I was a bit slow starting on Saturday morning and the train that I had planned to get was cancelled, so I arrived at the West Herts later than usual. Needless to say, the timekeeping steward was on duty, so I arrived to a reprimand. I was running so late that Don was already on his way to the ground, although he does like to get there ridiculously early. Our table was well populated and ready for another round and the lovely lady running the food bar now knows what my usual is, so I was soon settled with food and drink.
Prior to the game a video for Level Playing Field’s Unite for Access campaign was played that featured Caiden and his mum, Lisa, talking about their visits to the sensory room that allowed him to overcome the issues that he had with attending matches due to his autism. His experience was so positive that he is now a regular at Vicarage Road and they have attended away games as part of the Women of Watford group. The video is just lovely and really highlights what a great asset the sensory room is. https://www.watfordfc.com/news/news-hornets-mark-unite-for-access-campaign
Team news was that Ismaël had made two changes from the trip to Rotherham with Livermore replacing Sierralta and a first start for Dennis in place of Rajović. So, the starting XI was Hamer; Lewis, Hoedt, Pollock, Dele-Bashiru; Koné, Kayembe, Livermore; Sema, Dennis, Asprilla. Huddersfield were captained by lovely Jonathan Hogg who was given a tremendous reception by the Watford fans.
The visitors had an early chance to open the scoring with a low shot from Koroma, but it was straight at Hamer. Their next chance came after a terrible pass from Sema gifted the ball to Burgzorg who advanced and hit a shot that was blocked by Pollock, it took a wicked deflection that looked as though it might take the ball into the net but, thankfully, it flew just past the post. The first booking of the game went to Kayembe after he fouled Rudoni on the edge of the box. The resultant free kick from Koroma was deflected wide. There had been no attacking play worthy of the name from the Hornets in the first 27 minutes of the game, so Ismaël decided to make a double change bringing Ince and Chakvetadze on in place of Koné and Kayembe. Ince was immediately involved releasing Asprilla who went on a great run before giving the ball away when he attempted the return pass. This sparked a counterattack from the visitors that ended with Burgzorg latching onto a ball over the top from Spencer, breaking into the box and unleashing a shot that was blocked by Hamer.
The first chance for the Hornets came after half an hour when a Sema corner was met by the head of Pollock whose effort was wide of the target. The next chance for the visitors was a low weak shot from Rudoni that was straight at Hamer. With five minutes remaining in the half, there was finally a moment of quality from the Hornets as Asprilla played a defence-splitting ball for Ince whose first-time shot was parried by Nicholls. And that was it for the first half. There had been a lot of moaning in the crowd during the first half, so it was unsurprising that the half time whistle was greeted with boos. Michael, on his way to get a half time beer, commented that it had been a weird half. He wasn’t wrong, but that makes it sound more interesting than it was as, apart from the Ince shot, it had been devoid of any entertainment for Watford fans.
The visitors had the first chance of the second half as a shot from Rudoni was turned wide by Hamer. Watford’s first chance of the half came after the ball was played out to Asprilla, but his shot was a chip into the keeper’s arms. The Hornets then took a surprising lead after Asprilla went on a great run, broke into the box, and played a lovely ball to Dennis who took a touch before powering his shot past Nicholls. He picked up the ball and ran to the dugout to celebrate.
Sadly, Dennis then picked up an injury and had to be replaced by Rajović. At the same time Lewis made way for Martins. Soon after, Hogg also had to be substituted due to injury, he left the field to applause from the Vicarage Road faithful and was replaced by Ward. At the same time, Wiles replaced Koroma. Watford had a decent chance to increase their lead when a great cross from Chakvetadze was met by the head of Rajović, but he was under it, so his effort cleared the bar. The Hornets should have scored a second after Ince played a great ball out to Martins who advanced down the left before playing a return pass to Ince who turned it just around the post. Huddersfield then made another substitution bringing Edwards on for Matos. The Hornets had another great chance to increase their lead when Asprilla broke forward before playing a square ball for Rajović who shot just wide of the target. The Hornets were to rue those missed chances as Ward met a cross from Nakayama with a powerful header, Hamer got a hand to it but couldn’t keep it out. The Hornets almost played themselves into trouble when a forward pass from Dele-Bashiru was picked up by Pearson, he played it out to Wiles whose shot landed on the roof of the net. The Hornets had another decent chance after Sema broke forward and cut the ball back for Ince whose first time shot flew just over the bar.
Sadly, a miss by the Hornets was again followed by a goal for the visitors as a low cross from Edwards was met by Ward who turned it past Hamer. It was another poor goal to give away. The Hornets looked to hit back as Sema crossed for Chakvetadze whose shot was just over the bar. Each side made a late substitution as Diarra replaced Burgzorg for the visitors and Andrews came on for Livermore for the Hornets. The Hornets had a couple of chances to draw level as, first, a cross by Asprilla was met by a weak header from Rajović that was easily gathered by Nicholls. Then Ince crossed for Rajović and this time his header cleared the bar. There was 8 minutes of added time for those who were still inside Vicarage Road. It was largely devoid of incident apart from when Martins played a lovely through ball for Andrews whose low cross was easily gathered by Nicholls. So, the Hornets fell to a poor defeat against a struggling side and those that were still in the ground let the players know what they thought about the performance.
A number of the players headed straight back to the dressing room, but Hoedt rounded up those that he could and told them to applaud the fans. He looked furious.
As we trudged back to the West Herts it was noticeable that Whippendell Road, which is usually packed with traffic after a game, was empty as so many had left early. The friend who was surprisingly positive after the Leicester game was back to his usual self and went on an extended rant about the performance. What I hadn’t realised was that he had bought a half season ticket just in time for us to go on a losing streak, so it is all his fault. I try to take positives from games, so I was rather disappointed that the second half, that had been much more positive than the first, was where we lost the game. I have to say that I thought Tom Ince put in the best performance that I have seen from him in a Watford shirt, if one of his chances had gone in, it would have been so different. I also had a lot of sympathy for Rajović, who may have missed a number of chances, but at least he was in position to take them. Sadly, I fear that I am defending the indefensible, as it was another awful performance, and the home fans deserve better than that. I have horrible memories of last season’s trip to Millwall, so am fearing for next Saturday. I am planning to go to the theatre in the evening so that I am guaranteed some entertainment.
On Sunday, accompanied by my sister, Rose, and her labrador, Reggie, I joined Peter Taylor and Aga Dychton, Watford’s Mayor and Deputy Mayor, to walk from Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey station in aid of Watford Women’s Centre. We were supposed to follow the Abbey Line route, but a couple of wrong turns and a considerable amount of swampland meant that we had to divert to the road as we approached St Albans. But it was a great day out walking for a good cause. If anyone would like to donate, the link is here https://www.justgiving.com/page/watford-council-1702999247559
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