A WONDER goal from Chris Eagles enabled Watford to bounce back from their mid-week defeat at Leeds United and maintain their promotion push with a 1-0 victory at Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, February 18.
The on-loan Manchester United winger struck in amazing fashion shortly before the interval with a controlled lofted drive from just inside the Seagulls half to give the Hornets the points and their seventh win in eight league outings.
Adrian Boothroyd made four changes from the side which lost at Leeds but Watford lined up largely as expected. The two suspended players, Ben Foster and Darius Henderson, were replaced by Alec Chamberlain and Hameur Bouazza, while first-choice midfielders Gavin Mahon and Matthew Spring returned to the centre of the park. James Chambers and Al Bangura dropped to the bench, alongside newly signed on-loan keeper Yves Ma-Kalambay.
Brighton initially looked to be making two changes to team beaten at Norwich but a late injury to Richard Carpenter forced Mark McGhee into a third alteration. The suspended Adam Hinshelwood and injured Joel Lynch missed out, but Dean Hammond, back after a ban, and the fit-again Sebastien Carole returned. Carpenter's setback meant Colin Kazim-Richards was promoted from the bench, with Chris McPhee taking his place.
Both sides forced a corner in the opening two minutes but it was the visitors who had the first attempt when Marlon King hit a snap-shot wide from the edge of the area following Ashley Young's ball in from the left.
Watford continued to have the better of the early exchanges but the Seagulls then burst into attacking life. First, Spring blocked a Kerry Mayo shot, then Joe Gatting turned Malky Mackay in the area but the ball ran away from him, before Chamberlain did very well to get a leg to a low Carole drive after a low centre from the left had eluded both Kazim-Richards and Jordan Stewart.
Paul McShane was rightly booked for a late challenge on Bouazza in the 14th minute and he was quickly joined by Alexandre Frutos, who went in late on Eagles. Soon after, the Hornets had a reasonable opening when a Young free-kick next to the right-hand corner flag was headed over by Bouazza, who found space in the area.
Bouazza had a more difficult opportunity soon after when a long Jay DeMerit cross-field ball picked him out on the left side of the area and the striker hammered a cross-cum-shot across the six-yard box.
However, Brighton went closer still after 20 minutes when Carole struck a fine 25-yard effort which rebounded off the bar, with Chamberlain beaten. However, the Hornets immediately went back down the other end, with King played in wide on the right and he attempted to pick out Young at the near post but keeper Wayne Henderson intervened.
The end-to-end nature of the contest continued with Marlon King working a nice give-and-go with King which allowed the skipper to break into the area but his attempted pull back was cut out. Then Kazim-Richards got the better of Lloyd Doyley and DeMerit on the right side of the Hornets' area but saw his shot deflected behind.
But Watford's best opening to date came in the 27th minute when Bouazza got the better of right-back Gary Hart and saw his low, left-foot drive across Henderson superbly pushed behind by the Seagulls' keeper.
Another opportunity came the visitors' way when DeMerit failed to make contact with a Young corner from the right, but the ball bounced up for Spring to head goalwards but Henderson was able to save.
However, the Hornets were nearly caught out again after 36 minutes when Kazim-Richards beat Stewart on halfway and raced away down the inside-left channel before striking a rising drive towards the top right corner which Chamberlain pushed behind.
Back came Watford though, with Spring heading another Young corner from the right over the top, and then Young tried an improvised lob from 20-yards from a King flick which, had it been on target, may well have beaten Henderson.
But on the stroke of half-time came a moment which will live long in the memory of the 800-plus travelling Hornets fans. King looked to latch onto a ball forward but there seemed nothing untoward when Henderson cleared towards halfway. But the ball landed at the feet of Eagles, just inside the Brighton half and near the sideline, and he took aim and struck a wonderfully controlled right-footed effort which cleared the keeper and two defenders to put Watford into a sensational lead.
The on-loan Manchester United winger was immediately mobbed by his team-mates and the quality of the strike was easily on a par with the one memorably scored by a certain England captain while he was at Old Trafford.
However, there was still time for Kazim-Richards to go close to equalising in impressive fashion, but his right-footed curled effort from the left side of the area went narrowly wide of Chamberlain's left-hand post, but the Hornets went into the break 1-0 up.
Eagles might have doubled his tally six minutes after the restart when Mahon's curled cross from the left was flicked on by Spring, but the winger fired into the side netting from the right side of the area.
The home side still refused to lie down though, and Frutos dragged a shot wide before Kazim-Richards outpaced Mackay as he broke into the Hornets area from the right and stood up a cross, but Kerry Mayo's header was blocked.
Mahon was booked for a foul on Hammond after 61 minutes but soon after Watford went close to doubling their lead when Eagles' neat clipped pass beat Adam El-Abd and put King through on the right side of the area, but Henderson blocked well with his body. Spring also wasn't far away with a half-volley from the edge of the area soon after, but the ball went the wrong side of the keeper's left-hand upright.
The Hornets made a double change with just over 20 minutes remaining, bringing on Chambers and Bangura for Eagles and Bouazza, and then McGhee made his first substitution, replacing Carole with Paul Reid.
Young, from a free-kick, and King both had attempts blocked, before Jake Robinson replaced Gatting and Mackay headed a Young cross wide.
Another chance for Watford to make the game safe came with six minutes remaining when a Chamberlain free-kick picked out King on the left flank and he slipped in Young, whose right-footed effort was blocked by Henderson.
However, the Hornets rearguard had to be wary when Kazim-Richards threatened to wriggle through but he could only toe-poke the ball at Chamberlain from the edge of the area, but then Watford broke again and Spring set up Chambers with a great opportunity in a central position in the area but he couldn't beat Henderson from eight yards.
Brighton pushed forward in search of an equaliser as the game entered stoppage-time but their attempts lacked conviction, and they were saved by Henderson again when he got down to keep out a 20-yard drive from King, who broke on the counter.
The home side's hopes of salvaging a point ended with the last move of the game when Frutos' whipped in free-kick from the left was met by Gary Hart, but he headed over, as Watford got back to winning ways following their blip against Leeds.
Brighton & Hove Albion: Henderson; Hart, McShane, Butters, El-Abd; Carole, Hammond, Mayo, Frutos; Kazim-Richards, Gatting. Substitutes: Reid for Carole after 73 mins; Robinson for Gatting after 79 mins; Nicolas, McPhee and Martin not used.
Watford: Chamberlain; Doyley, DeMerit, Mackay, Stewart; Eagles, Spring, Mahon, Bouazza; King, Young. Substitutes: Chambers and Bangura for Eagles and Bouazza after 69 mins; Carlisle for Stewart after 87 mins; McNamee and Ma-Kalambay not used.
Bookings: McShane for a foul on Bouazza after 14 mins; Frutos for a foul on Eagles after 16 mins; Mahon for a foul on Hammond after 61 mins; Young for time-wasting after 89 mins.
Attendance: 6,658.
Referee: Phil Crossley.
