Watford 1 - 0 HullWatford burst Hull City’s hopes thanks to Michael Dawson’s late own goal
Home team scorersMichael Dawson 82 o.g.
It is fair to say the first top-flight meeting between these teams will not live long in the memory. Michael Dawson’s own goal, eight minutes from time, was a bitter blow for a Hull City side who had looked like ending a disastrous run of results on the road, but have now lost seven of their past eight games and seem destined for a long season battling relegation.
Considering they came into the match having conceded 11 goals in their past two away trips, against Liverpool and Bournemouth, going down to a solitary goal against an in-form Watford side – who now find themselves above Manchester United in the table – might be seen as progress. Yet Mike Phelan knew it could easily have been very different.
“Defeats are always hard to take, but what pleased me was that we were on the front foot. But you suffer in the big league and the deflection was cruel,” the Hull manager said.
“We have to do better in the final third, but hopefully that will come with more hard work. We have to stick together and keep believing we are good enough to get ourselves out of this rut that we’ve been in. But the players are committed and I think we’ll be OK.”
Walter Mazzarri, the Watford head coach, had insisted before the match that his players would not be distracted by the ongoing investigation into allegations that the club’s owners supplied false financial documents to the Football League in 2014. Fans showed their support before kick‑off with a giant banner featuring joint-owner Gino Pozzo dressed in a suit and tie.
Having not played at home since drawing with Bournemouth four weeks ago, the players appeared eager to make up for lost time and almost went ahead early on when Younès Kaboul’s header crashed against the crossbar from Roberto Pereyra’s corner. The Argentinian playmaker picked up the loose ball and was unlucky to see his curling shot drift wide.
On the evidence of the first five minutes, it was easy to see why Hull have been struggling. A three-man defence marshalled by the ageing captain, Dawson, is lacking in pace and they remain vulnerable on the flanks despite the abilities of Ahmed Elmohamady and Sam Clucas.
However, after somehow weathering the early storm, the visitors gradually found their feet. Ryan Mason tested Heurelho Gomes from distance and Abel Hernández was inches away from connecting with Elmohamady’s cross, only for Kaboul to come to Watford’s rescue.
Troy Deeney will still be having nightmares about the chance he missed to score his 100th goal for the club just before the break, nodding wide from little more than a yard out.
It simply had to get better after the break and, scenting the chance of recording a fourth victory in their past five visits to Vicarage Road, Hull looked far more of a threat. They served notice of their intentions when Hernández raced on to Will Keane’s flick on but could only produce a weak effort that trickled into the gloves of Gomes.
Watford continued to look the more likely to take the lead, although a lack of quality in the final third invariably let them down. Nordin Amrabat regularly found space behind Clucas but Odion Ighalo could not provide the finishing touch from another teasing cross.
Mazzarri abandoned his three-man defence and threw on Daryl Janmaat for Kaboul. It eventually had the desired effect when the Dutchman’s cross was deflected by Pereyra into the path of Dawson, who could only watch as the ball bounced off him and trickled into the net.
“I always believed we could win it,” Mazzarri said. “They had some good counter-attacks in the second half but we controlled the ball and created chances. It was just the last pass that let us down. I’m very happy with my team but at the moment we don’t need to look at the table.” Phelan will be wishing he could say the same.
Guardian
