[Archived] News Article -> 2012/13 Match Report: Watford 4 Rovers 0

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Watford	(0) 4 – 0 (0)	Blackburn Rovers
Deeney 52, 61, Abdi 67, Briggs 75
Referee: N. Miller		Attendance: 13,775

For forty-five minutes Watford reminded me of the Rovers in the late 1980s when we challenged for automatic promotion before hitting the wall in the final weeks of the campaign and then being grateful to clinch a play-off place. In the first half, Watford looked like they had hit that wall as their football stuttered and they failed to make the most of their dominance in possession. They carved out just one chance in that opening period and were then denied by a brilliant save from the increasingly impressive Grzegorz Sandomierski.

However, after half-time it was a completely different story as Watford began to play a brand of football so reflective of their manager, whilst the Rovers simply had no answer to the quick incisive passing of the home side. Time and time again the Rovers defence was carved open and Sandomierski was left totally exposed by a fragile back four and an increasingly overwhelmed midfield.

Not for the first time this season the gulf between the Rovers and the opposition has been huge; indeed there is a positive chasm between the Rovers and a top six berth. All the teams in the top six are literally on a different level to the Rovers at present, particularly when the Rovers have to visit them. Whilst the Rovers may have the highest wage bill in the Championship, claims that they have the best squad in the league have been cruelly exposed as little more than wishful thinking.

After the success in the last two home games the Rovers again struggled to make much headway on their travels. Eight away games in 2013 have produced just two points from a possible 24 and with trips to Millwall and Birmingham City still to come it underlines the importance of the remaining home game against Crystal Palace.

For the trip to Vicarage Road, Gary Bowyer made just one change with injury ruling out Jason Lowe and David Dunn returning to the starting line-up.

Neither side looked particularly threatening in the opening stages. Dunn tried to instil some life into the Rovers' attacking play, but a couple of early efforts went well wide.

Watford, too, huffed and puffed but didn't really threaten Sandomierski and when a clever piece of play by Almen Abdi set up a shooting chance for Fernando Forestieri, the Polish 'keeper had no trouble saving a rather weak low shot.

The home side conceded an indirect free-kick in the area due to a mix-up following a stoppage for treatment to a Watford player. The referee dropped the ball and a Rovers player was supposedly about to pass back to the 'keeper. However, confusion seemed to set in and for some reason a Watford player passed the ball back to Manuel Almunia, who inexplicably picked the ball up. In spite of vigorous protests by the home side the referee awarded an indirect free-kick to the Rovers, but when the ball was passed to Dann he skied his shot high over the bar.

However, moments later Sandomierski was forced to make two saves of the highest quality. Troy Deeney, Watford's impressive centre-forward, sent in a powerful header which Sandomierski did well to get down to and keep the ball out. However, the ball merely rebounded off Scott Dann and seemed destined for the net until the young Polish 'keeper produced another reflex save to keep his goal intact.

Forestieri had another attempt at goal which flew narrowly wide, but in truth Watford had looked nervy and very disappointing during the opening half. The Rovers never looked like they might threaten to score, with Rhodes being caught continually offside as he became increasingly isolated from the rest of the team. Nonetheless, hopes were high at the interval that the Rovers might hold out and snatch a precious point.

Alas, those hopes were quickly dashed. Watford came out looking like a different team and after only seven minutes they had taken the lead. Forestieri cut inside from the left and slipped the ball to Deeney, who managed to evade the challenge of Gael Givet before firing the ball hard and low across goal into the bottom corner of the net. Although Sandomierski was at full stretch, he was unable to make a save as Deeney had placed his shot to perfection.

After an hour the Rovers had a chance to get themselves back in the game when Dunn refused to give up on a ball that seemed destined to go out of play. Having got possession he crossed for Rhodes, who rose to send a powerful header over the bar.

That was the last that was seen of the Rovers as an attacking force as Watford took complete control of the game from that point on.

Within a minute of the Rhodes miss, Deeney scored his second goal of the game when he again combined with Forestieri. Once again, Forestieri played a delightful ball which left the Rovers defence flat-footed and allowed Deeney to beat Sandomierski from close range.

At this point Karim Rekik replaced Givet, who appeared to be carrying a knock, and five minutes later the home side were celebrating a third goal. Once again it was Forestieri who was pulling the strings when he fed Almen Abdi, who was in the area and wasted no time in blasting the ball past Sandomierski.

The Rovers looked a well-beaten side by this time and on 75 minutes Sandomierski had to be alert to tip a volley from Ikechi Anya behind. Unfortunately, the resultant corner ended with substitute Matthew Briggs firing home amidst a melee in the penalty area.

With Watford in complete control and the Rovers happy to see out time there was yet another moment of madness from the men from Ewood Park. Leon Best, who hadn't won a header all afternoon, decided to "nut" Marco Cassetti in an off-the-ball incident. Best was rightly shown the red card as Rovers fans implored the referee to send him off. The dejected figure of the former Newcastle man left the field with the cries of "Cheerio, Cheerio" ringing in his ears as the travelling fans let their feelings be known. The fact that a straight red will mean he misses the rest of the season was viewed as the only positive to be taken from the game for many of the travelling supporters.

The second-half display was simply inexcusable with only Grzegorz Sandomierski emerging with any credit. The Polish international 'keeper kept the Rovers in the game in the first half and could do little about any of the goals in the second period. The young 'keeper was badly let down by those in front of him.

Todd Kane and Markus Olsson were both disappointing in the full-back positions. Both wandered forward and ended running up too many blind alleys. Both lost possession at key moments and both were found wanting defensively as Watford kept two players hugging the touchline at all times.

The centre-back pairing of Scott Dann and Gael Givet did well enough in the first half, but Givet picked up a knock early in the second period and struggled until he was withdrawn after the second goal. Rekik and Dann both struggled to get to grips with the quick inter-passing of the Watford forwards once they upped the tempo.

In midfield the Rovers struggled with Lee Williamson and David Jones playing as the holding midfield players. Both got better as the game went on, but ultimately they were unable to stem the tide when Watford upped their game.

In front of these two Bowyer employed Leon Best on the right, David Dunn in the middle and Joshua King on the left. Best was a virtual spectator from start to finish until he opted for an early holiday with a moment of sheer lunacy. The key question around Best surrounds his fitness. After a number of knee injuries there must be a question mark with regard to his long-term fitness. King had another indifferent game. There were one or two flashes of pace from him, but ultimately they led to nothing. Dunny was not at his best, but he was the only player who looked capable of trying to provide a spark in the centre of the pitch. However, the truth of the matter is that the Rovers had nobody who had the passing ability of Fernando Forestieri, who seemed to run the game in the second half.

Once again, Jordan Rhodes struggled to make any impression in another away match. With the Rovers sitting deep and trying to attack on the break, Rhodes' lack of pace proved something of a problem as he was continually caught offside in the first half as he tried to steal a march on the defenders. In the second half he completely faded from the picture as the Rovers failed to get any telling possession in the Watford half of the pitch. With eight minutes to go he was replaced as Gary Bowyer looked to protect him for the game at Millwall on Tuesday.

Millwall is another six-pointer, but one which gives the Rovers a wonderful opportunity to pull clear of the bottom three. Another three points and the Rovers will surely be destined for another season of Championship football, whilst a draw at Millwall wouldn't be the worst result in the world. Despite the second-half debacle at Vicarage Road, I'm still of the opinion that the Rovers will survive this season, but what happens next season is anybody's guess. Unless there are drastic changes behind the scenes and within the squad, one really does fear for the future.

Teams

Watford

Manuel Almunia; Lloyd Doyley, Joel Ekstrand (Matthew Briggs 69), Marco Cassetti; Ikechi Anya (Sean Murray 83), Jonathan Hogg, Nathaniel Chalobah, Almen Abdi, Daniel Pudil; Troy Deeney, Fernando Forestieri (Matej Vydra 76)
Subs not used: Jonathan Bond (gk), Mark Yeates, Alex Geijo, Cristian Battocchio
Manager: Gianfranco Zola

Blackburn Rovers

Grzegorz Sandomierski; Todd Kane, Scott Dann, Gael Givet (Karim Rekik 62), Markus Olsson; Lee Williamson, David Jones; Leon Best (sent off 90 + 5), David Dunn, Joshua King (Nuno Gomes 72); Jordan Rhodes (Josh Morris 82)
Subs not used: Sebastian Usai (gk), Bradley Orr, Morten Gamst Pedersen, David Goodwillie
Caretaker Manager: Gary Bowyer

Bookings

Watford – Joel Ekstrand, Marco Cassetti

Blackburn Rovers – Lee Williamson, Karim Rekik, David Jones

Sending off

Blackburn Rovers – Leon Best


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[Husky]

Watford. The chance to play them again would be a fine thing - a fine thing indeed.