Sport: Local and national sport in and around Watford - Watford Observer

Watford vs Sheffield United

• Kick off: 7:45pm Tue 2 Feb 10
• Referee: Keith Hill
• Venue: Vicarage Road

Final score:

Watford 3 - 0 Sheffield United

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94:00: Final whistle Watford's seven match winless run has ended with a comfortable 3-0 win. All three goals could have been prevented but Malky Mackay and his men won't mind

91:00: SAHornet - yes the back four have looked much more settled. There was only one or two moments where they looked a bit shaky

90:00: Four minutes of added time

87:00: Graham has not scored in months but it didn't tell as he chested the ball down 20 yards out and fired a volley which was heading for the top corner until Bunn palmed it over

84:00: First mistake from Taylor almost led to a goal. He misjudged the bounce of the ball and Quinn was free to shoot at goal but it was again a weak effort and Loach saved

84:00: Substitution Harley for Jenkins

83:00: Ball breaks to Jenkins 18 yards out and his goal-bound volley is blocked

82:00: Yellow card Nosworthy booked for professional foul

81:00: Substitution Hoskins on for Helguson

76:00: Substitution Injured Cleverley off for Graham

73:00: Goal! A deserved goal scorer. Cowie whips in an in-swinging free kick from more than 30 yards out and it bounces and goes in without anyone touching it or the keeper getting near

70:00: SAHornet - Taylor has looked very composed. Henderson had some joy early on but he has since done nothing of note and has just been taken off in place of Evans

69:00: Substitution Henderson leaves to a standing ovation from the home crowd to make way for Evans

68:00: Another Watford corner is half cleared and Doyley almost finds himself one on one with Bunn but the keeper just beat him to the ball

66:00: More magic from Cleverley sees the Manchester United youngster send in a dangerous low cross which Fortune has to send behind for a corner. After a scramble, United clear

64:00: Yellow card Henderson booked for an off the ball incident with Doyley

56:00: Cleverley is unmarked as Taylor pulls the ball back to him 12 yards out but his powerful drive is blocked

55:00: Goal! More poor defending from United sees Helguson sneak behind the left back to gather the ball 18 yards out before composing himself and firing past Bunn

52:00: Attendance 13,076

51:00: Loach completely misjudges a corner but fortunately it bounces out of play before anyone could get a touch

49:00: Taylor could have grabbed a debut goal when he found himself unmarked six yards out but he was at a tight angle and his volley went out for a throw in

46:00: Watford should have made it 2-0 as Bunn scuffed a kick straight to the unmarked Helguson but he seem to have too long and his tame effort was tipped wide by Bunn

46:00: Substitution A change for the visitors before the restart. Mark Yeates replaces Jamie Ward.

45:00: Half time Apologies for the technical glitch there but that's half the job done for Watford.

45:00: Richard Cresswell has more time than he realises when Jordan Stewart picks him out in the area with a cross from the left, but he tamely heads through to Scott Loach.

45:00: There's been a few injuries but five minutes of stoppage time seems a tad excessive.

41:00: Substitution It gets worse for the visitors after Tom Cleverley's tenth of the campaign. Chris Morgan cannot continue after his injury and is replaced by Jonathan Fortune.

39:00: Martin Taylor lobs the ball forward, three Blades defenders are left totally bamboozled as Heidar Helguson cleverly drops off without making a challenge, the ball drops into no-man's land and Tom Cleverley beats Mark Bunn to the bounce to head into the unguarded net. Cleverley gets flattened for his troubles by the Blades keeper but he's OK to carry on.

39:00: Goal! And the Golden Boys make the breakthrough! And it's Tom Cleverley into double figures.

37:00: Visiting skipper Chris Morgan receives some treatment following a collision in his own area but he should be OK to continue.

32:00: Perhaps the Quinn/Loach incident has given the Hornets the spark they needed because they have upped the tempo and are starting to move the ball around well at times now.

30:00: How close can you get...Tom Cleverley curls a superb 25-yard free-kick from a central position over the wall and it cracks off the face of Mark Bunn's right-hand post.

28:00: Yellow card This is getting a bit spicy. Stephen Quinn needlessly slides into Scott Loach when he had no hope of getting the ball, Jay DeMerit reacts furiously and the Blades wide midfielder is rightly cautioned.

25:00: Watford win their first corner and again the Blades somehow survive. Don Cowie's deep set-piece from the left is headed back across the six-yard box by Heidar Helguson and Tom Cleverley narrowly fails to apply the killer touch.

22:00: Another you can do I can do better. A long Adrian Mariappa throw from the right is flicked on and Heidar Helguson looks certain to score but Mark Bunn - and I'm not quite sure how - somehow manages to parry the ball away. A brilliant save.

21:00: Great stop by Scott Loach. James Harper whips over a free-kick from the right side of the area and Chris Morgan heads firmly down but the Hornets keeper reacts superbly to block.

15:00: Yellow card James Harper lunges into a mis-timed challenge and catches John Eustace around his ankles. The former Reading midfielder can have no complaints about his punishment from Keith Hill.

13:00: Pretty even-stevens so far - and the early impressions are favourable of Watford's new boy at the back.

10:00: First corner of the night to the visitors - and an under pressure Scott Loach is forced to claw it away for another set-piece. This leads to Stephen Quinn lobbing the ball back into the box and the back-tracking John Eustace is forced to clear.

9:00: Almost a moment of magic from Lloyd Doyley. He cuts inside a breaks forward, only to over-hit the pass out of play.

7:00: Crunching late challenge by Adrian Mariappa on Darius Henderson and the Watford right-back is fortunate not to see yellow. Soon after though, it's Mariappa who needs a spot of treatment after being felled on the edge of his own area.

4:00: First opportunity for the Hornets to exert some real pressure, but Adrian Mariappa's long throw is comfortably gathered by Mark Bunn.

2:00: First attempt of the game from Stephen Quinn on the left angle of the area, but Scott Loach watches it sail harmlessly over.

0:00: Impeccable minute's silence for Les Simmons - and it's the Blades who get us underway.

0:00: Nice ovation from the Hornets' faithful for the returning Darius Henderson and Lee Williamson, but a mixed response for Jordan Stewart. But Martin Taylor, as you would expect gets a terrific welcome. Him against 'Hendo' could be a bit tasty...!

0:00: The players are coming out of the tunnel and the first treat of the night for us press guys - the Blades are wearing a kit on which you can actually read the numbers for once.

0:00: Just a reminder that there will be a minute's silence before kick-off in memory of former Vicarage Road groundsman Les Simmons, who died at the end of last year. There will no doubt be plenty here tonight who will remember one of the club's great characters with real affection.

0:00: A bit of background about Watford's new centre-half Martin Taylor. The 30-year-old started his career at Blackburn Rovers and as well as his other permanent club, Birmingham City, he has also had loan spells at Darlington, Stockport County and Norwich City. Taylor has made 228 starts in all competitions to date, along with 32 appearances from the bench, and has scored ten goals.

0:00: Watford: Loach; Mariappa, DeMerit, Taylor, Doyley; Cowie, Eustace, Jenkins, Lansbury; Cleverley, Helguson. Substitutes: McGinn, Graham, Harley, Lee, Bennett, Hoskins, Bryan. Sheffield United: Bunn; Geary, Morgan, Nosworthy, Stewart; Cresswell, Harper, Montgomery, Quinn; Ward, Henderson. Substitutes: France, Evans, Yeates, Williamson, Bennett, Fortune, Camara.

0:00: Confirmed team line-ups to come shortly but Martin Taylor does make his debut following his free transfer from Birmingham City, while another window signing - Stephen McGinn - is on the bench. Watford old boys Darius Henderson and Jordan Stewart start for the visitors and Lee Williamson is among the substitutes.

0:00: While Malky Mackay's men will come into the game fresh following the frustrating late postponement of the game against Swansea City, the Blades saw their three-match league winning run ended by a 3-1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion.

0:00: Good evening everyone and welcome back to Vicarage Road for what seems like the first home game in an enternity - actually it's been 37 days since the 0-0 Boxing Day draw with Nottingham Forest - as the Hornets bid to end their seven-game winless streak against Sheffield United.