spurs’ goal came from nothing eight minutes into the second. A loose clearance, an aimless low cutback from Moura and a freak deflection off Doucouré that wrong-footed Foster. The sort of goal that would normally be a hammer blow. “You don’t give away goals like that against teams like this. It can’t be our day. They haven’t had to do much to earn that…”.
There was a certain inevitability to the goal and we settled back to witness the defeat that was sure to come. But the players were of a completely different mindset and the goal seemed to galvanise them into action. First Gray hit a powerful shot that was just over the bar. Then Deeney hit a shot across goal that took a deflection off Vertonghen before coming back off the inside of the post. So close! Spurs were rattled and Dembélé went into the referee’s book for pulling down Hughes. Holebas took the resulting free kick which was met by Deeney who powered the header home to level the game and send the Rookery wild.
I had been saying “take a point” in my mind throughout the week leading up to this game. Suddenly though, it felt as though all three points were a very real possibility. As a corner came in, again a pinpoint delivery from Holebas, Craig Cathcart nodded it into the Rookery End net and Vicarage Road erupted. I had never seen us beat Spurs in my whole life. In fact, the last time we beat Spurs I would have only been 1 year old, back in 1994.
Harry Kane scored in Tottenham’s routine 2-0 win over Watford to reopen their five-point cushion over Chelsea in the race for a top-four finish.
Spurs capitalised on an error from Hornets goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis as Christian Eriksen set up Alli and the England midfielder scored from 12 yards out. Kane doubled Spurs’ lead early in the second half from Kieran Trippier’s pull-back and Jan Vertonghen later headed against the post.
The game was played in a subdued atmosphere, with plenty of empty seats dotted around the ground, and Spurs were often there for the taking. There was a slight air of edginess about their play and Pochettino frowned at his team’s tentativeness in the final third, especially when Kane spurned a decent shooting opportunity with an awkward piece of control in the 12th minute. Watford sensed an opportunity to exploit that unease, showing inventiveness on the break, and Spurs’ defenders were relieved to see Hugo Lloris deny Andre Gray in the 25th minute.
It’s always a special occasion to watch Watford play at Wembley. It’s just nice to see us lose to someone other than Crystal Palace there for a change.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino says his side will learn from “suffering things against us” after Spurs drew against Watford.
Tottenham were forced to settle for a point at Watford after coming from behind and then having Davinson Sanchez sent off in a feisty 1-1 draw at Vicarage Road. 
What conclusions should be drawn from this bracing encounter between two teams determined to give no quarter? Was it two points dropped for Spurs as their run without a Premier League win extended to four matches? Or was it a point earned, after being forced to play most of the second half with 10 men? For Watford, should they have taken greater advantage of the dismissal of Davinson Sánchez in the 52nd minute? Or had they proven they can go toe to toe with the big teams and compete?
It is rare that a referee gets booed off the pitch by both sets of fans, but Martin Atkinson managed to upset the supporters of Watford and Tottenham at the end of a hard-fought draw in which the visitors had to play almost 40 minutes with ten men.
Football isn’t supposed to be played in the summer, that’s the maxim. It’s a winter sport. The mental image of condensation on your breath, scarves and hats, cups of bovril, stamping your feet to keep warm is a romantic one, the clichéd “can they hack it on a December midweek in Stoke” a derisive put-down to your fancy dan foreign types. They can’t, is the implication. Not being British obviously makes them inferior because they don’t make them tough wherever it is that they’re from whereas we’ve done it. We’ve been to Stoke midweek, braved the elements and the parking and the food, and we’re tougher for it. It’s still bollocks though. Cold isn’t fun, cold and wet less so. This is, admittedly, an intro that could have been more aptly stored up until Stoke away midweek in January… but the elements were an overriding consideration today as the clammy damp chill clung to your cheeks and any attempt to make a noise was muffled by suffocating condensation. It was Spurs at home, a vitriolic bad-tempered affair typical of this fixture, and yet the atmosphere had none of Tuesday’s bravado. Damp, cold. Slightly sullen.
While we really should have had a last minute penalty, a draw was a fair result and I would certainly have taken a point before the game. To be disappointed with a draw against Tottenham shows how far we have come and it was a very entertaining game. We have played all of the top six now and have only been outplayed by Manchester City. It will be a tough trip to Burnley next week, but the Premier League is finally a fun place for Watford fans and that is something to relish.
