Watford boss Gianfranco Zola agrees Crystal Palace result could easily have been different

10:32am Monday 20th August 2012 in Sport By Tom Allnutt

Picture: Action Images Picture: Action Images

Watford boss Gianfranco Zola admitted a draw probably would have been a fair result after his side scored two dramatic late goals to beat Crystal Palace 3-2 on Saturday.

New signing Almen Abdi equalised for the Hornets with two minutes to go before fellow Udinese loanee Matej Vydra came off the bench to steal all three points with virtually the last kick of the game.

The victory gave Watford’s new head coach the perfect start but Zola conceded the result could easily have been different.

Zola said: “Probably a draw would have been a fair result.

“To be honest though they were 2-1 up and I believe we were slightly better than them in the first half.

“And then in the second half we probably didn’t play as well but we got the two goals that made the difference.”

Zola thought the heat may have played a part in the late goals and was keen to pay tribute to his opponents.

He said: “In the heat it was so difficult for everyone but Palace played a very good game and made it difficult for us. The difference was just one great goal.”

Watford will be hoping to build on their strong start when Ipswich Town come to Vicarage Road tomorrow evening.

Comments(7)

Eastsussexhornet says...
11:57am Mon 20 Aug 12

Well who am I to disagree? He's the manager. But, from where I was sitting, although a draw wouldn't have been a traversty, the win was no more than we deserved. "Slightly better" in the first half? We were by far the better team in the first half. The second was more even. Anyway, it's good to disagree in these circumstances!

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McHornet says...
12:05pm Mon 20 Aug 12

Agreed! better to have an underserved 3 points, than an undeserved 0!

I'm too excited for Ipswich on Tuesday!

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Eastsussexhornet says...
12:52pm Mon 20 Aug 12

McHornet wrote:
Agreed! better to have an underserved 3 points, than an undeserved 0!

I'm too excited for Ipswich on Tuesday!
Yes agreed, but my point was, it WASN'T undeserved. Regards tomorrow, I hope we've trained up for taking advantage of Loach's free kicks from the half way line and the fact that he never comes off his line when the opposition attacks! Just a few crosses in should do the trick. We should also intimidate their defenders so that they pass back a lot!

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HornetJJ says...
1:09pm Mon 20 Aug 12

I also disagree, we thoroughly deserved to win on Saturday. Obviously I would have taken the draw after 89 mins but would have been slightly dissappointed. We dominated the game contrary to the possession stats on the BBC and Sky websites!

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AngelHornet says...
1:18pm Mon 20 Aug 12

I think Palace will struggle this season, and on the day we thoroughly deserved the 3 points

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Eastsussexhornet says...
2:35pm Mon 20 Aug 12

Good, we all agree then. I als think that Palace will struggle. One pealty and another gifted to them, they didn't look a potent force. I would say though that defensively we did look a bit shaky but the individuals involved are all fairly good defenders, perhaps wit the exception of Dickinson. The main problem seemed to be that they didn't maintain their position enough. Taylor looked like a centre forward at times and Doyley a winger. Anyway, an overall good performance.

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hornet4eva says...
3:33pm Mon 20 Aug 12

Totally agree Eastsussexhornet. I was at the game and thought we were much the better side in the first half playing a really pleasing passing game and were very patient having gone behind against the run of play. The second half was more even as they got Zaha into the game more but we still stuck to our style of play and got our just rewards where in the past we might have resorted to lumping it up in desperation. Even at 2-1 down I wasn't downhearted as I was so pleased to see progress being made in the style of football being played.

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