Wednesday was the 6th anniversary of Toddy’s passing. He was a great friend to me, and I have so many happy memories of following the Hornets with him. The post-match discussions of exciting games often mention how much Toddy would have enjoyed that. I am sure glasses were raised by many of his friends before the match.
The journey to Watford was eventful. There was an obstruction on the line in the Harrow area, so no Overground trains were running and there were delays to the mainline services. I was initially on the 16:39 which had just started moving when there was a loud bang. We were all ushered off and eventually boarded the late-running 16:54, which was absolutely heaving. Luckily, I got a seat. The rain was falling heavily for the walk to the West Herts, which was sparsely populated when I arrived. Surprisingly, Don was in place, he is usually on his way to the ground at that time, but Trond was stuck in traffic. Our numbers were sparse as many had decided to watch from home on what promised to be a filthy evening.
Team news was that Ismaël had made just one change from the Birmingham game as Koné came in for Dele-Bashiru. So, the starting XI was Bachmann; Morris, Hoedt, Porteous, Ngakia; Koné, Sierralta, Louza; Martins, Rajović, Ince.
The Hornets started brilliantly taking the lead in the third minute. It was a lovely team goal as Morris released Martins, he broke down the left and the ball was played, via Koné and Louza, to Ince who curled a beautiful shot into the top corner. The visitors hit back after 14 minutes. Ngakia lost out, Bachmann had to come out to make a save, but there was danger from the loose ball, so Ngakia was forced to concede a free kick. Swift’s delivery flew over the wall, Bachmann misjudged the flight of the ball and was moving away from it as it hit the net. The Hornets had a half chance to regain the lead as Louza hit a shot from distance, but it was straight at the keeper. It was the visitors who took the lead with a second goal in 3 minutes. Morris was dispossessed and Furlong crossed into the box for Wallace to turn it in. But the Hornets were not behind for long as Martins raced down the left wing before cutting in and curling a lovely effort past Palmer in the West Brom goal. It was breathless stuff. The first booking of the game went to Molumby for a late tackle on Louza. The next chance fell to Martins, but a defensive head got in the way of his shot. Then Martins crossed for Rajović, but his connection was poor. Martins had the next chance himself, but his shot flew wide of the near post. The Hornets should have regained the lead with the next chance as Morris won the ball in midfield and found Martins, he passed to Koné in the box, the keeper came out to meet him and he shot over the target. It was a great move that deserved a goal. At the other end, Wallace crossed for Swift whose effort cleared the bar. It was end-to-end stuff as Martins played the ball back to Ince whose shot flew over the bar. It had been a rollercoaster half of football. Both sides put together some decent moves, but equally both were guilty of giving the ball away.
At half time, the club marked World Alzheimer’s day by welcoming guests from the Alzheimer’s Society. There was mention of the Trust’s Golden Memories scheme which caters for fans with dementia, and it was lovely to hear that the sensory room had been given over to supporters that have attended that scheme so that fans with dementia could attend the game in a safe environment. There was also a presentation for Organ Donation Week which highlighted the importance of signing up for organ donation.
The first incident of note in the second half was a booking for Porteous for a foul on Thomas-Asante. The resultant free kick led to a bit of a goalmouth scramble before the Hornets finally cleared the ball. The visitors had the first chance of the second half with a decent shot from distance by Thomas-Asante that needed a great save from Bachmann to tip it over. It had been raining all evening but by this point it was absolutely chucking it down. Just before the hour mark both sides made triple substitutions. For the Hornets, Ngakia, Morris and Ince made way for Andrews, Lewis and Asprilla. For the Baggies, Townsend, Sarmiento and Mowatt replaced Phillips, Swift and Molumby. There were shouts for a penalty when Kipré went through Andrews in the box. It appeared to be a nasty foul, but the referee was unmoved.
The Hornets then had a great chance to regain the lead as Asprilla crossed for Koné whose powerful header was on target, but Palmer made a great save and pushed it onto the bar, the loose ball came to Andrews who had a shot blocked. Porteous had been injured during that passage of play and was soon replaced by Pollock. The visitors threatened again as deep cross by Sarmiento was met by the head of Furlong, but his effort was straight at Bachmann. There was then a lovely move by the Hornets as a great ball found Asprilla, he crossed for Martins, who was unable to take advantage, the ball ran through to Lewis whose shot was saved at the near post, the follow-up from Martins was blocked. The visitors made another change and Nathaniel Chalobah was given a warm welcome from the Vicarage Road faithful as he replaced Wallace. The Hornets also made a change with Bayo coming on in place of Martins. The Hornets nearly played themselves into trouble as Hoedt gave the ball away to Sarmiento, he found Thomas-Asante, but Bachmann did really well to block the shot. Watford threatened again as Asprilla won the ball and played in Bayo, but the attentions of a defender meant that he could only win a corner. At the other end, the visitors threatened with a low cross, but nobody was there to turn it in. Watford had one final chance to grab a winner as Asprilla got into the box, but his shot flew just wide, so the game finished with honours even.
In the end, a draw was probably a fair result. All of the goals had been in the first 20 minutes, but both teams had chances to win it in the second half and had their keepers to thank for making terrific saves. The conditions had been horrible, so misplaced passes could be excused, and I was glad that the weather didn’t lead to any catastrophic errors. Watford’s game is still annoyingly error strewn, but the attacking threat continues, and it was a very entertaining game for those that braved the elements.
If the conditions were bad on the pitch, they were horrendous in the Rookery. The water had built up on the roof and came streaming down, drenching us. We had to move to seats that were not under the deluge. As we left, there was a river streaming down the steps in the Rookery, so we were surprised to emerge onto Occupation Road into slight drizzle. After the final whistle the tannoy played “Why Does it Always Rain on Me”. I couldn’t help a wry smile even though I was absolutely drenched. Thankfully the journey home was uneventful. I was certainly glad to be back in the warm and, all in all, it was an evening well spent.
Fran's Watford Blog 