Kabba breaks duck as Hornets taste home league success at last

7:12pm Saturday 2nd February 2008

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WATFORD are back up to second in the Championship after ending their three-and-a-half-month wait for a home league win with their biggest success of the season at Vicarage Road this evening (Saturday) by beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0.

Steve Kabba got the Hornets off to a dream start by scoring his first goal for the club, and in his first in football for more than two years, inside the opening minute.

However, Aidy Boothroyd's troops then had to undergo a strong examination before Tommy Smith secured the points with a two goals in as many second-half minutes.

Boothroyd made two changes following the 1-1 draw at Sheffield United with new signings Leigh Bromby and John Eustace, as expected, making their debuts at the expense of injured captain Jay DeMerit and Lee Williamson, who was among the substitutes. Richard Lee took over the skipper's armband, Darius Henderson was fit enough to be included on a bench that did not feature a substitute keeper nor, as the manager hoped, Collins John.

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy, meanwhile, made just the one change following the 2-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday, with Michael Gray coming in for the injured Neil Collins. David Edwards and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, who both missed last weekend's 4-1 FA Cup victory at Vicarage Road due to being cup-tied, started. New signing Kevin Kyle was on the bench.

After varying their free-kick routine, and not launching the ball into touch for once, Watford were straight on the front foot and, in quite incredible circumstances, were in front inside the opening minute.

Bromby launched a terrific long throw from the left that reached the middle of the Wolves box, bounced up, and there was the much-maligned Kabba lurking at the back post to head home his first Hornets goal from close range. The scorer then embarked on some frenzied celebrations which saw him sprint half the length of the pitch, wildly slap the hand of his ecstatic manager and then seemingly embrace anyone and everyone he could find in the Watford dug-out.

Buoyed by this, the home side were soon attacking again, with Bromby sending over a deep cross from the right, Jobi McAnuff striking the ball back into the danger zone where the stretching Kabba was only able to deflect a header well wide.

Wolves' first reasonable opening came in the ninth minute when Andy Keogh attempted to flick Gray's cross from the left past Lee from the left angle of the six-yard box, but the Hornets' keeper was not unduly troubled. Soon after, Darren Ward rose well to meet a Gray corner from the left, but the Watford old boy was unable to direct his header from eight yards on target.

The visitors continued to have the bulk of the play and their next effort arrived in the 20th minute when Karl Henry fizzed a 20-yard effort comfortably over Lee's bar. Then the Hornets were forced to concede another corner when Gray's ball in from the left was not properly cleared and Ward was almost presented with an excellent heading opportunity from close range.

However, the home side produced a good move which started with Mariappa doing well to dispossess Ebanks-Blake before breaking forward and finding Nathan Ellington, who cleverly slid the ball round the corner to McAnuff. He then surged away down the left and cut through two challenges before making his way to the byline, but Wayne Hennessey dealt comfortably with his final ball.

Having being under the cosh for much of the first-half, Watford were handed a promising situation in the 35th minute when Smith was fouled near the edge of the Wolves area. Ellington's free-kick hit the ball and spun up, Kabba battled for the ball and it then broke back for John-Joe O'Toole, who, from a standing position on the edge of the 18-yard box, struck a left-footed half-volley a yard wide of Hennessey's right-hand post.

Watford kept the pressure on with the ball being played to McAnuff, who attacked the Wolves backline, cutting in then out before hitting a low left-foot shot which Hennessey didn't seem to know a lot about as he unconvincingly blocked with his legs.

At the other end, Mariappa made a good block to thwart an Ebanks-Blake shot on the turn after good work down the left flank by Matt Jarvis, who, like seven days previously, was proving a threat whenever he got on the ball.

The Wolves left-winger was at it again soon after, driving inside and testing Lee with a low shot after Keogh's sideways header had found him in space.

But the home side held out for the remainder of the opening period to take a 1-0 lead into the break after an opening 45 minutes which, for the most part, they had been forced to roll up their sleeves and battle.

The visitors started the second period as they had spent much of the first - on the front foot - and Lee was forced to go to ground inside the opening minute to keep out a 25-yard strike from Ebanks-Blake. Soon after, the former Plymouth Argyle forward saw another effort from slightly closer in deflected behind.

However, Watford had a half-chance on 52 minutes when a poor Hennessey clearance fell invitingly for Ellington, but, after sorting his feet out, the striker dragged his 20-yard effort wide. Next, McAnuff found the side-netting from the right side of the area after a useful build-up involving Smith and O'Toole.

But four minutes later the home side went very close to doubling their lead. Kabba, cleverly, went and stood right in front of Hennessey as Bromby wound up for another long throw from the right, thus preventing the keeper from getting to the ball when it did come into the area. It then broke for McAnuff, who managed to engineer a shooting position but Rob Edwards got back to clear from close to the goalline.

Both Keogh and Gray fired wide for Wolves as the game continued to ebb and flow, before another decent chance came and went after 62 minutes from the home side's first corner. McAnuff's set-piece from the left was struck deep, Bromby headed back into the danger but Smith got too much on his angled close-range effort and headed back over the target.

McCarthy then made the game's first change by bringing on Kyle for Stephen Elliott and he arrived in time to see Ellington curl a free-kick from left of centre, 20 yards out, wide of Hennessey's near post.

Kabba's hard-working and self-rewarding afternoon was ended with just over 20 minutes remaining when he was replaced Henderson, but five minutes later Hennessey was forced to tip a close-range Ellington header over the bar after another Bromby exocet had caused yet more havoc.

But from the set-piece, Watford finally got a second. Ellington attacked the near post region to get on the end of Mat Sadler's set-piece and turned the ball into the six-yard area and there was Smith lurking to deflect home his third of the season.

Not content with that - and after Jay Bothroyd had replaced Keogh - the Hornets winger notched number four within 60 seconds. Ellington hooked the ball forwards, Henderson flicked on to Smith in plenty of space and, after Hennessey had raced from his line, Smith calmly slid the ball past him to make it 3-0.

Boothroyd's reaction was to bring on Lionel Ainsworth for McAnuff, and then Al Bangura for Ellington, and within minutes of entering the fray Ainsworth had cut in from the left side of the area, but dragged his shot wide of the near post.

Watford: Lee; Doyley, Bromby, Mariappa, Sadler; Smith, Eustace, O'Toole, McAnuff (Ainsworth, 81); Kabba (D Henderson, 69), Ellington (Bangura, 84). Not used: Stewart and Williamson.

Wolverhampton Wanderers: Hennessey; Foley, R Edwards, Ward, Gray; Elliott (Kyle, 63), D Edwards, Henry, Jarvis; Keogh, Ebanks-Blake. Not used: Breen, Potter and Stack.

Bookings: None.

Attendance: 18,082.

Referee: Lee Probert.