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Post by Football News on Dec 3, 2016 17:21:19 GMT
West Brom 3 - 1 WatfordWest Brom give Tony Pulis solace with breezy win over 10-man Watford Home team scorersJonny Evans 16 Chris Brunt 34 Matt Phillips 90 +0:12 Away team scorersChristian Kabasele 60 At the end of a costly week, Tony Pulis can at least take solace from a three-point gain. This win will hardly offset his heavy loss in the high court, where, as the written ruling published on Monday explained, the Albion manager was ordered to pay his former club, Crystal Palace, £3.77m for the manner of his departure from Selhurst Park in 2014. But beating Watford extended a good run of results for Albion and left most people smiling at the Hawthorns. That counts for something. Sixth place in the Premier League, for a start. Earlier this season, Albion fans’ faith in Pulis’s ability to deliver entertaining football was draining away but such has been the infusion of belief over the last four matches that the manager was serenaded after only 37 minutes here and, with his team 2-0 up at that point, he granted the crowd’s melodious request for a wave. His Watford counterpart, Walter Mazzarri, could only look on and seethe. The visitors had dominated most of the early exchanges but failed to defend properly on the two occasions they were required to do so. Mazzarri’s anger would deepen before the end of a heated match, as Albion quashed a fightback and Roberto Pereyra was sent off. The manager looked aggrieved by the referee’s handling of a late melee but he must also have been enraged by his own team. Albion’s most potent weapon is no secret, so the Watford manager presumably did his utmost to forearm his players against the home side’s set-pieces. But, in the 16th minute Chris Burnt delivered a cross from the left and Jonny Evans outjumped Christian Kabasele with embarrassing ease and headed into the net. Kabasele, making his second start of the season, was one of four alterations to Watford’s lineup from their last game, a disappointing defeat at Stoke, and his weakness from the corner undid an otherwise encouraging start by the visitors. Nordin Amrabat had forced Ben Foster into a terrific save in only the second minute, the goalkeeper tipping over a swerving 16-yard shot. Watford’s attacking movement was making Albion look stodgy and suggested a comeback was likely. But defensively Watford remained brittle. And after a clumsy foul on Brunt, fortune frowned on them, too: James Morrison rolled the free-kick to Brunt and the Northern Irishman’s shot deflected of Camilo Zuniga and past Heurelho Gomes from 25 yards. Now confidence really did invigorate Albion, who would have scored a third goal moments later if Morrison had been able to get a touch to a tantalising pass across the face of goal by Matt Phillips. Watford were coming undone. “You should have gone Christmas shopping!” the home crowd suggested to the travelling fans. But Albion had not wrapped up victory just yet. Watford came out for the second half with renewed determination and sharpness. Amrabat hared down the right and presented Deeney with a chance in the 49th minute but the striker’s shot was blocked and Stefano Okaka could not turn quickly enough to poke the rebound into the net. Albion replied with a couple of dangerous crosses as play hurtled rapidly from one end to the other. But Watford were looking stronger and they halved the deficit on the hour, Kabasele atoning for his first-half mistake by stabbing the ball into the net from close range after Deeney had re-routed a long corner. With Watford on the up there was no telling how the match would end. Phillips tried to clarify the matter by adding a third goal for Albion but his dainty curling shot from the left-hand corner of the box missed the far post by inches. Then Watford came close to equalising. Deeney, at the edge of the Albion area, nodded a long pass down for Pereyra, who had burst free from midfield. The forward tried to take the ball around Foster but the goalkeeper closed him down quicker than he had anticipated. It was an ardently fought contest – literally so in the 84th minute, when Pereyra and the recently introduced James McClean clashed near the sideline and triggered mass jostling and posturing, plus a few kicks and jabs. The referee, Graham Scott, deemed Pereyra the worst offender; the sentence a red card. McClean was served a yellow. Phillips inflicted further punishment in stoppage time, firing into the net from 20 yards, bringing enthusiastic celebrations in front of the away crowd by Allan Nyom, a former Watford player. Guardian
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