Gianfranco Zola delighted with Watford striker Matej Vydra's all-round contribution in Brighton & Hove Albion win

11:50am Monday 31st December 2012 in Sport By Anthony Matthews, Group Sports Editor

Matej Vydra's scores his first goal on Saturday. Picture: Action Images Matej Vydra's scores his first goal on Saturday. Picture: Action Images

Matej Vydra may have got the headlines for his match-winning two-goal burst in as many minutes against Brighton & Hove Albion but Gianfranco Zola was delighted with the striker’s all-round contribution.

After a David Lopez penalty had cancelled out Troy Deeney’s opener, the Czech international fired the Hornets back in front with a shot that deflected off Adam El-Abd over Tomasz Kuszczak before showing superb acceleration and composure to round off an excellent three-pass counter-attack and score his 12th of the campaign and make it 3-1 to his side

“Matej is a player that has got a lot of quality and you can see when he gets in front of the goalkeeper he rarely misses the chance. That is something not many have,” said Gianfranco Zola of what is fast becoming the forward’s trademark ability to capitalise on one-against-one scoring situations.

“But what I liked about him today was the way he worked for the team as well. We know Matej can score goals but what we’ve found out is how effective he can be working for the team. He was doubling up all the time on their sitting midfielder, (Liam) Bridcutt, who is a very important player for them. He worked so hard and he was excellent.

“I think he has matured a lot,” Zola continued. “He knows there are good players behind him. He knows the competition is tough because (Fernando) Forestieri is another excellent player, he’s done fantastic for us, so he knows that he has to raise his game if he wants to be more regular on the pitch and I like it because it means the boy has got the desire. When you create those kind of situations it’s good for the team because it pushes everyone hard."

Comments(11)

Hampshire hornet says...
12:02pm Mon 31 Dec 12

We are very very lucky....

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WessexLad says...
12:34pm Mon 31 Dec 12

I predict Vydra, Deeney and Chalobar rested to the bench (and safe from injury) for Charlton, with Geijo, Forestieri and Battochio (or Eustace?) coming in.

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CARDIFFHORN says...
12:39pm Mon 31 Dec 12

Totally agree WessexLad, but what a choice MV or FF!!!

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JohnnyBarnes says...
1:02pm Mon 31 Dec 12

I agree, I think we'll see a few changes against Charlton - but not because Man City is now the focus. If you've got a squad of players as good as ours, why not use them all! Rotation for us now doesn't mean weaker, it means different; pace on the counter away from home, Fessi's guile to open teams up at the Vic.

What a squad.

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Harrydownunder says...
2:33pm Mon 31 Dec 12

Isn't it amazing to think about the quality that we have in this squad that we can afford to rest key players? I can't ever recall having such strength in depth!!

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mickallen57 says...
2:51pm Mon 31 Dec 12

Matty is a class act I was listening on TC Radio when the Seagulls scored I was asked to move my car and when I came back to the radio Peter Fincham was saying that they were worth thier 1-3 lead. I thought that they had had gone across to another match update. What a team we have now. Quality through out and in depth on the bench.Cant' wait for Charlton COYH

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Mohandas says...
2:53pm Mon 31 Dec 12

We should always put out the best team because there are too many variables beyond our control and the risks are just too high when you start playing around with the squad which needs stability and most importantly confidently playing together. The focus should be the league.

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Lloydinio says...
3:13pm Mon 31 Dec 12

I think that Murray should have been played instead of Anya, on Saturday. I think Anya didn't do too well.

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a1derek says...
3:57pm Mon 31 Dec 12

Lloydinio wrote:
I think that Murray should have been played instead of Anya, on Saturday. I think Anya didn't do too well.
Can't believe people keep saying Anya had a bad game! Did you watch the same game as I did? He marked their best player by a country mile and for the most part kept him under control, he was also always there as an outlet ball. He also put in one brilliant cross that no-one got on the end of. Thought he had an excellent game considering he's not had that much game time up until Brighton.

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Mickey Quinn, not so thin says...
5:00pm Mon 31 Dec 12

I expect he will rotate but I would prefer to see TD & MV start as they are both on fire, with G & FF coming on after 60 mins.

Alternatively start with G & FF and bring on TD & MV after say 60 mins.

Still not sure about G. Couple of nice touches but not enough impact when he's on the pitch. Wonder if he will stay past January? At nearly 31 surely he'll not be happy being a bit part player.

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Sahorn says...
7:22pm Mon 31 Dec 12

a1derek wrote:
Lloydinio wrote:
I think that Murray should have been played instead of Anya, on Saturday. I think Anya didn't do too well.
Can't believe people keep saying Anya had a bad game! Did you watch the same game as I did? He marked their best player by a country mile and for the most part kept him under control, he was also always there as an outlet ball. He also put in one brilliant cross that no-one got on the end of. Thought he had an excellent game considering he's not had that much game time up until Brighton.
Couldn't agree more Derek..
Anya looks lightweight but I thought he had a very good game, good ball control, quick and closed his man down..did what was required at an away game.

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