Watford’s involvement in the Carabao Cup is over at the first hurdle after they were beaten 2-1 by Norwich City’s in Paulo Pezzolano’s first competitive game at Vicarage Road.
Josh Sargent and Marcelino Nunez were the beneficiaries of poor defending and an Egil Selvik howler in the first half but the visitors could easily have been further ahead at the break.
Second-half substitute Kwadwo Baah gave the Hornets hope of turning the game around, but they were unable to score a second despite their threat level improving.
Here are five talking points we’ve picked out from tonight’s game. You can tell us what you think by using the comments facility on this page.
From bad to better but not good enough
Watford were fortunate to still be in the tie after a dreadful first half in which they conceded twice, could easily have been further behind and produced a 45-minute display in which so much was fundamentally wrong.
They improved after the break – they simply had to – and got back into the tie when Baah scored midway through the half but were unable to find an equaliser.
What was your view of Watford’s display over the full 90 minutes?
First-half nightmare
Being 2-0 down at half-time in your first game of the season is bad enough, but it was the manner of the performance that was much more concerning because there was so much fundamentally wrong.
Watford were unable to retain possession, were devoid of ideas when they did have the ball and had the appearance of a team with little conviction in how it should be going about its task in general.
How concerned were you by the display in the opening 45 minutes?
Adding some bite
It was perhaps surprising that Pezzolano didn’t act sooner but the head coach did make a triple change at the start of the second half – and switched to a back three.
Although it did not lead to an immediate improvement in the scoreline, the substitutions did add some bite to a performance that had been lacking that trait beforehand.
How did you assess the impact of Watford’s second-half substitutes?
Impact off the bench
It was to be the fourth change that Pezzolano made that had the most decisive impact and gave Watford hope.
It was trademark stuff from Baah, attacking Kellen Fisher with pace and power before driving a shot through Daniel Grimshaw to score his side’s first goal of the season.
How did you view Baah’s display?
Encouraging first start
It will inevitably take some of Watford’s crop of new signings to settle quicker than others but the signs are Nestory Irankunda is wasting no time taking to his new life in England.
Having made his debut off the bench at Charlton on Saturday, the Australian caught the eye within a minute of kick off, turning out of a tight situation in his own half before showing fine dribbling skills to take on and beat three opponents.
He also showed a willingness to shoot when the opportunities arose in what was a positive first start in yellow and red.
How did you think Irankunda did on his full debut?
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