Doyley: 'This time I knew what I was doing' (From Watford Observer)

Lloyd Doyley admits second Watford goal was a cross but Bolton Wanderers defeat tainted moment

12:08pm Monday 17th September 2012 in Sport By Frank Smith

Lloyd Doyley admits the second goal of his career was a mishit cross and unlike his first, it was tainted slightly by a disappointing result.

Doyley has been a mainstay in the Watford side for the best part of a decade but his goal away to Bolton Wanderers on Saturday was just the second of his career.

His debut goal was a memorable header against Queens Park Rangers, which was live on Sky Sports and helped his side to a comfortable 3-1 victory.

This time around, the Hornets were already 2-0 down at half time and were unable to snatch an equaliser against a Bolton side who many have tipped to challenge for the title this season.

When Doyley picked up the ball on the right corner of the 18-yard box at around 4.15pm on Saturday, few people in the stadium, especially those in the away end, expected the full back to find the top corner.

And to be honest, neither did Doyley.

"It was a cross," he admitted. "I tried to cross it to the back post but as soon as I hit it I knew it was going in. We see that happen in the Championship and the Premier League all the time and this time I was the lucky one.

"It felt good to get my second goal but at the time we were still 2-1 down and we still had a job to do. We came here to get three points, and it would have been nice to get a result but we didn’t and we will just move on.

"We will take the second half as a positive and try to start like we did in the second half."

Manchester United loanee Tom Cleverley pointing Doyley in the direction of the Watford fans after the full back's first goal has become a somewhat iconic image for supporters.

The now prolific full back did not require assistance on Saturday though as he ran to the away end to celebrate with the fans.

"This time I knew what I was doing," he joked. "I saw it go in and I just wanted to celebrate with the Watford fans."

Watford's inability to defend set pieces was costly once again at the Reebok Stadium but in the second half, they played on the offensive more and Zola believes his side deserved at least a point from the contest.

When asked about Zola's half-time team talk, Doyley said: "All he really said was go and put them under a lot more pressure, which we did.

"We closed them down a lot higher up the pitch and by doing that it kept them more in their half. That helped us as they didn’t have as much time on the ball to kick it forward to Davies and Ngog. We got the ball more in their half and kept on attacking."