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

Barnsley vs Watford

• Kick off: 3:00pm Sat 6 Feb 10
• Referee: Fred Graham
• Venue: Oakwell

Final score:

Barnsley 1 - 0 Watford

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90:00: While some may point to the absence of Tom Cleverley as a key factor - and Watford did miss him - the bottom line is it took them until the fifth minute of stoppage time to register an attempt on target and in the previous 95 minutes they had only had two efforts at goal, and neither of those troubled Luke Steele. That said they had a decent penalty appeal turned down and what looked a good goal chalked off as well, so they can argue with some justication that it wasn't their day. Thanks for joining us, we're off to defrost now and we'll be back again hoping for a better night against Bristol City on Tuesday.

90:00: Final whistle And that's it...and Watford's miserable run at Oakwell continues. That's a fourth successive defeat at Barnsley and a ninth game on the road without a win stretching back almost four months.

90:00: From the resultant corner, Watford keep the ball alive and it is turned in from the right but Adrian Mariappa fires wide of the near post on the turn.

90:00: ...and it was so nearly a beauty. Henri Lansbury curled a brilliant effort over the wall, only for Luke Steele to pull off a tremendous one-handed diving save.

90:00: One last chance maybe...Watford win a free-kick 25 yards out...

90:00: Red card Well a sending off sorts...Watford's kit man Will Jones is ordered from the dugout, presumably for speaking out of turn?

90:00: Martin Taylor is now playing as an extra striker but there is still nothing falling for Watford in and around the penalty area.

90:00: Mimimum of five minutes extra folks as Watford waste a corner.

89:00: Jon Harley drifts another ball in from the left but Heidar Helguson can't direct his header back across the six-yard box.

88:00: That looked dubious. Barnsley fail to deal with a free-kick and Danny Graham loops a header over Luke Steele, but Fred Graham disallows it for a supposed push. Didn't look much, if anything, to me.

87:00: Don Cowie makes a great tackle to dispossess Felipe Teixeira and, not for the first time this afternoon, the referee gets it all wrong. Messrs Mackay and Dyche are fuming...again.

85:00: Substitution Will Hoskins replaces Lloyd Doyley, with Jon Harley moving back to left-back.

83:00: Scott Loach spares Martin Taylor's blushes, albeit with an ultimately comfortable save, after the centre-half makes a complete hash of shielding the ball tight to the touchline and lets in Andy Gray for a shot on the angle.

80:00: Ten minutes plus injury time to see if Watford can make their man advantage count. The game is now being played almost exclusively in the Barnsley half but the quality final ball is still lacking.

78:00: More on the sending off - it looked mis-timed rather than malicious, but the challenge was around Doyley's ankle and sent him flying in the air.

77:00: Red card Ryan Shotton goes in very late on Lloyd Doyley and referee Fred Graham reaches straight for his top pocket. Now let's see what the Hornets can do against ten men.

75:00: Jon Harley swings in a useful looking cross from the left but, like with most Watford deliveries so far this afternoon, it's comfortably dealt with.

72:00: There's no shortage of effort from those in yellow but they need a flash of inspiration from somewhere.

68:00: Midway through the half and Watford win their first corner of the match. Still no attempts on target though.

67:00: Today's attendance is 11,739, with 443 making the journey up the M1. Well done to them.

64:00: Substitution Danny Graham replaces Ross Jenkins. No surprises really because Watford haven't got going at all in the final third since the break.

59:00: Yellow card Hugo Colace is booked for chopping down Henri Lansbury.

56:00: Goal! And the volume's just been raised even more as Emil Hallfredsson latches on to a cross-field ball from the right, cuts inside Adrian Mariappa and beats Scott Loach for power at his near post.

55:00: That's raised the volume. Nathan Doyle lets fly with an absolute rocket from 25 yards that crashes off Scott Loach's near post with the keeper beaten.

54:00: Substitution Early change for the home side. Jay Rodriguez comes on for Anderson de Silva.

49:00: Heidar Helguson slides in Henri Lansbury and puts the midfielder one-on-one with Luke Steele, but the offside flag is raised.

48:00: First attempt of the half but Emil Hallfreddson blazes well over from 25 yards. As one joker in the press box put it, it reminds him that it's the first day of the Six Nations.

45:00: Off we go again at a freezing and foggy Oakwell.

45:00: Nice one WanderingDynamo! I must admit I had a little smile when I saw who the referee was!

45:00: Barnsley have a couple of chances to deliver crosses from dangerous positions but on each occasion the cross is overhit slightly

45:00: As two minutes of added time is announced, Watford work the ball well and Lansbury almost chips the ball through to Harley but Shotton does well to recover

45:00: Doyley does well to recover and concedes a corner, which Loach gathers easily

44:00: Teixeira has a pop from distance but it is wide and over

42:00: Shotton's cross is too deep and Watford eventually clear.. just

40:00: Doyley puts Gray into the stands with a challenge and there is a slightly scary moment as Doyley desperately calls for the physio but the striker is fine

38:00: A moment of controversy. Slick passing from Watford sees Lansbury one-two with Helguson and just as the Arsenal loanee was set to shoot he was bundled over. Referee said no penalty

38:00: Both sides have the chance to create something with a spell of possession but are wasteful

35:00: Nothing of note has really happened. It is currently a very scrappy match

30:00: Eustace gives the ball away needlessly in Barnsley's half and the home side break quickly and Hallfredsson's cross was set to be volleyed goalwards by Gray but DeMerit made an excellent last ditch tackle

28:00: Watford kept the ball well for a while but poor crosses from both full backs let their side down and wasted the opportunity

26:00: A Watford free kick sees the ball end up at Cowie's feet out wide and his deep cross is gathered well by Steele

25:00: Another Anderson shot is deflected, this time out for a corner. Hallfredsson's delivery didn't beat the first man

22:00: Shotton beats Harley and sends in a deep cross but Hallfredsson is unable to keep the ball in play

20:00: Watford's first spell of neat passing sees Doyley cross for Harley but his first-time effort was well wide

19:00: Slick passing from Barnsley earns them a corner. Hallfredsson's deliver is only cleared to the edge of the area by Taylor and Teixeira's volley is wide

18:00: Yellow card Mariappa booked for professional foul on Hallfredsson

15:00: Steele scuffs a kick low along the ground but it is took off the foot of Lansbury by Moore as he was set to shoot

13:00: Taylor was indecisive at a long ball and Loach punched through the ball and Taylor, leaving the centre back on the floor, and Hallfredsson tried to lob Loach from 30 yards and his effort was not far wide

12:00: De Merit was weak in a challenge with Anderson and allowed the midfielder to burst through but his cross was behind Gray and Mariappa cleared. Lucky escape for Watford

11:00: An aimless cross from Harley is easily gathered by the keeper

10:00: Harley has a shot from distance blocked

9:00: So far Doyley has matched Teixeira but the on loan West Brom winger looks as though he may cause problems, as does Hallfredsson

8:00: Scrappy play results in Helguson slipping Harley through one on one but he was adjudged to be offside

6:00: A run from Hallfredsson creates the space for Teixeira on the edge of the area and his shot deflected off Doyley and looked as though it was going to loop over Loach but the keeper saved

3:00: It has been a scrappy start to the game but the first sniff at goal went Watford's way. A deep cross from Harley was not cleared by Dickinson at the back post but Cowie was unable to control the ball and it ran out for a throw

0:00: The game has kicked off with Watford shooting right to left

0:00: Watford’s top scorer Tom Cleverley has been ruled out of this game after failing to shake off a knee injury he sustained in Tuesday night’s 3-0 victory over Sheffield United. The on-loan Manchester United midfielder’s place is taken by Jon Harley, but that is the only change Malky Mackay has made after Henri Lansbury recovered from a stomach bug that restricted his training this week. New signing Stephen McGinn is on the bench, but there is no place in the matchday 18 yet for another recent arrival, Will Buckley. Barnsley boss Mark Robins, meanwhile, not surprisingly keeps faith with the same starting XI that claimed an impressive 4-1 win at Preston North End in mid-week. The home side are chasing a third win in four, but the Hornets will be keen to end a dismal record at Oakwell. They have only won once in their last seven visits and been beaten on the last three occasions. But if Mackay’s men do pick up three points, it will give them their first win on the road in nine and their first league double over Barnsley since 2000/01. Barnsley: Steele; Shotton, Foster, Moore, Dickinson; Doyle, Colace, De Silva, Hallfredsson, Teixeira; Gray. Substitutes: Hume, Rodriguez, Preece, Butterfield, Macken, Potter, Hammill. Watford: Loach; Mariappa, DeMerit, Taylor, Doyley; Cowie, Eustace, Jenkins, Harley; Lansbury; Helguson. Substitutes: McGinn, Graham, Lee, Bennett, Hoskins, Bryan, Hodson.

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