IT wasn't milk and honey all the way, as evidenced by this match. Frankly, I had forgotten it, although seeing my reference to Ron Saunders swearing did bring back to mind that $2£*+** ***$3@*!

From the Watford Observer, Friday, March 25, 1983

WATFORD: Sherwood, Rice, Sims, Bolton, Rostron, Taylor, Jackett, Callaghan, Blissett, Barnes, Jobson. Substitute: Armstrong for Jobson after 45 minutes.

BIRMINGHAM: Coton, Hagan, Dennis, Stevenson, Blake, Halsall, Gayle, Ferguson, Harford, Curbishley, Dillon. Substitute: Van Den Hauwe did not play.

Luther Blissett nodded home a minute from time on Tuesday night to notch his 26th goal in first class football this season. In doing so, he brought to an end 180 minutes of almost mesmerising boredom at Vicarage Road, enabling the punters to go home with something akin to a smile on their faces.

After those titanic battles with Aston Villa and the bizarre entertainment of the Notts County fixture, Watford fans have seen the other side of the coin as the Hornets have scrapped and battled in two successive games of excruciating untidiness.

If nothing else, the matches against Spurs and Birmingham City demonstrate that not only luck balances out over a season but entertainment also.

And talking of luck, Graham Taylor was the first to admit that Birmingham City were a little unfortunate and the discerning observer, tip-toeing in and around the expletives of Ron Saunders' after-match Press conference, would have gathered that he was also pretty miffed about the result as well.

Yet luck did balance out in some ways. City, having stolen two points from Watford with their injury time equaliser at St Andrew's in October, were caught out in the 89th minute of this epic of mediocrity. The Hornets having been beaten by Tottenham in a game neither team deserved to lose or rather neither side deserved to win, were given bonus points against City in a match they came perilously close to losing.

Saunders had a point when he said Birmingham had the better chances but on Tuesday night, Watford reaped the benefit from the unusual phenomena of converting the majority of their clear-cut goal scoring opportunities.

Critics of Luther Blissett were left open-mouthed by the striker's record in the match - two chances, two goals - and Taylor seized the opportunity to ram home the impressive and undeniable statistical facts of Blissett's record in this, his first season as a Division One player.

A tally of 26 goals, including his England hat-trick in 40 matches leaves him clearly in the lead as the top, English, First Division striker.

It was perhaps ironic, because Watford's forwards have been well shackled by the last two organised defences at Vicarage Road and have gained little change, considering the Hornets' philosophy is based on attack and the creating of goalscoring opportunities.

Admitted Taylor: "I almost started with Gerry Armstrong and I could have brought him on before the interval. But I wanted to see what Richard Jobson looked like on the right and Nigel Callaghan on the left. It was an experiment and while we don't want to lose our position in the table I am in the happy position of being able to try a few things now and again."

Armstrong's arrival did prevent the visiting defenders from having it all their own way, particularly in the air, but with the wind in their favour, City still enjoyed the better of the second half exchanges and Steve Sherwood was the busier of the two goalkeepers.

Yet in the end, the virtue of wing-play paid dividends. The first time Nigel Callaghan managed to round his full-back and to so cleanly, Watford scored the winning goal.

And while Watford's corner kicking has not been of its usual high consistency over the past two games, the virtue of playing the percentages was again demonstrated when the Hornets scored the first goal from a corner after 52 minutes.

The conditions and Birmingham's perilous position suggested that it was unlikely to be a flowing game. A stiff wind did not help with the accuracy of the long pass but the game was made even more untidy by Watford's frantic play.

"I have some sympathy for the players. They all felt very down after the Spurs' game. It was a most unsatisfactory game for them and a most unsatisfactory result. They were very eager to bounce back; probably over-eager. They were getting to places before the ball. I understand and sympathise. We had to try and slow them down at half time.

"I think we played better in the second half. After we scored, I thought we might do something but Birmingham also played better and started to stretch us a bit which they had not done in the first half," said Taylor.

One surprising and refreshing facet of City's play was their hard but clean approach. In a match otherwise excellently refereed, there was never really a bad foul all night until the 73rd minute when a cynical body check should have resulted in sterner action from referee Taylor.

On the terraces and in the stands, impatience and frustration were evident and perhaps understandably so.

Since that superb game against Aston Villa, Watford have crumbled at Norwich; clawed a win at Coventry; won a Whitehall Farce against County and then featured in two turgid matches inside four days. For those fed on a diet of entertainment, excitement and success, the bread-without-butter-fare of the last week has been hard to swallow. There was much on Tuesday night which took one back some seven or eight years to Division Four days when the Hornets would struggle to beat the likes of Crewe on just such an untidy March night.

But then again it is forgettable, so much so that by the time the final whistle came, the first half was hard to recall. The Hornets started with much passion. Jackett, who has been having a lean time lately, featured quite strongly earlier on as did Callaghan on the left. Watford forced City back and gained a number of unproductive corners.

Jackett fired wide from a reasonable position and in City's first break, Ferguson and Harford missed their connection with Gayle's driven cross. Bolton had a free kick deflected wide off a defender and when Harford's back header set Dillon up with a chance, he shot straight at the covering Sherwood. Dillon was again thwarted by the Watford goalkeeper and Blake went close from Curbishley's free kick. So by the time the interval arrived, Watford had little to show for their territorial supremacy while being thankful that City were still beset by the problems which have limited their away goals to just five this season.

The introduction of Armstrong down the centre and the switch of Barnes to the left, recharged the Hornets after the break and from Callaghan's 52nd minute corer, the Northern Ireland man got the vital touch and Blissett was there to nod home.

For a spell it looked as if Watford were going to build on this, but Birmingham came back strongly and Harford missed a simple chance when Gayle crossed after City had worked the ball back from a half-cleared corner. But in the 69th minute, Watford's defence was left adrift by a back-header from Harford and Ferguson raced clear, beating Sherwood with a fine shot - the best goal of the night.

Watford had a reasonable chance of retaking the lead, when a Callaghan free kick bounced off the wall to Rice, who blazed high and wide, but of the two sides, City attacked with greater purpose and cohesion as the game inched towards a draw.

Callaghan with a shot out of the blue, volleyed the ball goalwards bringing an excellent save from Coton and that draw looked certain.

"We had a free kick," related Saunders later. "But instead of putting the ball in their area, we played it back. Dillon tries to cheat, they get a free kick and we conceded the second of two poxy goals."

Callaghan on the right, beat his man and crossed. No one contested the ball in the centre but Jackett, appearing beyond the far post, juggled the ball back and Blissett rose to head into the corner of the net.

Supporters' frowns turned to smiles and Watford reacted with a snippet of vintage football, with Blissett coming from the left, beating two men and squaring for Barnes, whose shot was excellently deflected by Coton.

January 21, 2002 16:30