Gianfranco Zola says he was encouraged by Watford's performance in last night's 2-0 victory over Cork City.

The Hornets, who again lined up in a 4-3-3 formation, kept possession well for much of the contest and whilst they lacked a cutting edge in the final third at times, they still came away with the win thanks to goals by Joe Garner and Piero Mingoia.

Zola told the club's website: "The game went as planned. It went well. I was quite pleased with the way the team performed.

"There were some good things and I'm looking forward to improving other areas - the performance itself was encouraging though."

As for pre-season as a whole, he added: "Everything is going as planned and that encourages me. In fact, as I've already mentioned, I've been surprised with the levels we're reaching and I'm already looking forward to the next game."

Click here to read a report of last night's game.