25/09/10 Championship WFC 3-1 Middlesborough

[Hornmeister]

WATFORD: Loach; Hodson, M Taylor, Mariappa, Doyley; Buckley, Eustace (c), Mutch, Cowie; Graham, Sordell. Subs: Gilmartin (gk), Walker, Deeney, Bryan, Whichelow, McGinn, Oshodi.
MIDDLESBROUGH: Steele; McManus, Bates, Wheater, Arca; Tavares, O'Neil (c), Robson, Halliday; Lita, McDonald. Subs: Coyne (c), Boyd, Bailey, Kink, McMahon, Hines, Williams

[Hornmeister]

Shoutbox open:drinking:

[north wales yellow]

Omg 1-0

[PaddingtonsYellowArmy]

wheres da shoutbox morons!?

[Hornmeister]

wheres da shoutbox morons!?

go to the home page numpty:doh:

[wfc4eva07]

good hlaf tbf.

[Hornmeister]

Boooo not good enough. We haven't scored in over an hour of football:rant:

[crofton36]

Great result, shame we conceded but will take 3 points ta ! :eating::drinking:

[Birdydoug]

Good win.

[Smudger]

Should have an extra four points as well we'd be second.......

:party2:

[watfordfc88]

good first half, poor second half, oh well who cares!!! we won!!!

[Defunct]

A great afternoon. A goal after 17 seconds and the team pushed on, it was very easy on the eye at times. Mavelous Marvin was superb for me, never stopped running and some of his play was just fantastic. The boy is getting better every game. As usual the ref was an idiot.

Funniest moment was deep into the 2nd half when a wayward Boro shot went into the Boro fans and they didn't give it back, but instead started an impromtu game of football between themselves. Several times the stewards atttempted to get it back but the Boro fans got there first and hoofed it to the other side. It got even better when one of their fans threw it to a steward who then marched down to the front, only to get mugged by another fan who grabbed to ball back and lobbed it into the crowd again. Even from the other end of the ground it was good entertainment and wound the stewards up no end.

[SM#16]

Probably the worst 3-1 victory we'll ever have! :biggrin:

Good game though, glad to get three points and another two on the chart for Super Dan.

Deeney is absolutely pointless unless he has someone within 10 yards of him, it has to be said, the boy is strong and can hold it up, but after that he's got zilch.

[inayellowshirt]

Marriapa man of the match
Anyone see Buckley out there at all?
Richard Short needs glasses
Hahaha £500 not going your way sonny jim
Once again guilty of sitting back
Deeny looked rather unfit
McGinn doesnt look comfortable out wide
Coweywowy

[steve harrow]

good first half, poor second half, oh well who cares!!! we won!!!

Excellent first 30 minutes! Second half was poor but we took our foot off the gas. And Boro always were going to come out fighting.

A lovely 3 points. Our attacking play is fabulous at times.

[555ROB]

I see it as 15 points in the bag right now and approx 37 more needed.
But nice to see us sitting in third for now.

[steve harrow]

Looks like the goals will be on Sky Sports News shortly...

[AshdonWFC]

Another fantastic result. I dunno about you guys, but i'd take 9 goals in 2 games, with 2 conceeded. :)

I do believe that back in 05/06, once into October, we never dropped out of the top 3... a good result vs the slimey Portsmouth and we'll be heading into October in a similar position. :naughty:

3 points closer to safety

[Evasive]

Good result, very pleasing to be up after 17 seconds. What was even better was that over the course of the next 20 mins we didn't let up the pressure and managed to get 2 more goals.

Bit disappointing to concede as I thought Boro were awful. Julio Arca was good for them but the rest were distinctly average. Robson is a dirty cheat.

The ref was fantastic and really got hold of the game without interfering too much. He got nearly all the decisions right. We always complain about the ref, but I thought he was fantastic.

;D

[SM#16]

The ref was fantastic and really got hold of the game without interfering too much. He got nearly all the decisions right. We always complain about the ref, but I thought he was fantastic.

;D

Sarcastic, surely?

[SM#16]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/9021317.stm

Jordon Mutch's half-volley then gave Boro goalkeeper Scott Loach no chance.

****ing idiots

[simms]

Thought we were fantastic in the first half, and average in the 2nd. Sordell and Graham were fantastic as usual, and Mutch did very well along with Eustace in the centre.

Anyone see the boro fans playing with the ball in the away end, and when the steward got it, someone came and knocked it out of his hands and they played with it again.

[nak108]

Great win, first half we were superb. We chased the ball down extremely quickly and never gave Middlesbrough a chance on the ball. We passed the ball well, attacked at pace and obviously scored 3 goals. Second half wasn't as good but we still worked very hard and did well at holding back Middlesbrough. Naturally getting the early goal really helped us a lot but I think our pressure to win the ball early on was very impressive and we managed to force 'Boro into a big mistake. The second goal was also impressive as the corner kick routine worked a treat. Good cross from Cowie, good header back from Taylor and a neat strike from Mutch. We seem to be making more of corners this season which is really good to see. The third was probably my favourite goal, Cowie's control from the long pass was fantastic to get away from his man with just one touch and then to keep his composure to cross for Graham who had the relatively simple task of tapping in.

Loach- 8 Very impressive, he looks a lot more confident this season and he seems to have stepped up his game recently. His kicking was good, he came out of his area to claim crosses and he pulled off one fantastic save when it looked like a certain goal.

Hodson- 7.5 Good performance from Hodson today, he looked solid, he used the ball pretty well, especially in the second half and I think Andrew Taylor can’t expect to walk straight back into the team.

Mariappa- 7.5 He, along with the rest of the defenders, had a good game. He dealt with pretty much everything he had to, he worked hard, he got stuck in, put in some good tackles and apparently it was him who scored Middlesbrough’s goal but I don’t think he can be blamed for it too much as the ‘Boro player would have scored it anyway.

Taylor- 7.5 Solid, composed, did everything he had to do. Not much else to say really, just a good performance.

Doyley- 7.5 Good defending from Lloyd today, he also did pretty well on the ball and like the other defenders, did his job well.

Buckley- 7 A good performance but I think of all the starters today he seemed to lose the ball the most. He did go on some great runs and he managed to cause some problems to the ‘Boro defence but I suppose when he tries to take on the defence as many times as he does then he is bound to get tackled a few times.

Mutch- 8 Very good game, he worked extremely hard throughout the 90+ minutes and really got stuck in. He also showed some good attacking flair as he got forward and even managed to score a decent goal from the edge of the area.

Eustace- 7.5 I’m starting to sound a bit like a broken record with Eustace but once again all I can really say is “typical Eustace performance”. He worked hard, got really stuck in and put in some impressive tackles.

Cowie- 8.5 Absolutely superb today, he worked unbelievably hard, he chased down everything, he set-up Graham’s second with some brilliant play and it was his corner that led to Mutch’s goal. This is the Don Cowie that we didn’t see enough of last season; he just needs to be consistent now.

Graham- 9 He really is a key player for us, he works extremely hard, he leads the line, he is scoring goals, and he was absolutely superb today. Two good finishes and a great overall performance.

Sordell- 9 Superb.. His work-rate was amazing, he caused a huge amount of problems and he definitely deserved a goal today. He was very unlucky not to win a penalty as well, I think if he wasn’t brought down he would have scored as well so that’s disappointing. He showed a lot of strength, he held-up the ball well; he showed great control and went on some great runs.

Subs:

McGinn- 7 Did well, passed the ball well, worked hard and although he isn’t a natural wide player, he did work hard down the wing.

Deeney- 6 I was a little bit disappointed with Troy, I like him and think he’ll be a decent player for us but I think he struggled a bit when he came on. Perhaps he just had a lack of options when he had the ball but I think he can do better.

Walker- Not really enough time but he did work hard.

[sod chip save luther]

Malky out!

[TheDon]

Good game and a great performance,
COYH!

[lowerrous]

Great performance on the whole, I would probably give Mutch motm, he completely bossed the midfield from start to finish and his technique for the goal was very good.

The only player I would single out for criticism (other than maybe deeney though i'm happy to be patient with him) is Hodson. I've often had reservations about his potential due to his lack of pace and height and I thought he was clearly our weak link today. His tackling and passing, which are usually his best attributes, weren't even that strongoeither.

[Desmond]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/9021317.stm

Jordon Mutch's half-volley then gave Boro goalkeeper Scott Loach no chance.

****ing idiots

At least they got the score right...

http://www.watfordfc.com/page/PostMatchReaction/0,,10400~2165467,00.html

"Middlesbrough's wretched run away from home continues, but it allowed the Golden Boys to chalk up their first home win in WD18 this season with a convincing 3-0 win. "

[Optimistichornet]

good result, great first half, average second half where quite frankly we did what needed to be done.

[wfc4ever]

Excellent 1st half...being gifted a goal after 17 seconds helped.

Team played with confidence and although we did try to sit back more 2nd half the defence held out pretty well against some decent but clearly underperforming Middlesborough players.

Bring on Mr Rodgers!

[nascot]

Great 1st half, non event of a 2nd half. The defence looked largely untroubled (own goal aside), Deeney is s....l....o....w, Boro are dreadful. Happy days are here again :biggrin:

[SM#16]

A race between Henderson and Deeney could be entertaining, or yawnful, either or.

[oxhey67]

Cracking defensive display from the whole team today for pretty much the full 90+ minutes.

I liked the way one of our forwards sat on their defensive midfielder while the other harried their centre backs to stop them building through midfield.
Also the way Cowie and Buckley closed down the full backs so quickly to stop any passing momentum build from there.
But all of them bust a gut to stop McBoro playing and they still had the energy and desire to push forward when we got the ball ourselves. Excellent.

Minor quibbles though.

Graham was struggling for a while before being subbed and I was surprised he wasn't replaced first. At one point he was quite noticeably holding his right thigh as he hobbled back towards the half-way line. I'm sure they know what they're doing though and I'm just worrying because he's so influential!

Marvin Sordell. Great game but thought he became predictable when receiving the ball with his back to goal. It seemed he took a touch and tried to turn his marker every time instead of occasionally laying it off to Eustace or Mutch who were generally not 10 yards away and completely unmarked. Other than that he really did play well today and looks a decent player.

I started a thread when Mutch had his loan extended and asked why as I couldn't see what he was bringing to the team. Fella, looks like you're settling in and beginning to show what Malky knew you had. Well done and keep it going.

I just want to applaud the way we played though, all of them. Our choice of pass was usually the correct one - sometimes short, sometimes long. Good movement off the ball and the way they backed each other up was superb.
There was nothing flashy but it was a mightily impressive team display.

[Harrow Orn]

Fantastic win.

'Boro had possession for long spells but never seemed like scoring (apart from once). We were closing down all over the pitch and they had to keep passing it back to their keeper. Mariappa was my man of the match, he's played so well recently, as has the rest of the defence.

[YellowHornets]

Its quite bad they go the Goalkeepers name wrong on the BBC website but on the Watford website they got the score wrong, they've got that we had a convincing 3 - 0 win(was 3 - 1)...And also i think we played well in the first half and we played well defensively in 2nd.:cool:

[lutonh8a]

Good result and a good display today. And was good to see all the players working hard closing down quickly and chasing the ball down. Sordell was a little bit frustrating as I think that he needs to keep his head up sometimes and play the ball but still hes only young and will learn :badge:

[Masada]

Mountain Taylor was immense.

If I remember, it was his guided hoof that found Cowie that led to the third.

[harry hornet]

Great performance on the whole, I would probably give Mutch motm, he completely bossed the midfield from start to finish and his technique for the goal was very good.

The only player I would single out for criticism (other than maybe deeney though i'm happy to be patient with him) is Hodson. I've often had reservations about his potential due to his lack of pace and height and I thought he was clearly our weak link today. His tackling and passing, which are usually his best attributes, weren't even that strongoeither.

What a load of cobblers mate Hodson has great pace, did you see him out pace Lita to block his shot in the first half, and his passing was superb your just a numpty.

[TheDon]

Mountain Taylor was immense.

If I remember, it was his guided hoof that found Cowie that led to the third.

:eating::biggrin::drinking:

[jpROOKERYwfc]

defence looks very settled now, mariappa improving every game and taylor adds more experience in the middle.

[Keano]

defence looks very settled now, mariappa improving every game and taylor adds more experience in the middle.

indeed and is it me or did taylor look as if hes found another gear. practically had a spring in his step today

[Welshhornet]

I wasn't at 1st but now I am very excited about the Sordell/Graham partnership up front...Anyone else think Deeney is a bit on the large side still?

[gloryhornhaz]

Roll on Tuesday night!

[witneyellow]

Its quite bad they go the Goalkeepers name wrong on the BBC website but on the Watford website they got the score wrong, they've got that we had a convincing 3 - 0 win(was 3 - 1)...And also i think we played well in the first half and we played well defensively in 2nd.:cool:

Maybe the fishal site decided to disallow the Mariappa og for the blatant push on him that the ref decided to ignore! I'd go with that from my seat in the Vic Rd stand. I would have disallowed it (though I might be a tad biased!)

[Robhazell]

I was a push, he wouldn't deliberately head it in his own goal!

[Hairyfrog]

One question, who are those people and what have they done with our real players?

Seriously though, it was a terrific start to the match, 17 seconds on the clock and we are 1-0 up, 3-0 at half time and the ground is buzzing, but then it got ugly, I can understand why, at 3-0 it should be job done and simply shut up shop, but we are Watford and historically we just are not very good at that!

Despite an absolutely shocking ref, the boys did us proud yesterday, my only real complaints are that Sordell needs to get his head up more and see the options around him, Buckley needs to be running at the backs more, and we really, really must start and leave a player up on the halfway line when defending a corner or set piece.

As for Deeney, by the time he came on the rest of our team were camped in their own half, so when he did recieve the ball he had very few options and little support, causing him to have to hold the ball or play it backwards, please give the boy a chance to bed in before writing him off.

[UEA_Hornet]

For those who went and have commented that the second half was comparatively poor, did anyone get the sense they were just saving themselves as we have a match on Tuesday and the Boro match was as good as won?

[steve harrow]

For those who went and have commented that the second half was comparatively poor, did anyone get the sense they were just saving themselves as we have a match on Tuesday and the Boro match was as good as won?

There was definitely a sense of that in the substitutions. A couple of minor knocks and no chances taken.

The second half in general felt like we were practising controlling a game and seeing it out. Good idea given some of our injury time wobbles lately!

Boro huffed and puffed a bit more than they had done in the first half but that wouldn't be too hard and I guess they were wary they'd be hit on the counter if they went too gung-ho.

[cyaninternetdog]

I thought Mariappa was fouled for the own goal, definate shove in the back.

[matimbers]

Another good performance from all over the pitch. As most has been said just a quick review on some key players.

Loach - Continues his great form, definitely must have saw Schmeical display and realised what a keeper needs to do.

Defence - The 2 centre backs are amazing at the moment, the ball Taylor played for the 3rd was peach, so good to have a defender who can pass and another in Mariappa who is confident in bringing the ball out from the back.

Mutch - I was totally wrong about him. He is really coming along with his game. The work rate he put in was excellent and also on a technical side, kept ball down well for goal and played the more simple passes instead of the 'hollywood' play he seemed to do when he first joined.

Cowie - Wowie, again shines on the left. Work rate immense and can beat the full back a lot easier on this side.

Strikers - Great finishing from Graham again, though I thought he should have came off at half time, the game was won and we need to rest a key player and also get some time for Deeney in play as he is nowhere near match fit. Sordell has lovely control, is this the first real hint of a youth player having had a lot more hours of training at the academy/school and being technically superior to others? Doesn't look out of place now in the first team, unlike earlier on in the season a la Notts County

Well done again Malky and lads, took foot of the gas as well to save for midweek, now important we get a result, even a draw would actually not be that bad.

[UEA_Hornet]

Mutch - I was totally wrong about him. He is really coming along with his game. The work rate he put in was excellent and also on a technical side, kept ball down well for goal and played the more simple passes instead of the 'hollywood' play he seemed to do when he first joined.

It's not really about being wrong or right. He was poor in his first few games. Whatever he's done in the last couple is a sign that he's a quick learner and has obviously taken on board the feedback from the coaching staff. That has to be a good sign in any player.

[simms]

Anyone see graham diving at the keeper with his head to stop the ball being thrown out?

[SM#16]

Anyone see graham diving at the keeper with his head to stop the ball being thrown out?

We were at the same game Simms

[simms]

We were at the same game Simms

I didn't mean anyone see, I couldn't think of the right way to phrase it. Maybe "wasn't it funny when..." would have been better.

[Defunct]

One of the chaps had £1 on Graham FGS and a 4-1 win, odds were 225-1, he wasn't happy :biggrin:.

[simms]

One of the chaps had £1 on Graham FGS and a 4-1 win, odds were 225-1, he wasn't happy :biggrin:.

Sods law. What was the penalty shout like when Sordell was 1 on 1?

[SM#16]

Sods law. What was the penalty shout like when Sordell was 1 on 1?

Never a penalty, good challenge.

Sordell took far too long dilly dallying about, should have hit it first time because someone like Wheater (I think it was him, but even McManus) will always get a challenge in there given the chance.

[simms]

Never a penalty, good challenge.

Sordell took far too long dilly dallying about, should have hit it first time because someone like Wheater (I think it was him, but even McManus) will always get a challenge in there given the chance.

Ahh right. So he cost me all those orns i had on us scoring 4.:rant:

[Eloden]

great win, few things we were discussing during the game

Loach put in some great saves, his kicking is better as well

towards the end of the game we started to collapse and you could see why we have been letting in those late goals at previous home games. is this a mental/fitness issue? thought it hasn't happened most recetly Boro definetly could have got a goal

last year I was saying how Sordell was going to be good and he's proved himself so far. Yesterday made some great runs though didn't always pass, but he's young and wants to prove himself. However i'm not sure if he's a '90 minute' player yet and could be better as an impact sub. Though given the size of the squad maybe this can't happen and by constanly playing him he'll become even better.

ALSO spare a thought for the steward who tried to get the ball back from the Boro fans, only to miss it then have a thousand northerners all shouting '****er' at him. hilarious

[inayellowshirt]

towards the end of the game we started to collapse and you could see why we have been letting in those late goals at previous home games. is this a mental/fitness issue?

I'm beginning to wonder if its just our high tempo from the start, by the end of the match we are knackered.

Deeney looked knackered within 5 mins which concerns me, but willing to give him time to settle in

[loyal1]

I'm beginning to wonder if its just our high tempo from the start, by the end of the match we are knackered.

Deeney looked knackered within 5 mins which concerns me, but willing to give him time to settle in

The fella hasn't had much of a chance yet! Coming on in games with ten minutes to go is the worst time for a player to try and get on in a game especially when the rest of the team are camped in their own half.

He hasn't done much yet but hopefully with time he'll get better!

[With A Smile]

A great 1st half, took our chances well and deserved to be in front.

We did go long for long periods of the first half, which against 2 center halfs that towered over our forwards seemed a bizzare tac tic.

The ball from Taylor to Cowie and the fact that Cowie followed the fight, knowing that the defender was going to miss it, the take and the set up were magnificent.

Cowies performance all round was top draw, I can't remember a midfielder who has harried like that since Hessy.

The 2nd half Boro definataly stepped it up and started to put themselves about a bit. I thought we stood up well to a more physical battle.

Sordell should haver come off 10 minutes earlier, you could see he was knackered, Deeney needs some more pitch time, Buckley looked like a fish out of water, it wasn't his day or game.

Well worth the 3 points, another game nearer safety

[wfc-4ever]

Seriously though, it was a terrific start to the match, 17 seconds on the clock and we are 1-0 up, 3-0 at half time and the ground is buzzing, but then it got ugly, I can understand why, at 3-0 it should be job done and simply shut up shop, but we are Watford and historically we just are not very good at that!

Despite an absolutely shocking ref, the boys did us proud yesterday, my only real complaints are that Sordell needs to get his head up more and see the options around him, Buckley needs to be running at the backs more, and we really, really must start and leave a player up on the halfway line when defending a corner or set piece.

As for Deeney, by the time he came on the rest of our team were camped in their own half, so when he did recieve the ball he had very few options and little support, causing him to have to hold the ball or play it backwards, please give the boy a chance to bed in before writing him off.

:sign15:

completely agree saved me writing it out :biggrin: