I arrived at King’s Cross in plenty of time for my train. I didn’t expect it to be boarding yet but was a little perturbed to see that the train had not yet arrived in the station. I checked the app and found out that the train that we would be travelling on was running 90 minutes late, which meant that we would have a very late departure. Due to the LNER strike, there were very few trains running so the Hull Trains train was fully booked and there was an announcement that, if you didn’t have a seat booked, you should head for coach A. When the platform was announced, a large number of people, many of them dragging cases, started sprinting for the train. Luckily, I did have a seat booked, but had to turf a fellow Watford fan out of it as the seat reservations were not showing. It was a relief to finally get going and have my breakfast of coffee and a rather excellent bacon roll.
On arrival in Hull, I headed for our designated pub. The table was well attended, but they had saved a seat for me, and I was soon settled with a beer and a rather delicious steak sandwich. We gave ourselves plenty of time to get to the ground, which was just as well as the bridge that takes you to the stadium was coated in black ice. Thankfully we arrived without mishap. Given the train strike and the delay, I was just happy to be there in time for kick-off.
Team news was that Ismaël kept an unchanged team after the win against Norwich, so Bachmann had a seat on the bench on his return from suspension. The starting XI was Hamer; Lewis, Hoedt, Porteous, Andrews; Koné, Kayembe, Livermore; Sema, Rajović, Asprilla. Tufan was on the bench for Hull and the announcement of his name was booed by the travelling Hornets.
When we reached our seats, they were occupied by some kids who, when they were displaced, moved to the front of the block to our left. When the game kicked off, it was quickly apparent that their location was chosen so that they could spend the game gesturing at the home fans to our right.
The home side had an early chance to open the scoring as Morton met a cross from Coyle with a header, Hamer pushed it clear, the ball came out to Jones whose effort flew well over the bar. The first chance for the Hornets came after Sema cut the ball back to Rajović, he moved it on to Koné but the shot was way too high. The Hornets took the lead after 7 minutes when Lewis exchanged passes with Sema, running into the box to receive the return pass, he played the ball back for Kayembe who blasted past Allsop sparking joyous celebrations in the away end. At this point, the kids ran across from the next block to goad the home supporters. They were soon rounded up by the stewards and sent back to their seats. The home side were level a couple of minutes later when Delap went on a great run into the box, this was stopped by a brilliant tackle from Hoedt but, sadly, the ball fell kindly for Twine who found the bottom corner. The home side had a decent chance to take the lead after Philogene robbed Asprilla and went on a run before taking a shot that was caught by Hamer. The next chance for the Hornets came after Asprilla played a through ball to Lewis, he played it back to Koné who found Kayembe, whose shot on this occasion flew well over the bar. The home side threatened again as Delap broke forward before finding Philogene whose shot from outside the box was tipped over by Hamer.
The next chance for the home side was a shot from distance by Lokilo that flew high and wide. The next Hornets attack came after Livermore dispossessed Jones on the edge of the box and found Rajović who played the ball back when he should have tried a shot. At the other end a defensive header fell to Christie whose shot was high and wide. The first booking of the game went to Andrews for a tackle on Philogene. It was a silly tackle as the Hull man was in a defensive position. Hamer was called into action again meeting a shot from Seri with a punch, the ball eventually ended up with Philogene who shot wide of the far post. The Hornets had a chance to regain the lead before the interval after Sema went on a tremendous run through the Hull defence, there were a few passes around the box before the ball reached Koné who hit a lovely chip which Allsop had to stretch to push clear. The Hornets put together another good move involving Asprilla and Lewis who crossed for Porteous whose effort was not on target and he was penalised for a push anyway. There was one last chance before the break as Asprilla went on a run and unleashed a shot that was deflected for a corner, there was no time to take it. The half time whistle went with honours even after a very decent showing by the Hornets. Too often they have set up to defend away from home, but on this occasion, there was much more attacking play which meant that the game was very entertaining. Andy, who is one of the Happy Valley Horns and generally only attends games in the north, said it was the best that he had seen us play all season.
The Hornets had the first chance of the second half, a Sema free kick was met by a defensive head, but the ball fell to Hoedt whose shot was wild so did not trouble Allsop. The home side then had a great chance as Philogene got on the end of a lovely ball from Seri before skipping around Porteous, but Hoedt was back to make a tremendous tackle and stop the shot. Disaster appeared to have struck in the 58th minute when, following a corner, Livermore tripped Greaves and the referee pointed to the spot. There were complaints by the Watford players, but we were behind the goal and, while I don’t think there was any intent, it was a definite trip. Philogene stepped up to take the penalty, he went to Hamer’s right and the Watford keeper went the right way and got a hand to the ball to keep it out. It was a great save and meant that we could breathe again. The home side were on top at this point and had another chance to take the lead when Twine turned and shot, but his effort was blocked by his own player. Delap was the next to threaten the Watford goal, but Hamer was equal to his shot. Delap created another chance soon after but this time his shot was just wide of the far post. On 64 minutes, both sides made a double substitution with Seri and Lokilo making way for Slater and Tufan, who was booed by the travelling Hornets, for the home side. For the Hornets, Ince and Bayo replaced Asprilla and Rajović.
The next chance for the home side came after another great run by Philogene but the shot was wide of the near post. It had been all Hull for a while, so it was great to see Lewis play a one-two with Bayo before unleashing a shot that needed a strong hand from Allsop to keep it out, Koné’s follow-up cleared the bar. The Hornets threatened again as Lewis played the ball out to Koné on the left, but the shot was saved. The Hornets regained the lead in the 74th minute and it was as unexpected as it was brilliant. Hoedt dispossessed Delap just inside the Hull half, spotted Allsop off his line and hit a gorgeous lob that dipped under the crossbar and found the net. The goal was at the opposite end of the field to us, so he ran the length of the field and clambered onto a hoarding to take the plaudits. The home side tried to hit back with a shot from Tufan that was wide of the near post. With 10 minutes remaining, each side made a further change as Connolly replaced Christie for the home side and Sema and Andrews made way for Sierralta and Pollock for the Hornets. This caused some considerable disquiet among Hornet fans around us with one loudly proclaiming that nobody thought it was a good idea to set up and defend a one goal lead. I am not sure that statement was true, but the home side had an early chance to test the reinforced defence with a tremendous shot from Philogene that Hamer did very well to push wide. Hull won a series of corners until finally Delap hit a shot wide of the far post. Hull then made a final change as Traoré replaced Twine. Philogene continued to try to make amends for the penalty miss as he beat Porteous and broke into the box, but his shot was just over the bar. Hamer was booked for timewasting before taking the resultant goal kick. There was 5 minutes of added time and one last change for the Hornets as Dele-Bashiru replaced Koné. The substitute looked to make the game safe as he went on a terrific run and found Bayo, but the forward seemed to wait to be challenged rather than attempting a shot. That was the last action of note in game and the Hornets ran out winners.
We were a happy group as we left the ground and, after finding the hotel at the station was closed and the first couple of pubs that we entered were a bit dodgy, we finally convened in a sports bar for our post-match analysis. Most thought that we were good value for the win, and we had all been thoroughly entertained. I thought that we were a little fortunate, but that the result was born out of a lot of hard work and a willingness to get forward. I have been begging for that for some time, so was delighted to see the players on the attack. I certainly agreed with the others that we had played some excellent football. It was a great result against a decent team.
Hamer had a brilliant game. The penalty save is what will be remembered, but Philogene had created several other decent chances for the home side, so Ben was called on to make some tricky saves and rose to the challenge on each occasion. So much so that he now has a song. The others all played their parts, but Hoedt’s wonder goal will live long in the memory. He had a great game in defence but usually when he shapes to shoot, I wince. I will not do that again. The team spirit appears strong, and I love the little dance that Andrews and Koné have done together at the end of the last two games.
The train home was running on time and was relatively empty. As I ordered a glass of wine to celebrate, the steward said not to rub it in. She was a Hull season ticket holder, who had been unable to make the game due to work. She did get me back by saying that our play-off semi-final against them was her favourite game ever. It is one that I have tried to erase from my memory. We finished by wishing each other well for the rest of the season. Who knows, we may end up in the play-offs together again. I just hope that there is a different outcome.
Fran's Watford Blog 