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Watford
v West Bromwich Albion
Vicarage Road,
Watford. 23rd August 2003, 3.00pm. |
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It may not have been the performance we craved, or expected, but
it was an excellent result that brought back memories of our promotion
season. After a less-than-inspiring first half performance from
the Baggies, the defending once Hughes had grabbed the lead was
excellent. Let's hope that it's a sign that, when it comes down
to it, we can still grind out a 1-0 win.
Megson surprised everybody by relegating Koumas and Sakiri to the
bench and bringing Johnson (as captain) and James Chambers into
the middle of the park, with Gregan returning from injury to make
up the back three. It was inevitable that Hughes was picked to start
alongside Hulse.
After a few early end-to-end spells when both sides could have scored,
it was Watford who took control of the game as Albion failed to
get a grip. Albion just couldn't seem to hold onto the ball and
were giving the Watford midfield far too much space, with AJ the
chief culprit. Albion did manage to create a few opportunities with
the best failing to Gaardsoe. A good corner from Clement found the
Dane unmarked at the far post, but rather than jump to get over
the ball, he let the ball hit his head and loop harmlessly over
the bar.
Watford, on the other hand, fashioned quite a few chances and the
Albion defence had their work cut out. Gaardsoe had to be quick
to block a powerful shot from Mahon before Hoult was called into
action, first to palm the ball off the heads of Helguson and Mahon
from an Ardley cross and then to save brilliantly from a Neil Cox
header. Ardley produced another good cross a few minutes later,
but Helguson headed wide under pressure from Gaardsoe.
Megson made one of his rare half-time changes bringing Koumas on
to replace Chambers in attempt to provide a little more guile in
the middle of the park. But it was Watford who started strongest
putting the Albion under pressure from a series of set pieces.
But it was Albion who came closest on 54 minutes when AJ cleared
a corner to Hughes, who turned swiftly and put Koumas through on
goal. But the Welshman never looked confident and as he tried to
take it around Chamberlain, the Watford stopper managed to get a
foot in and the chance was gone.
Two minutes later, however, the Baggies had the lead. A poor corner
from Clement was half cleared and fell to Johnson. He took a shot
at goal which was deflected and fell kindly for HUGHES to head home
from three yards.
The Albion rearguard looked fairly solid from then on although Gayle
came close with a 30 yard shot and, on 68 minutes, some last ditch
defending was required to keep the lead intact. It came from a Hyde
cross which Hoult could only flap at. It came back into the box
for Webber to fire in a firm shot which Gaardsoe blocked only to
deflect it goalwards until O'Connor rose to head the ball off the
line.
Watford kept trying but never really threatened again and Albion
came closest to scoring towards the end after the front line was
subbed with Dichio and Dobie looking lively. Dichio came closest
when he fired over from a Koumas pull back.
I always thought this would be a tough game and Watford can count
themselves a little unfortunate to lose. But the Baggies defence
started to look a solid outfit in the second half with all the back
three looking fairly comfortable after a few jitters from set pieces
in the first half. But the gloss will be taken off this victory
if we don't follow this up with three points on Monday.
RESULT - WATFORD 0 WEST BROMWICH
ALBION 1
Marks
Hoult - 7 - Looked much better apart from the one flap in the second
half.
Gregan - 7 - Good solid performance from Greegs.
Gaardsoe - 8 - Excellent performance, he's starting to dominate
the back line.
Volmer - 7 - Solid, intelligent play from Joost.
Haas - 7 - Got forward well, defended well. Settling in nicely.
Chambers - 7 - Worked hard, used the ball well, unfortunate to be
subbed.
O'Connor - 8 - MOM. Another top quality display - he wins far more
headers than he should, tackles and passes well. I continue to be
impressed.
Johnson - 7 - Poor in the first half, but much improved in the second.
Clement - 7 - Can't fault him too much. Starting to look like the
old Clement again.
Hulse - 5 - Poorest performance I've seen, never had an opportunity
to score and lost the ball too often.
Hughes - 8 - Another lively display from the Ninja finished off
well with a goal.
Koumas - 5 - Didn't look fit, should have scored, made little impact
on the game.
Dichio - 7 - Did well, held the ball up well, probably should have
had a goal.
Dobie - 6 - Did OK, made some good runs but caught off side too
often.
The Manager - 7 - I guess his line up was dictated by international
action for Sakiri and Koumas not being 100% as his second half performance
showed. Needed to make the substitution when he did although it
didn't work, but the subs late on were spot on as the front two
were beginning to tire in the heat and Dobes and Deech held the
ball well.
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Watford
(4-4-2):
Chamberlain; Doyley, Gayle, Cox, Robinson; Ardley (Fitzgerald 62),
Hyde (Hand 75), Mahon, Helguson; Dyer, Webber (Cook 75). Subs not
used: Lee (GK), Dyche. |
West
Bromwich Albion (3-5-2):
Hoult; Gregan, Gaardsoe, Volmer; Haas, J Chambers (Koumas 45), O'Connor,
Johnson, Clement; Hughes (Dobie 66), Hulse (Dichio 73). Subs not
used: Murphy (GK), Sakiri.
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Scoring: Hughes (56)
0-1.
Bookings: Watford - Robinson (dissent 90+2). West Bromwich Albion
- Dichio (foul 81).
Referee: P Armstrong (Berkshire)
Attendance: 15,023 |
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