I decided to have a weekend away around the Preston game staying with a friend near Southport. We had a lovely catch-up on Friday evening and I was up bright and early on Saturday to travel to the game. The quickest route was by bus, which left from around the corner from her house and finished at Preston bus station. The £2 maximum fare was in operation, so it was an absolute bargain. When I arrived in Preston, it was a short walk to the market where Ashley had discovered a craft ale bar that had served us well on a previous visit. Graham and the Happy Valleys were all in place when I arrived. The beer was excellent and there were a number of food stalls in the market where we could get lunch to bring back to our table. The others raved about their burgers, Angela and I went for the Indian option and our choices were also delicious.
When the time came, we made our way to Deepdale, bumping into a number of the North-West Hornets on the way.
Team news was that Ismaël had made four changes bringing Sierralta, Martins, Bayo and Dele-Bashiru in for Porteous, Andrews, Rajović and Asprilla. The changes caused some concern as it wasn’t apparent what formation he was playing and there appeared to be no right back in the team. Dele-Bashiru was given that role. So, the starting XI was Hamer; Lewis, Hoedt, Sierralta, Dele-Bashiru; Koné, Kayembe, Livermore; Sema, Bayo, Martins.
The first chance of the game fell to the Hornets following a corner, Sierralta found Koné whose shot cleared the target. The first chance for the home side came with a chip that was going wide, but Hamer made sure. The Watford keeper was in action again soon after making a great save to thwart a powerful header from Storey. The home side threatened again with a shot from distance by Keane that flew high and wide. Preston had a great chance to take the lead after a lovely passing move that finished with Millar playing a low cross to Potts, Hamer parried his initial shot and then blocked the follow-up, excellent work from the Watford keeper. At the other end the Hornets won a corner, Sema’s delivery was met by Bayo at the far post, but his header flew wide of the target. The Hornets should have taken the lead after 20 minutes as Dele-Bashiru broke forward and found Kayembe, he played a lovely through ball to Bayo in the box, he rounded the keeper and shot, but Whatmough got a foot to the ball and deflected it wide. Then Bayo found Kayembe on the edge of the box, his effort was wide of the target. At the other end, Hamer came to punch a free kick, the ball landed for Osmajić, but Hamer was quickly out to block the shot. Then, from a corner, Browne headed the ball on to Keane whose header cleared the bar.
The hosts continued to threaten as Millar tried a shot from distance that was well saved by Hamer. Next a corner was played out to Browne whose shot was stopped on the line by Hamer. The home side should have taken the lead when Martins gave the ball away to Keane, but the shot was straight at the Watford keeper. Preston finally made the breakthrough just before the half hour. Millar went on a run and beat Dele-Bashiru before crossing for Keane who cheekily flicked the ball past Hamer. The goal had been coming. The Hornets tried to hit back immediately as Sema found Koné but the shot was deflected into the side netting. The first booking of the game went to Millar for impeding Martins. The Hornets equalised just before half time after a lovely passing move finished with a cross from Hoedt to the far post where Bayo stooped to head home. I thought we were a bit lucky to be level at the break. The absence of Andrews had meant that Millar had free range down the left, and Hamer had been called on to make a number of saves, but the Hornets had also had a couple of decent chances. It had certainly been a half full of incident.
The half time hero being interviewed pitch side was Allan Smart, who spoke more about the Hornets than the hosts and was warmly applauded from all sides of the ground. There was also a gorgeous sunset appearing behind the Alan Kelly stand at the opposite end of the ground from where we were sitting.
The second half kicked off with the Hornets attacking the goal in front of the away end and within seconds we were celebrating. Koné played a wonderful ball for Martins to run on to, he advanced before shooting across Woodman and finding the bottom corner. The Hornets looked to increase their lead as Koné exchanged passes with Kayembe before feeding Martins whose shot was blocked. At the other end, a cross was deflected to Potts whose close-range shot was blocked by Hamer. The Hornets scored a third on 53 minutes, Dele-Bashiru passed to Kayembe who was just outside the box, from where he powered a shot that took a slight deflection before beating Woodman. At this point, all resistance from Preston evaporated. The next chance for the Hornets came from Koné who tried a shot from the edge of the area, but it was easily gathered by Woodman. The home side made a quadruple substitution at this point replacing Potts, Whatmough, Keane and Whiteman with Hughes, Holmes, the vile Evans and Brady. There was a rather desperate shout for a penalty for a challenge on Evans that was rightly ignored.
The Hornets then made a triple change with Martins, Dele-Bashiru and Sema making way for Pollock, Porteous and Rajović. The Hornets scored a fourth soon after and it was a gorgeous goal as Bayo played a lovely pass to Kayembe, he was in position to shoot but saw Bayo make a run and played a perfect through ball for him to sweep it into the top corner. But the lads weren’t finished yet as Koné went on a run before exchanging passes with Bayo, skipping along the edge of the box to get into position and finishing past Woodman. At this point a chant started “Who put the ball in the Preston net, half our f*ing team did” which I rather enjoyed. Ismaël made two further changes bringing Healey on for Bayo and then replacing Koné with Chakvetadze. The only booking of the game for the Hornets went to Lewis for a foul on Millar. The Hornets had a great chance for a sixth when Chakvetadze crossed for Rajović but the header was just wide of the target. There was six minutes of added time, much to the dismay of the few who were left in the home stands. Healey had a great chance to score after he juggled the ball the get into position, but his effort was high and wide. Then Hoedt hit a free kick that was easily caught by Woodman. There was no screen at Deepdale that we could see, so we were guessing how much time was left when the home side won a free kick. It was a decent delivery from Brady which Hamer did very well to tip over. As it happened, that was the last kick of the game, and the whistle went on a tremendous win for the Hornets.
There were mighty celebrations among the Hornets in the stands and on the pitch. The stewards started to line up across the pitch and I wondered whether they were going to stop the players coming too close, but they didn’t, so we were all able to celebrate together. Needless to say, Koné came running over with the broadest smile on his face. Then Hamer joined them, the players pushed him to the front and the crowd sang his name. He looked a little embarrassed at the fuss.
Before we left the ground, I headed for the Ladies and encountered Janice, Sue and a couple of the other stalwarts who travel to every away game. They had left Watford on the coach at 7am. We were all buzzing after the game, and I couldn’t help reflecting that it is fans like them that deserve days like this. I then saw Becky, whose birthday it was, I was thrilled that they had given her such a treat.
We headed back to the bar for a drink before we got our bus/train home. Everyone was thrilled. The Happy Valleys have had some miserable times in the North-West over the past few years, so this one was a real treat. The Preston fans that we met were all lovely and wanted to chat about the game and wish us well for the rest of the season.
On the bus on the way back, I tried to watch the highlights, but the wifi wasn’t up to it. Once I gave that up and acknowledged that I had no idea where I was, and there was no announcement of stops as there is on London buses, I followed the journey on my phone and managed to get off at the correct stop, although I walked in the wrong direction, which had the benefit of ensuring that I completed 10,000 steps before arriving back at my friend’s house where I was greeted with a celebratory glass of wine.
It is hard to believe that it is only six weeks since the Huddersfield game. I had volunteered to appear on From the Rookery End to talk about that game and there was absolutely nothing to say, it had been so unbelievably dull. Since then, we have been a different team. The players always worked hard, but they often seemed happy to sit back and soak up pressure rather than attacking, particularly when we were away from home. What a contrast in the last few games when we have been much more willing to attack, and the goals have come. This one was really a game of two halves as the home side were on top in the first half but were shaken by the early goal in the second half and totally fell apart after Hamer stopped the close range shot from Potts that would have drawn them level. The goals then came and were all of good quality. I have to say that I was quietly desperate for a sixth goal. We have had two 6-1 away wins during the last 18 years when I have attended most of the away games. On both occasions, I missed the game due to business trips to Tokyo. I am still bitter about it. But this was a special day out. Everyone played well and they played for each other. The fact that the man of the match in a 5-1 win was the goalkeeper shows that we didn’t have it all our own way. But we made the most of our chances and thoroughly deserved the thumping win. A special mention for Bayo, who has come in for a lot of (justified) criticism. He was excellent and very good value for his brace.
Football really is fun again.
Fran's Watford Blog 
The likes of you Fran more than deserve to witness this sort of performance.
Thanks 😘🐝
Thank you, Nigel
Great report, well done Lynne
Pleased to say I was at Deepdale with my son.
Great afternoon
Thank you. What a great afternoon