Tag Archives: West Ham United

8th February 2022- Premier League, West Ham United 1 Watford 0

This game took place in the wake of the release of a video showing West Ham’s Kurt Zouma kicking a cat. There were calls for him to be dropped for the game which were ignored by Hammers boss David Moyes. Zouma was eventually sentenced to 180 community service and banned from keeping cats for 5 years. His cats were rehomed by the RSPCA.

Attendance: 59,581

BBC Sport: West Ham climbed back into the Premier League’s top four with a narrow victory over Roy Hodgson’s Watford, as Kurt Zouma controversially started for the home side.

Sky Sports: Bowen netted the winner for the Hammers on 68 minutes when his speculative effort from range deflected past a helpless Ben Foster. It was tough on Watford, who looked set for a second clean sheet in a row under Roy Hodgson in a much improved defensive showing.

The Guardian: There was, though, a much-needed reminder of football’s heart with West Ham paying tribute to seven-year-old Isla Caton who tragically passed away recently following a five-year battle with neuroblastoma. A moving message from her mother, Nikki, lit up the big screens pre-match and a pair of warmly observed minutes’ applause followed.

Fran’s Watford Blog: The game kicked off and the first thing to note was the boos (mostly from the away end) every time that Zouma got the ball.  On 7 minutes the mood changed as Isla’s picture appeared on the big screen and everyone in the ground stood and applauded.

28th December 2021- Premier League, Watford 1 West Ham United 4

Attendance: 20,073

BBC Sport: The Hammers had gone into the game with just one win in seven games – a run that had seen them seemingly slip out of contention for the Champions League places. It looked like the slump was going to continue when Emmanuel Dennis knocked the ball past Craig Dawson in the fourth minute before firing a superb strike into the top corner.

Sky Sports: Less than two and a half minutes after they had led, Watford were behind. Michail Antonio’s run to the byline gave him time to look up and find Benrahma, who went one better from his earlier effort and beat Daniel Bachmann courtesy of a kind nick off Adam Masina (29).

BHappy: We held the lead for 23 minutes, none of them comfortable.  West Ham gained in belief as they kept coming at us; our supine midfield didn’t lay a punch on theirs and the lack of defensive shape was such that the most perfunctory of attacks caused yellow shirts to scatter like marbles.  Much play continued to be focused down West Ham’s left, either because of the threat posed by Benrahma – who provided the nearest thing to an equaliser before there was one, smacking a shot off the top of the bar – or because of a perceived vulnerability in Kiko or both.  There’s got to be dollops of mitigation ladled in here by the way, since however horrific we don’t know who and how much and in what way individuals were affected by viruses;  given the absence of Ngakia from the bench, the drop in Kiko’s level from the kick-off and the Spaniard’s withdrawal five minutes before the interval, it’s difficult to suppose anything other than a case of “well I’ll give it a go, boss”.

Fran’s Watford Blog: The one positive that we could come up with was the thought that, if Sissoko had equalised, it would have been a very different match.  But Fabianski pulled off a great save and the Watford defence made it far too easy for the Hammers.  There were a lot of misplaced passes and Sierralta was clearly very rusty. 

17th July 2020- Premier League, West Ham United 3 Watford 1

OS Watford FC Match Preview

Watford Observer Nigel Pearson expects tough match with Watford and West Ham fighting for survival

Nigel Pearson hopes he will still be Watford head coach next season

Referee: Martin Atkinson
Paying Attendance: 0
First half
Second half
Troy Deeney 49, 1-3

OS Watford FC Post Match

A defeat here was definitely not what the doctor ordered, especially when it eroded the goal difference in the process. The confidence and belief will have taken a hit and everyone will be watching Bournemouth take on Southampton on Sunday from behind the sofa, but alas the season now boils down to 180 minutes, albeit excruciating ones, and the Hornets go into that with a three-point buffer, however precarious that may look. There is hope, there is belief and it’s still all very much to play for. Yes, the last two look difficult on paper, but games are never won and lost on paper. Liverpool at home in February looked difficult on a sheet of A4

Watford Observer Watford defeated on the road at West Ham United

Two early goals from Michail Antonio and Tomas Soucek were added to by a stunning Declan Rice effort that meant Troy Deeney’s second-half consolation strike was ultimately of little consequence and that the Hornets have plenty of work to do in their remaining fixtures with Manchester City and Arsenal

Nigel Pearson claims Watford defeat at West Ham was ‘annoying’ and a ‘missed opportunity’

Watford players rated after losing away at West Ham United

Will Hughes claims Watford did not do the basics in West Ham defeat

BBC Sport Heading into the game, the Hornets had shown decent form by picking up back-to-back victories but a desperately poor first half could prove fatal. Pearson’s men remain perilously placed – they need four points to be certain of staying up but finish the season with a daunting home fixture against Pep Guardiola’s City and a trip to Arsenal

Watford: Troy Deeney denies fight at half-time rumours at West Ham

sky With both sides locked on 34 points and three above the drop zone ahead of kick, the match was billed as somewhat of a relegation cup final, but there were no cup final nerves from West Ham.

guardian Minute by minute

Watford deserved nothing despite a belated rally. They were timid without Étienne Capoue in midfield, shambolic at the back and incapable of containing West Ham’s attackers, who ripped the game away from the visitors inside the first 10 minutes.

Telegraph“There’s no getting away from the fact this result is bitterly disappointing,” said Pearson, who appeared to be struggling to contain his anger afterwards. “It’s a really poor result for us. It’s a case of finding solutions. I’ll look at it again and the players will get honest feedback. There isn’t time to dwell on it. It was not good enough.”

BHappy imageThe sound of a bucket clunking on the bottom of an empty well seems pretty appropriate, on this occasion. Early on this Saturday morning, the morning after, the sun is shining. Blue sky, bluer sea, fresh breeze. Tea, but not yet breakfast. I can hear Fred in the living room, cooing at a programme about puppies. Andrea’s having a lie-in. It isn’t a day to be wasted on inquests. What would that achieve?

24th August 2019- Premier League, Watford 1 West Ham United 3

1-1

Watford 1 – 3 West Ham United

Winless Watford face West Ham United in the Premier League

West Ham United send Watford to third straight defeat at start of season

Watford vs West Ham United: Javi Gracia left to rue shortcomings at both ends

Watford players rated after home defeat to West Ham United

A selection of images from Watford’s defeat to West Ham United

Tom Cleverley wants Watford players to hold themselves accountable after West Ham United defeat

Andre Gray wants Watford to forget last season and move on

The Hornets shot themselves in the foot inside two minutes when Abdoulaye Doucoure caught Manuel Lanzini in the box, and Mark Noble stepped up to slot home from the spot on his 350th Premier League appearance.

But Watford responded to level with a well-worked Andre Gray goal, with the forward drilling home a right-foot shot from Will Hughes’ pass. However, the Hornets were punished for their wastefulness in front of goal with just three of their 23 shots finding the target.

Only Hughes will know how he did not improve that ratio when, in the 55th minute, he met Gray’s fizzed centre at the far post after the striker had skipped around Lukasz Fabianski. It was a sitter but, perhaps seeing the ball late, Hughes turned it wide from a matter of inches.

Reprieved, West Ham recovered some of the momentum they had at the start of the game and quickly punished the hosts for their failures in front of goal when Haller restored the Hammers’ lead in the 64th minute, turning home Felipe Anderson’s low cross. Haller’s second then came eight minutes later after Michail Antonio met Lanzini’s corner with a header that Ben Foster tipped onto the bar with the French striker reacting well to head home the rebound from close range.

We’ve played indisputably the best football we’ve played this season, and we’ve lost by two clear goals.  For the first time since promotion, we’re in trouble.

The post-match mood was sombre.  As last week against Everton, we faced a team that we could and should have beaten, but we were undone by our lack of clinical finishing and the generosity of our defence.  Dawson is getting a lot of criticism, but he was left exposed by Femenía who certainly adds to our attacking options but is so often missing in defence.  I was encouraged by a lot of the forward play but, too often, the players wait for the perfect sight of goal and end up losing out to a defender.

Not Jumping off the deep end

12th May 2019- Premier League, Watford 1 West Ham United 4

Referee:
Chris Kavanagh
Attendance:
20,067
1-2

Watford unable to seal top ten finish in final day loss to West Ham United

Watford vs West Ham United: Jose Holebas to miss FA Cup final after sending off in heavy Hornets defeat

Javi Gracia confirms Watford to appeal Jose Holebas sending off in West Ham United defeat

Individual player ratings for Watford’s heavy final day defeat

Jose Holebas will be available for the FA Cup final after red card is rescinded

Mark Noble scored twice as West Ham thrashed 10-man Watford 4-1 at Vicarage Road to leapfrog their hosts and secure a top-half finish in the Premier League

Gerard Deulofeu briefly gave Watford hope as he scored 11 seconds into the second half, but just two minutes later the hosts were reduced to 10 men as Holebas was dismissed for hauling back Antonio.

As warm-ups for Wembley finals go, this was a pretty tortuous audition for Watford. With an end-of-season vibe in the stands, this was always going to be the sideshow to the main event of the FA Cup final next Saturday but 10-man Watford spectacularly imploded against a clinical West Ham to hand Manuel Pellegrini’s side a top-half finish at their expense.

The normally ice-cool Gracia was left incandescent by an extremely harsh red card for José Holebas, who now looks set to miss the biggest game of his life. It was history cruelly repeating itself after Watford’s captain Wilf Rostron was suspended for the 1984 final after being sent off undeservedly at derby rivals Luton.

I still have not got over the injustice done to Wilf Rostron in 1984.  My sister took a banner to the final declaring “Wilf is Innocent”.  I have never forgiven either Roger Milford or Paul Elliott for their parts in him missing the cup final.  The thought that Jose Holebas, who has become a bit of a cult figure for his Eeyore-like demeanour but has also been one of our best players this season, was going to miss the final broke my heart.  I have to say that it was a good thing that I chose to work from home today as, when the news came through that the red card had been overturned, I sobbed uncontrollably.  Suddenly there is a good omen for next Saturday.  Jose is innocent and the Hornets have the opportunity to choose from their best players for the final.  Our chances are slim, but in a cup game you never know.  As long as we all take our best game to Wembley, we have a chance. Oh, there go those nerves again.

A disappointing finale to an otherwise fantastic season. Frustrating to have finished in the bottom half of the Premier League, but don’t let that fool you…A record points total and an FA Cup Final still to look forward to. Progress. That’s all we wanted at the start of the season and we got it. Next season we aim to progress further.

22nd December 2018- Premier League, West Ham United 0 Watford 2

Referee:
Lee Mason
Attendance:
56,833

Jon Marks BBC 3CR commentary   Goals:  1  2

Relive our coverage of Watford’s victory at West Ham United

West Ham United vs Watford: Troy Deeney and Gerard Deulofeu end Hamers’ winning run

West Ham United vs Watford: Troy Deeney makes no apology for goal celebration

Watford player ratings: How we scored the Hornets at West Ham United

IN PICTURES: Images from Watford’s win at West Ham United

Manager Javi Gracia praised captain Troy Deeney’s influence as his Watford team ended West Ham’s winning run to move up to seventh in the Premier League.

Deeney gave the visitors the lead in the 30th minute, stepping up to score his third goal of the season from the spot after Fabian Balbuena had brought down Roberto Pereyra. West Ham, who drop down to 12th, almost grabbed an equaliser early in the second half when Michail Antonio’s header rebounded off the post and the forward had another golden opportunity in the 85th minute, heading against the crossbar from close range after Ben Foster had denied Robert Snodgrass.

More than 30 years have elapsed since Watford embarked on their one and only campaign in Uefa competition but maybe it is time to start talking about the prospect of another one.

As we left the ground, there was much festive joy among the travelling Hornets and the concourse rang out to a loud chorus of “Jingle Bells (Oh what fun it is to see Watford win away)”.  

Three points away from home, a clean sheet and Marco Silva’s Everton conceding six? Sounds like someone received my Christmas wish list in the post.