A happy Hornets new year (From Watford Observer)

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Watford eight unbeaten after Doncaster Rovers victory

3:12pm Saturday 31st December 2011 in Championship Table By Anthony Matthews

A happy Hornets new year

Watford ended 2011 as they had started it – with a win – and they did it some style, beating Doncaster Rovers 4-1 to extend their unbeaten run to eight games.

The Hornets were the better side for much of the first half and deservedly took the lead shortly before the break with a fine run and finish from Marvin Sordell.

The visitors were level soon after the restart though, when Billy Sharp headed home a good cross from El-Hadji Diouf but the game swung back in the hosts’ favour when Herold Goulon was sent off for a second yellow card.

Within six minutes, Watford had capitalised on their numerical advantage when Sordell headed in his second to put the home side back in front and then the gloss was added late on.

John Eustace came off the bench to score with his second touch and then Michael Kightly, making the last home appearance of his current loan spell, netted a superb fourth, running at the Rovers rearguard before curling home from the edge of the area.

There was no surprise that Sean Dyche kept faith with the same starting line-up that drew with Cardiff City last time out. That meant Troy Deeney made his 200th career appearance, while Jonathan Hogg reached a half-century of professional games.

It didn’t take the Hornets long to get their first sight of goal, with Kightly’s run inside off the left setting up Sordell but Gary Woods got down to save the striker’s first-time left-footed shot after 23 seconds.

The visitors had their first half-chance when a Herita Ilunga long throw from the left bounced up for Diouf in the area but the former Blackburn Rovers striker was unable to control it and the ball ran through for Scott Loach.

Deeney, Prince Buaben and Mark Yeates then put together a nice one-touch passing move in and the Rovers area before the latter was flagged offside but the hosts went closer in the 16th minute when a deep Yeates corner from the left was met by Nyron Nosworthy, whose looping header clipped the top of the crossbar.

The game went flat for a while before a cross-field free-kick picked out Kightly, who came in off the left flank to test Woods with a stinging right-footed drive but Rovers were then forced into early change, with James O’Connor replacing the injured Pascal Chimbonda.

Goulon could have no complaints about picking up the game’s first yellow card in the 32nd minute for chopping down Lee Hodson. Again though, little else of note happened until Sharp sent an ambitious lob dipping over Loach’s bar from the right with three minutes of the half remaining.

A minute later though, the Hornets made the breakthrough in fine fashion.

Hodson did very well to win a challenge before finding Sordell, who advanced towards the edge of the area before almost placing the ball out of the reach of Woods and into the bottom right-hand corner to make it 1-0.

Having fallen behind, Doncaster could have been back in it almost immediately when James Coppinger found Sharp in space on the right side of the area but he was unable to pick out a team-mate with a ball across the six-yard box.

The visitors had rarely threatened the Hornets goal in the first half but within two minutes of the restart they were level.

Diouf, who had needlessly gestured to the Rookery when heading down the tunnel at the end of the opening 45 minutes, produced a superb cross from the left and Sharp did very well to get up above his man and beat Loach with a close-range header.

A Yeates shot over the bar apart, Watford created little after being pegged back but they were given a sizeable boost with 63 minutes gone when Goulon clearly fouled Kightly and referee Darren Drysdale showed the midfielder a second yellow card followed by a red.

Within six minutes, the Hornets had made their numerical advantage count when Yeates’ inswinging cross from the right was met by the head of Sordell, who steered it beyond Woods to make it 2-1.

And six minutes after that Deeney spurned a glorious chance to score the third, glancing a Yeates cross down and wide of the far post when unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box.

Sordell almost completed his hat-trick soon after but hit a shot on the turn straight at Woods after more good work by Kightly.

Dyche decided to make a change with seven minutes remaining, bringing on Eustace for Buaben, and it reaped almost instant rewards, with the substitute running on to a bouncing ball to strike a left-foot shot past Woods and score with his second touch after Doncaster had made a hash of defending.

Chris Iwelumo and Joe Garner also came on for the closing stages, replacing Deeney and Sordell respectively, but there was still time for the Hornets to add a delightful fourth – Kightly latching on to a poor clearance and attacking the Rovers ranks before curling home from the edge of the area.

Watford: Loach; Hodson, Nosworthy, Mariappa, Dickinson; Yeates, Hogg, Buaben (Eustace 83), Kightly; Deeney (Iwelumo 87), Sordell (Garner 87). Not used: Doyley and Bond.

Doncaster Rovers: Woods; Chimbonda (O’Connor 26), Hird, Beye, Ilunga; Coppinger, Barnes, Goulon, Gillett (Bennett 83); Diouf (Hayter 87), Sharp. Not used: Friend and Maxted.

Bookings: Goulon for a foul on Hodson (32); Sharp for dissent (58); Goulon for a foul on Kightly – sent off (63); Diouf for dissent (65).

Attendance: 11,654.

Referee: Darren Drysdale.

Comments(30)

stevemag says...
3:31pm Sat 31 Dec 11

Strong professional performance....same culprits as usual were the stars for me.... Hogg, Kightly, Noseworthy, Mariappa and Hodson.

Pleasant change also in that there wasn't any obviously bloomers from old butterfingers Loach!

If only for the 6 thoraway points (Bristol , Leeds and Cardiff).