Saturday, August 28, 1982

Watford faced Everton in their first game in the top tier of English football.

Despite the relative inexperience of the squad, no signings had been made to strengthen the side that had won promotion. Nonetheless, the Hornets kicked off the season with a 2-0 win and it was two of the players with previous top-flight experience who got the goals.

Striker Gerry Armstrong, fresh from a successful World Cup with Northern Ireland in which he had been voted the best British player, scored the club's first in the top flight. Skipper Pat Rice got the second, the only goal he would score for the club, after Everton's Neville Southall was adjudged to have carried his free-kick over the goalline.

The game also yielded what were at the time record gate receipts of £46,604.

Reproduced by kind permission of Matt Rowson from his book,Watford FC On This Day