Watford earned a vital point at Championship leaders Bristol City after a 0-0 draw but will be ruing a missed penalty in the first half which could have handed them a massive win.
The cagey top-of-the-table clash was dominated by both defences but the Hornets spurned the best opportunity of the match when Darius Henderson's spot-kick was saved by Adriano Basso.
The game had few chances with both teams' fear of a defeat leading to a stalemate as Watford drew their fifth successive match.
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Watford manager Aidy Boothroyd handed Collins John his long awaited first start in place of Nathan Ellington. Jordan Stewart was also recalled with Mat Sadler missing out.
The visitors started very much on the front foot, pinning Bristol in their own half thanks largely to the long throws of Leigh Bromby who reached the City penalty box three times in the first four minutes.
It took, however, 15 minutes for either side to register a shot on target, Jobi McAnuff seeing a shot saved at the near post.
Bristol appeared to be sizing Watford up in the opening stages but they gradually began to impose themselves on the visitors, playing their neat brand of football. An intricate move down the left resulted in Marvin Elliott forcing Richard Lee to tip a long-range effort round the post on 20 minutes, while an uncharacteristic mis-placed pass from John Eustace led to the former Millwall midfielder bringing out an even better save from the Watford number one seven minutes later.
Bristol were now in full stride, threatening down both flanks with Brian Wilson and Michael McIndoe providing Adrian Mariappa and Stewart with a searching examination.
Mariappa became the first player to be cautioned on 37 minutes and he tested the patience of the referee soon after with another foul on McIndoe.
Watford were very much on the back foot but they were given a golden chance to open the scoring on 40 minutes. A reverse pass from Henderson sent Tommy Smith racing into the box. The winger was just about to cut the ball back from the by-line when he was tripped by McIndoe. The referee pointed straight to the spot, waving away the futile protests of the City players.
Henderson grabbed the ball straight away in confident fashion but he saw his hopes of a 13th goal of the season dashed when Basso dived to his left to palm away his spot-kick in front of the 1,700 visiting fans.
A clearly frustrated Henderson then took his anger out on Lee Johnson with a high challenge that sparked a heated row between both benches, with Malky Mackay and Steve Kabba in the thick of things.
Henderson escaped with a yellow card, as did Johnson minutes later for a similarly wild challenge on the pumped-up Shittu.
The incident lit the touch paper and there was another exchange of words between both sides as they headed down the tunnel at half-time.
Johnson was taken off at half-time for Nick Carle and was spotted limping down the touchline on crunches with an ankle injury.
Lee Williamson replaced the quiet John after 52 minutes in a defensive move which suggested Boothroyd would be satisfied with a point. But the Hornets went close after 55 minutes when Eustace crossed from the left hand side and Bromby headed narrowly wide of the post.
Jay DeMerit was brought on midway through the second half for Mariappa. Jamie McAllister created a rare opening for Dele Adebola but the former Birmingham striker headed well over the crossbar.
City boss Gary Johnson showed some attacking intent by bringing on the enigmatic Lee Trundle for midfielder David Noble with little more than 15 minutes remaining.
But Watford came closest again in the 87th minute when McAnuff's low cross was cheekily back heeled by O'Toole inches wide of the goal.
The match ended in a deserved draw with both sides still in the thick of the action at the top of the division.
Colin will not have gone so.....anyway-overal
l a fair result-we should have won re penalty & 1 goal would have been enough for either side---crap view -we all thought NE had come on until we saw LW actually run for the ball!
LB & DH best players but overall a committed but low quality display--nobody great & nobody shirked but puts Stoke in a great position & we Must beat them.
Little impact from wings & no pace from midfield made us predictable.
CJ was spirited & hopefully wiil become productive.
Colin will not have gone so.....anyway-overal
l a fair result-we should have won re penalty & 1 goal would have been enough for either side---crap view -we all thought NE had come on until we saw LW actually run for the ball!
LB & DH best players but overall a committed but low quality display--nobody great & nobody shirked but puts Stoke in a great position & we Must beat them.
Little impact from wings & no pace from midfield made us predictable.
CJ was spirited & hopefully wiil become productive.
Posted by: Hornetboy84, ricky on 1:03am Wed 12 Mar 08
Agree Sage!
Just got back. This reminds me of '98 ... we drew 0-0 away to City then pipped them for the old title on the pitch at Fulham in the last game.
We will look on this as a good point later.
We are playing well and solid and I was a little disappointed we didnt go fot it more as i think we had them beat really. BUT I guess it was most important not to risk the loss.
Jobi diappointing tonight ... (imapct of no Sadler? - the balls from Stewart were poor! ... but to be fair he used his pace well in defence a couple of ttimes to ease out problem situations. LB was immense and generally a good performance if not inspiring - but conditions were awful.
I still believe that both CJ and NE will be the difference in the run in.
3 points preferable saturday - BUT I can see it being a draw ... this would not be the end of the world - after that we may as well just go for it against teams as we will have nothing to lose.
We are not losing so this is good form. Overall performances are positive.
Good luck Saturday folks - I will be on the way to the Lake District so will have
to plan my journey to be in range of Stoke radio stations for 2nd half!
Agree Sage!
Just got back. This reminds me of '98 ... we drew 0-0 away to City then pipped them for the old title on the pitch at Fulham in the last game.
We will look on this as a good point later.
We are playing well and solid and I was a little disappointed we didnt go fot it more as i think we had them beat really. BUT I guess it was most important not to risk the loss.
Jobi diappointing tonight ... (imapct of no Sadler? - the balls from Stewart were poor! ... but to be fair he used his pace well in defence a couple of ttimes to ease out problem situations. LB was immense and generally a good performance if not inspiring - but conditions were awful.
I still believe that both CJ and NE will be the difference in the run in.
3 points preferable saturday - BUT I can see it being a draw ... this would not be the end of the world - after that we may as well just go for it against teams as we will have nothing to lose.
We are not losing so this is good form. Overall performances are positive.
Good luck Saturday folks - I will be on the way to the Lake District so will have
to plan my journey to be in range of Stoke radio stations for 2nd half!
Posted by: Hexham Hornet, Hexham on 8:17am Wed 12 Mar 08
Am I wrong in thinking that CJ and NE are the answer to who we should have up front? I have said, for over 18 months now, that DH works hard but does not have the quality to make it higher than the Championship. I was not at the match but listend on the radio and it would appear we were the more likely to score for much of the game, and also Richard Lee played well. Why did Aidy take off CJ to replace him with Wiliamson? Surely that was a negative move? What were Aidy and Gary Johnson arguing about in the first half? It happened before the foul on Lee Johnson and his lunging tackle, and the commentators didn't seem to know what kicked it off. Henderson's penalty was saved, rather than he missed it, but I still don't see him as the long term leader of the attack.
Am I wrong in thinking that CJ and NE are the answer to who we should have up front? I have said, for over 18 months now, that DH works hard but does not have the quality to make it higher than the Championship. I was not at the match but listend on the radio and it would appear we were the more likely to score for much of the game, and also Richard Lee played well. Why did Aidy take off CJ to replace him with Wiliamson? Surely that was a negative move? What were Aidy and Gary Johnson arguing about in the first half? It happened before the foul on Lee Johnson and his lunging tackle, and the commentators didn't seem to know what kicked it off. Henderson's penalty was saved, rather than he missed it, but I still don't see him as the long term leader of the attack.
Posted by: JohnBoy, Watford on 8:18am Wed 12 Mar 08
[quote][bold]Hornetboy84[/bold] wrote:
Agree Sage! Just got back. This reminds me of '98 ... we drew 0-0 away to City then pipped them for the old title on the pitch at Fulham in the last game. We will look on this as a good point later. We are playing well and solid and I was a little disappointed we didnt go fot it more as i think we had them beat really. BUT I guess it was most important not to risk the loss. Jobi diappointing tonight ... (imapct of no Sadler? - the balls from Stewart were poor! ... but to be fair he used his pace well in defence a couple of ttimes to ease out problem situations. LB was immense and generally a good performance if not inspiring - but conditions were awful. I still believe that both CJ and NE will be the difference in the run in. 3 points preferable saturday - BUT I can see it being a draw ... this would not be the end of the world - after that we may as well just go for it against teams as we will have nothing to lose. We are not losing so this is good form. Overall performances are positive. Good luck Saturday folks - I will be on the way to the Lake District so will have to plan my journey to be in range of Stoke radio stations for 2nd half! [/quote] If you can get a 3G signal you could listen to it on your mobile over the internet
Hornetboy84 wrote:
Agree Sage! Just got back. This reminds me of '98 ... we drew 0-0 away to City then pipped them for the old title on the pitch at Fulham in the last game. We will look on this as a good point later. We are playing well and solid and I was a little disappointed we didnt go fot it more as i think we had them beat really. BUT I guess it was most important not to risk the loss. Jobi diappointing tonight ... (imapct of no Sadler? - the balls from Stewart were poor! ... but to be fair he used his pace well in defence a couple of ttimes to ease out problem situations. LB was immense and generally a good performance if not inspiring - but conditions were awful. I still believe that both CJ and NE will be the difference in the run in. 3 points preferable saturday - BUT I can see it being a draw ... this would not be the end of the world - after that we may as well just go for it against teams as we will have nothing to lose. We are not losing so this is good form. Overall performances are positive. Good luck Saturday folks - I will be on the way to the Lake District so will have to plan my journey to be in range of Stoke radio stations for 2nd half!
If you can get a 3G signal you could listen to it on your mobile over the internet
So many positives but we need to win a point a game may just keep us in play offs but we need to win.
Several games have been justified by many of you but promotion via play offs is a gamble and cuts into the little time available for new players.
LW for CJ may have helped blunt City but it also blunted us.
We need wins, two defeats and a win equates to our performance over three games at moment.
I believe we have the defence to take us up but do we have the attack. Is darius really that good or should we gamble on Kabba duke and CJ?
Aidy needs to show his promise and get it right. We have to beat Stoke and catch City cos I think the baggies will now be champions and at present we are at best in fourth place in reality. if after the start we made we lose out I think several players will need to be culled along with some senior staff, but they do have 20% of the season left to get it right.
i didn't go sage but when i hear Darius missed a penalty and we created few chances I struggle to understand how DH despite his heroic efforts which do not appear in most games to lead to goals was in the running for MOM. I suspect that honour lies with the midfield or defence. Is it possible you confuse effort with efficiency and results?
So many positives but we need to win a point a game may just keep us in play offs but we need to win.
Several games have been justified by many of you but promotion via play offs is a gamble and cuts into the little time available for new players.
LW for CJ may have helped blunt City but it also blunted us.
We need wins, two defeats and a win equates to our performance over three games at moment.
I believe we have the defence to take us up but do we have the attack. Is darius really that good or should we gamble on Kabba duke and CJ?
Aidy needs to show his promise and get it right. We have to beat Stoke and catch City cos I think the baggies will now be champions and at present we are at best in fourth place in reality. if after the start we made we lose out I think several players will need to be culled along with some senior staff, but they do have 20% of the season left to get it right.
i didn't go sage but when i hear Darius missed a penalty and we created few chances I struggle to understand how DH despite his heroic efforts which do not appear in most games to lead to goals was in the running for MOM. I suspect that honour lies with the midfield or defence. Is it possible you confuse effort with efficiency and results?
Posted by: peter parker, the big apple on 9:09am Wed 12 Mar 08
spot on Chris the vic, Henderson certainly wasnt MOM, if anything he was one of our weakest players today, he didnt put himself about like he normally does and was beaten easily in the air, and if DH isnt doing that then we are in trouble because he isnt known for his slick passing moves or deadly accuracy is he ? ...
I tnink he has been superb for us but i think we need a little more quality for the run in, would have liked to see Kabba come o last night, but although surpised and slightly peeved about williamson coming on he was still quite affective and was very busy .....
In my opinion 3 points on sat is a must if we want automatic promotion ... yellow army yellow army ....
spot on Chris the vic, Henderson certainly wasnt MOM, if anything he was one of our weakest players today, he didnt put himself about like he normally does and was beaten easily in the air, and if DH isnt doing that then we are in trouble because he isnt known for his slick passing moves or deadly accuracy is he ? ...
I tnink he has been superb for us but i think we need a little more quality for the run in, would have liked to see Kabba come o last night, but although surpised and slightly peeved about williamson coming on he was still quite affective and was very busy .....
In my opinion 3 points on sat is a must if we want automatic promotion ... yellow army yellow army ....
Posted by: Gary H, Watford on 9:24am Wed 12 Mar 08
A point away at City is not a total disaster as long as we stuff Stoke at the weekend. Was at Cheltenham yesterday and bumped into Chris Kamara who has promised to give Gary Johnson manager of the month regardless(just to even things up). And just for the record penalty was saved not missed (Not hitting the target from 12 yards is a miss). Got a good feeling about Saturday 4-0 2 for Darius 2 for Big Dan
A point away at City is not a total disaster as long as we stuff Stoke at the weekend. Was at Cheltenham yesterday and bumped into Chris Kamara who has promised to give Gary Johnson manager of the month regardless(just to even things up). And just for the record penalty was saved not missed (Not hitting the target from 12 yards is a miss). Got a good feeling about Saturday 4-0 2 for Darius 2 for Big Dan
Posted by: luther67, watford on 9:36am Wed 12 Mar 08
I think a point last night isn't a disaster. I was fearing City winning at Leicester and then knicking a tight game with us - and then they'd be nine points clear of us this morning. If we beat Stoke we're right back in it. Problem is we can't win our home games, that game has a draw written all over it.
I think a point last night isn't a disaster. I was fearing City winning at Leicester and then knicking a tight game with us - and then they'd be nine points clear of us this morning. If we beat Stoke we're right back in it. Problem is we can't win our home games, that game has a draw written all over it.
Posted by: luther67, watford on 9:37am Wed 12 Mar 08
I think a point last night isn't a disaster. I was fearing City winning at Leicester and then knicking a tight game with us - and then they'd be nine points clear of us this morning. If we beat Stoke we're right back in it. Problem is we can't win our home games, that game has a draw written all over it.
I think a point last night isn't a disaster. I was fearing City winning at Leicester and then knicking a tight game with us - and then they'd be nine points clear of us this morning. If we beat Stoke we're right back in it. Problem is we can't win our home games, that game has a draw written all over it.
Posted by: Gary H, Watford on 9:39am Wed 12 Mar 08
[quote][bold]luther67[/bold] wrote:
I think a point last night isn't a disaster. I was fearing City winning at Leicester and then knicking a tight game with us - and then they'd be nine points clear of us this morning. If we beat Stoke we're right back in it. Problem is we can't win our home games, that game has a draw written all over it.[/quote] Have faith 4-0
luther67 wrote:
I think a point last night isn't a disaster. I was fearing City winning at Leicester and then knicking a tight game with us - and then they'd be nine points clear of us this morning. If we beat Stoke we're right back in it. Problem is we can't win our home games, that game has a draw written all over it.
A great point last night at fortress Ashton Gate. Only Charlton (with a last minute winner), and Leicester have won there, so it was a point won and not two lost.
A really hostile and partisan crowd to tend with as well, their biggest of the season.
Give some credit to two of our "lesser" players as well. Williamson was superb when he came on, and really boosted the midfield. And I thought Stewart had a very good game deputising for the injured Sadler.
MOM for me was Tommy Smith who often had the home crowd admiring the way he mesmerised one of their idols, Jamie McAllister.
Thought all the back four played well as a unit.
Bristol's MOM was centre half Vasko, which illustrates their ambition. They were happy with a point.
People still fear us, especially Gary Johnson who was mightily relieved to get the draw. But we must start turning some of these draws into victories, starting with Stoke on Saturday.
A great point last night at fortress Ashton Gate. Only Charlton (with a last minute winner), and Leicester have won there, so it was a point won and not two lost.
A really hostile and partisan crowd to tend with as well, their biggest of the season.
Give some credit to two of our "lesser" players as well. Williamson was superb when he came on, and really boosted the midfield. And I thought Stewart had a very good game deputising for the injured Sadler.
MOM for me was Tommy Smith who often had the home crowd admiring the way he mesmerised one of their idols, Jamie McAllister.
Thought all the back four played well as a unit.
Bristol's MOM was centre half Vasko, which illustrates their ambition. They were happy with a point.
People still fear us, especially Gary Johnson who was mightily relieved to get the draw. But we must start turning some of these draws into victories, starting with Stoke on Saturday.
Posted by: Speedy Dog, Aquadrome on 11:39am Wed 12 Mar 08
Neither of these two teams will hack it in the Premiership. We deserved to win it last night, but deserve isn't a result. Why didn't Aidy put on Kabba, he's itching to make an impression. Maybe he should have an opportunity on Saturday, our other strikers are all firing blanks!!!
Neither of these two teams will hack it in the Premiership. We deserved to win it last night, but deserve isn't a result. Why didn't Aidy put on Kabba, he's itching to make an impression. Maybe he should have an opportunity on Saturday, our other strikers are all firing blanks!!!
Unfortunately Ellington and CJ will make the difference for us just not the way we'd like it to be.
Neither are good enough at the moment and it is unlikely they will hit form in time to enable us to finish in the top two.
Obviously I hope I am wrong.
The game last night was interesting.There wasn't much between the teams and we should have made the penalty count.With the forward combination not working we needed one of the midfielders/wide players to make the difference but none of them looked likely to succeed.
We really need another Johnson type player for the final 2 months but,unfortunately,th
ey aren't easy to come by.
We can compete against any team in this division but in such a tight race we need that bit extra and unless we find it quickly we will miss out.
Unfortunately Ellington and CJ will make the difference for us just not the way we'd like it to be.
Neither are good enough at the moment and it is unlikely they will hit form in time to enable us to finish in the top two.
Obviously I hope I am wrong.
The game last night was interesting.There wasn't much between the teams and we should have made the penalty count.With the forward combination not working we needed one of the midfielders/wide players to make the difference but none of them looked likely to succeed.
We really need another Johnson type player for the final 2 months but,unfortunately,th
ey aren't easy to come by.
We can compete against any team in this division but in such a tight race we need that bit extra and unless we find it quickly we will miss out.
The only comment I would add from over here is that I would like to see Steve Kabba given a run out at the 70 minute mark. He really wants to prove his worth and would have been a refreshing handful last night. I agree about the comment of Williamson stifling them but also holding us back. I think Saturday should be a corker.
The only comment I would add from over here is that I would like to see Steve Kabba given a run out at the 70 minute mark. He really wants to prove his worth and would have been a refreshing handful last night. I agree about the comment of Williamson stifling them but also holding us back. I think Saturday should be a corker.
Whoever we have up front we seem to be being let down by them. We are poor in front of goal. This may be our downfall this season.I hope I'm wrong but I cant see us getting automatic promotion if we are not scoring enough goals (esp at home). Our luck has to run out in the play-offs at some stage.
Preparing for life in the Championship next season, which at the moment is probably not a bad thing.
Whoever we have up front we seem to be being let down by them. We are poor in front of goal. This may be our downfall this season.I hope I'm wrong but I cant see us getting automatic promotion if we are not scoring enough goals (esp at home). Our luck has to run out in the play-offs at some stage.
Preparing for life in the Championship next season, which at the moment is probably not a bad thing.
[quote][bold]Gary H[/bold] wrote:
A point away at City is not a total disaster as long as we stuff Stoke at the weekend. Was at Cheltenham yesterday and bumped into Chris Kamara who has promised to give Gary Johnson manager of the month regardless(just to even things up). And just for the record penalty was saved not missed (Not hitting the target from 12 yards is a miss). Got a good feeling about Saturday 4-0 2 for Darius 2 for Big Dan[/quote] Oh no, did you see sage there getting p1ssed on Lemonade, he would have been the one hugging his laptop saying to everyone "look at me, I've got considerably more money than you"
Interesting to see how he left it, looked a bit ropey to me this morning.
Anyway, it looks to me that we're not going to do it, we haven't the fire power anymore, gone are the days when we go to the likes of Sheff U and smack 4 past them. I do hope I'm wrong but I fear I'm not!
0 - 0 Saturday then pretty much play offs for us!
Gary H wrote:
A point away at City is not a total disaster as long as we stuff Stoke at the weekend. Was at Cheltenham yesterday and bumped into Chris Kamara who has promised to give Gary Johnson manager of the month regardless(just to even things up). And just for the record penalty was saved not missed (Not hitting the target from 12 yards is a miss). Got a good feeling about Saturday 4-0 2 for Darius 2 for Big Dan
Oh no, did you see sage there getting p1ssed on Lemonade, he would have been the one hugging his laptop saying to everyone "look at me, I've got considerably more money than you"
Interesting to see how he left it, looked a bit ropey to me this morning.
Anyway, it looks to me that we're not going to do it, we haven't the fire power anymore, gone are the days when we go to the likes of Sheff U and smack 4 past them. I do hope I'm wrong but I fear I'm not!
0 - 0 Saturday then pretty much play offs for us!
Take Hendo out and it will be much worse unless we totally change our style which cannot happen this season now.Tommy was in & out for me & DH made the pass for the penalty.we are limited creatively but that would be worse if you left DH out in my view.
VOR I rejected your job application due to your:
* asbo ( never seen one so specific about banning anyone fron near schools)
* your telephone questioning of my secretary about her underware
* your unavailability due your community service order & frquent meetings with your probation officer
* I realise that I could have been more understanding about your bad times in the showers @ borstal but it is funny! 25 of them? and did they really make you dress as little bo-peep? no wonder you are screwed up!
Take Hendo out and it will be much worse unless we totally change our style which cannot happen this season now.Tommy was in & out for me & DH made the pass for the penalty.we are limited creatively but that would be worse if you left DH out in my view.
VOR I rejected your job application due to your:
* asbo ( never seen one so specific about banning anyone fron near schools)
* your telephone questioning of my secretary about her underware
* your unavailability due your community service order & frquent meetings with your probation officer
* I realise that I could have been more understanding about your bad times in the showers @ borstal but it is funny! 25 of them? and did they really make you dress as little bo-peep? no wonder you are screwed up!
* "your telephone questioning of my secretary about her underware"
???? Your grammar is utterly appalling sage, that gets my hardware going, unlike yours Tadpole.. HaHa
All the rest is pretty much true but, everyone deserves a second chance, I could be your live in p.a, trust me I'd be good, maybe too good for you, bet you've forgotten where you're supposed to be tomorrow? ever mind I think most people on here will be able to tell you.
Ps it was 24 times actually so get your facts straight!!
* "your telephone questioning of my secretary about her underware"
???? Your grammar is utterly appalling sage, that gets my hardware going, unlike yours Tadpole.. HaHa
All the rest is pretty much true but, everyone deserves a second chance, I could be your live in p.a, trust me I'd be good, maybe too good for you, bet you've forgotten where you're supposed to be tomorrow? ever mind I think most people on here will be able to tell you.
Ps it was 24 times actually so get your facts straight!!
Posted by: JohnBoy, Watford on 3:23pm Thu 13 Mar 08
A big, important man like Sage shouldn't be wasting his time on this website.
Unless of course he's a loser, stuck in a dingy bedsit playing with himself and dreaming.
A big, important man like Sage shouldn't be wasting his time on this website.
Unless of course he's a loser, stuck in a dingy bedsit playing with himself and dreaming.
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