The Valerien Ismael era got off to a flier at The Vic on Saturday as the Golden Boys routed QPR in a first-half demolition display that was the best half of Watford football in well over two seasons. The Watford faithful didn’t have to wait but 33 seconds to see a drastic change in Hornets fortunes as Tom Dele-Bashiru scored the first Watford goal of the new campaign–the fastest Watford goal since Etienne Capoue also scored after just 33 seconds in a 2-1 win against Leicester at The Vic in November 2016.
Watford were clinical and incisive, decisive and irresistible, ruthless and rampant.
Ismael’s remit was a tenacious work-ethic and a change in mentality, a team-first vision that was evident from the opening whistle. Dele-Bashiru, was in on goal after a fine build-up in midfield as Imran Louza’s long pass found Dele-Bashiru, who shot the ball past QPR keeper Amir Begovic for the early goal. The Vic atmosphere grew more robust on the 20-minute mark as provider Louza became recipient, lashing home a shot past Begovic from about 20 yards out for a sublime second that sent the Watford faithful into waves of delirium.
Queens Park Rangers were anemic amidst a sensational Hornets half of football but Watford made the west London side, who had dominated Watford over numerous recent seasons, a very poor outfit on the day. The Golden Boys continued their onslaught after the half-hour mark after Matheus Martins, who tormented QPR all day, despatched a slick and breathtaking back header beyond Begovic. At 3-0 any evidence of a Rangers revival before half-time was nixed by a Vakoun Bayo, who slid in at the far post, latching on to Louis’s ball and converting it beyond Begovic. Bayo could have had a first-half hat-trick.
Though Watford cruised to victory the second half it was inevitable that QPR would be better than their appalling first half. The Rangers fans who had booed their team and departed The Vic at halftime missed a couple of chances their team had in the second half. The danger however, was averted, mostly by Ryan Porteous, who showed range and flexibility in his play as did You Orns! Man of the Match Jeremy Ngakia, who along with Imran Louza was a staggering presence for Watford. In his Watford debut Giorgi Chekvatadze was scintillating coming off the bench. He wasn’t shy about going for goal or involving his Hornets teammates. Giorgi was an absolute treat, the most pleasing and indelible aspect of an otherwise ho-hum Watford second half, save for Louis’s fine effort striking the crossbar.
So in just over 40 first-half minutes the Val Ismael era got off to the start that Watford fans hoped: a win that was clinical, well-marshaled and never short of confidence. And all in a stupendous 116 total match minutes played, owing to the new rules this season on injury time and cards administered. Watford had 71 percent possession and 24 shots, 13 of those on target. Remember that last season Watford struggled and even lost against teams who played as poorly as QPR (who did the double over Watford last season.)
What a difference a manager and an improved Watford team mentality makes.
Outside the financing sources for a Club it is the fanbase that provides the combined economic largess that elevates and solidifies the fiscal fortunes of a Club. Merchandise, season tickets, concession stands are sources of fan spending power that are integral to a football club’s bottom line and solvency. Watford FC supporters have more power than they realize. Watford fans have economic power and must utilize it if they wish to see change at a Club that is now clearly not being run in the best interests of Watford town, the fanbase or the Club itself. The power of economic withdrawal is the most effective tool Watford FC fans have: to affect a Club’s bottom line.
The condition of the relationship between Watford Football Club and its fanbase has deteriorated over the last few seasons as some promises made by Club officials have not been kept and alienation of some Watford fans ensues. The Watford men’s first team, seemingly talented on paper, has been woeful the last two seasons. Communication from Watford FC to the Watford FC fanbase has broken down and at times been poor. The atmosphere at Vicarage Road Stadium, aka The Vic, continues to toxify as performances by the men’s first team decline or are non-existent.
Last Friday, Ismaila Sarr, scorer of nine goals so far this season for Watford, was greeted by boos by some home supporters when he was introduced as a substitute. In that same match goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann lost control of his temper and his flying kick caught a Huddersfield player late in the match and Bachmann was sent off. He refused to leave the field, throwing his some of his goalkeeping apparel on the pitch. A Watford physio had to restrain Bachmann and usher him off the pitch.
Perhaps the worst and most disturbing moment for Watford FC during Friday’s home defeat to Huddersfield was what happened in the stands. A Watford FC fan with a “Pozzo Out” banner was ejected from The Vic. The banner met Watford FC specifications and was free of offensive language. Yet on video footage dispersed on social media stewards could be seen violently wrestling the banner away from the supporter. This disturbing aggression and censorship meted out against a peaceful fan who merely expressed his frustration with a Club that has declined in its approach to some Watford fans marks a troubling episode at Watford FC, which self-proclaims as “The Original Family Club”.
The incident described here demands constructive action from the Watford FC fanbase. The social media venting (healthy or unhealthy though it may be) cannot and will not be enough by itself to affect change at Watford. Concrete non-violent action, peaceful action must suffice. Watford FC owner Gino Pozzo, scheduled to appear at a forthcoming supporters meeting, is running a Club whose financial shape is not the best. Questionable decisions have been made in spite of that financial shape, which only adds to the urgency that fan action requires. The language most understood by any business owner is the language of money. If Watford FC fans tomorrow stopped buying Watford kits and other merchandise and declined to renew season tickets and stayed home and watched the team on television, Mr. Pozzo would receive the message more loudly and clearly than anything else.
To reiterate: Watford FC fans have much more power than they realize and there are several different sensible strategies beleaguered Watford fans can employ. If Watford FC fans don’t wish to stop spending money with the Club they love it is incumbent upon them to offer constructive suggestions, solution and ideas on improving the Club. Venting as any football club fan does is important and easy. Offering solutions and constructive ideas and engagement is much harder. Some Watford fans are rightfully so upset that their best idea means that in order for change to come at Watford FC the owner has to go. The question in such a scenario however, always and forever remains: if Gino Pozzo leaves, who is coming in to take Watford FC over? The financial problems will remain. Furthermore, the culture of the Club will need to be transformed — and that won’t happen *overnight* either.
Peaceful protest must also remain a viable option for Watford FC fans who have had enough. Whether it is the economic withdrawal discussed earlier or the silent protest with properly specified and non-offensive language on banners, Watford FC fans who want a change in culture at the Club must be an integral part of that change. Whether home or away, fans must let it be known in a peaceful, passionate and respectful way that they are fed up with the declining fortunes, poor performances, broken promises and hostile treatment of some members of the fanbase.
Something must change. And Watford FC as a Club, an organisation and a going concern must confront itself. Gino Pozzo will hopefully take that first step in the aforementioned upcoming meeting — and Watford FC fans must offer suggestions for change. In these final few games of another toxic season Watford FC fans must be unafraid to come up with constructive ideas for change — and should continue to engage in economic protest and/or peaceful protest at The Vic, outside The Vic and at away games, including today at the CBS Arena in Coventry as the men’s first team takes on Coventry. These methods are further confirmation that Watford FC fans love this Club and are willing to hold the Club to account in order to save it from ever more troubling calamity.
The Slaven Bilic era at Watford got off to a golden start as the Hornets hammered stoke 4-0 at the Bet365 Stadium on a sensational Sunday afternoon in Staffordshire.
Watford dominated a very poor Stoke side, outhustling and outmanoeuvering their hosts. Confident and decisive, the Golden Boys were energetic, composed and precise in their passing and movement on the pitch, looking vastly different in demeanour and attitude than they had in their first ten Championship games.
The visitors wasted no time imposing themselves on Alex Neil’s Stoke side. With a 4-2-3-1 formation that saw man of the match Hassane Kamara back on his familiar left side, Watford took a 12th minute lead. Kamara’s sharp delivery found the marginally offside Ismaila Sarr in the middle of the box and his angled header past Stoke goalie Bursik found the back of the net. The Hornets should have doubled their lead minutes later but Sarr hit a post with a header. Ken Sema would follow suit with a well-struck shot minutes after that.
Stoke had a moment or two late in the first half but the referee’s whistle soon stopped any head of steam they hoped to gain.
The home side improved in the first ten minutes of the second half, far better than their woeful opening half showing, yet Watford should have been 2-0 up minutes into the restart. Centre half Francisco Sierralta headed just over the bar when it would have been easier to score. Still, his defending was laser sharp and judicious, as were the rest of the Watford back line throughout.
As Stoke began to ask questions of Watford, new head coach Bilic made the biggest move of the match in the 59th minute, substituting Yaser Asprilla for Imran Louza, returning after a long injury layoff. Louza redressed the balance in midfield back in Watford’s favour, restoring calm and solidity to the middle of the park. Five minutes later, Watford would add their crucial second goal courtesy of Sema, whose persistence paid off as he nudged home a loose ball that came off the ‘keeper.
Never content to rest on their laurels, Watford added a third in the 78th minute. Keinan Davis got a crisp pass across the pitch from Sarr and lashed home an incisive shot into the bottom left-hand corner of the Stoke net for his second goal in two games. The belief and self-esteem continued to grow in the Hornets side as they never let up in search of a fourth goal. Just six minutes after Davis scored and only 15 minutes after making his season debut, Louza assisted with a curled ball across the 18-yard-box that was met by substitute Vakoun Bayo, on the pitch barely a minute, to score his third Watford goal with his first touch of the game.
Watford kept searching for a fifth goal and Louza should have had it. The substitute had the goal gaping at his mercy but somehow rifled a shot barely wide of the left-hand post from ten yards. Louza couldn’t believe it.
But the final score was not only believable it was well-deserved, far from flattering for a scintillating, aggressive, determined Watford side. Watford move up to seventh.
(Photo: Watford players led by Keinan Davis, celebrate Sarr’s opening goal at Stoke on Sunday. Photo credit: Sky Sports)
In less than two hours the Slaven Bilic era begins at Watford Football Club at the Bet 365 Stadium. (The very best of luck to Mr. Bilic and his coaching staff, as well as to the Watford men’s squad.) Stoke City, who have a new manager of their own in Alex Neil, will be the Hornets opponent. Watford will try to put an end to a barren streak of one win in their last seven league games. With a win Watford could go up to seventh from the current 13th place they occupy.
Numerous Watford supporters who had been comfortable sticking with Watford owner Gino Pozzo have called for his ouster, using social media to do so.
Following last week’s impulsive and misguided sacking of Rob Edwards after just eleven games Watford fans have a reckoning to assess: is calling for the removal of the Watford owner on social media alone going to result in a change the owner at the Club?
The answer to the rhetorical question is that obviously nothing will change until and unless Watford fans make it clear in various multiple peaceful ways inside, outside or beyond Vicarage Road that what Gino Pozzo is doing these days as the owner of the Club where on-field exploits and recruiting are concerned is no longer the wisest way forward. Nor is it in the best interests of the Club. Watford fans who feel this way must remember that they have a powerful, influential voice and that businesses (which is what football clubs are) take notice when fans speak up or stay away from matches. By staying away from Vicarage Road or making vocal protests, silent protests with banners or other peaceful measures Watford fans can effectively make the owner aware of their discontent.
Football clubs are nothing without the fans. The present owner of Watford FC will not take notice or consider the antipathy of some of the Watford fanbase until those fans take it upon themselves to be heard beyond social media in a peaceful, clear and responsible manner.
Watford have played almost 25 percent of their EFL Championship fixtures this season and find themselves at the crest of midtable: tenth place after ten games. This position symbolizes a mediocre, disappointing start to the new season as a relegated Premier League club, despite the points amassed in the early going.
At this juncture it is necessary to provide some good news and bad news.
The good news is, 1) Watford’s performances are far more uneven and worse than their position in the table shows or suggests, 2) midfielders Imran Louza and Tom Cleverley are expected back sometime in October, and 3) the Championship table doesn’t begin to take shape until early November (later than that with the upcoming World Cup.) The bad news is, 1) Sheffield United and Norwich City, two recent Premier League sides, are setting the early pace and establishing consistency as the top two teams in the Championship, and 2) Watford, at various points have already had a litany of injuries (Ngakia, Sarr, Louza*, Dele-Bashiru, Cleverley, Manaj, Hause, Kamara, Sema^, Joao Pedro) early on. Injuries obviously disrupt any team, especially when that team, in this instance Watford, has yet to find a rhythm this season. One can only hope that none of the Watford players on international duty gets injured.
The following is no surprise: Watford have a thin squad. While the financial sensitivities at the club are a well-known open secret, the ability to be judicious around this issue (while juggling affairs at Udinese) will likely form part of the answer to the question of how far Watford will go this season. Some Watford fans have already pointed to how well Udinese are doing to date. Granted, Watford are not in the Championship’s bottom three (fellow expected well-doer Middlesbrough are), but they have severely underperformed. The question is, why?
Much of the answer is not only due to the lack of depth in the squad; it is far more to do with a lack of mental stick-to-itiveness and cohesion on the pitch. You can have the greatest manager or team known to humankind; if you do not put together a resolute, organized effort for every installment of a match from minute one to minute ninety-five, you will win less games than you will eventually lose. Assuming that this need for segmented, regimented game management has not been already emphasized (and perhaps it has been), a more focused commitment to incremental game management as a team will inevitably forge and force a stronger concentration and adhesive work ethic.
There is no denying that Watford players work hard. What is also clear though, is the mental aspect in Watford’s game is lacking. Which means that confidence is lacking. Confidence, more than anything else, is at the heart of the weakness in all areas of the pitch for Watford after ten games. When the team can only give about 20 minutes of one half of good, solid football at home much less away, confidence is a massive factor. With a fresh new season, a new head coach, the departure of supposed clubhouse disruptor Emmanuel Dennis, why would Watford players still lack confidence this season?
Last season probably still lurks over the heads of some Watford players. The same tentativeness or hesitation from 2021-22 continues when Watford score first. The same conceding goals first or very early in a game persists. Football is more mental than physical, and some Watford players seem plagued by the traumas of the abysmal 2021-22 Premier League campaign. High expectations and pressure some Watford fans, the head coach (Edwards or Scott Duxbury has said he wants to win the league, not just get promoted) and those beyond Watford FC have been placed on the team to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking. Some returning players may not have shaken off the pain last season out of their system.
The current Watford position in the table might be more palatable to some if the board had declared that rebuilding was the remit this season. Some Watford supporters would have been aghast at any such public pronouncement by the board, but Watford have played this season so far as if rebuilding, not returning (to the Premier League) was the focus. Rob Edwards has a project on his hands and the jettisoning of sporting director Cristiano Giaretta may arguably go some way toward reaching this conclusion.
The 2022-23 EFL Championship table at the first international break. (Screenshot: BBC Sport)
An additional answer to why Watford have underperformed is the obvious lack of appreciable quality in defence. There are five quality players in this current Watford men’s squad. One of them (Ismaila Sarr) is currently injured — or at least was (he’s now on international break with Senegal.) The other four are Joao Pedro, Keinan Davis, Yaser Asprilla and Hamza Choudhury. Imran Louza would come in next or be right alongside those five. None of these players is a trademark defender. The same elephant in the room from last season and seasons past hasn’t lost any weight. Lack of attention by the Watford board to fully bolstering the defence continues to drag the team down like an albatross, as do persistent recruiting issues.
One of the wisest things the Watford board has done this season is say arrivederci to sporting director Giaretta. The departure will further consecrate power in head coach Rob Edwards, a young progressive coach already communicating to Watford players the need to forge a stronger connection with supporters. With Giaretta gone, Edwards won’t be looking over his shoulder at the security of his own job.
Another wise thing the board did was to hold on to Joao Pedro, who made it clear this month that he wanted to stay at Watford for the season and is happy at Vicarage Road. Joao Pedro is the future and present at The Vic and his upside is immense. He is growing in leaps and bounds and is far from his prime at age 20.
As for off the pitch: beyond the long-standing fantastic community work Watford Football Club continue to do, the August Vic 100 celebration and accompanying ongoing history are vital to reconnect any disaffected Watford supporters with the club. This cannot be overlooked or denied. More immediately however, winning will bring any disaffected Watford fans onside. Consistent improved performances obviously will too.
The most important thing to stress here, especially after just ten games, is that all is far from lost. Hull, who topped the table briefly in August, have lost five games and now sit fifth from bottom. There are still at least three quarters of the Championship season remaining. That doesn’t mean Watford fans should meander along in dreamlike contentment in the knowledge that more than 75 percent of the season remains. If anything, it merely means that perspective must remain front and center, and rose-coloured glasses must remain off. This writer has complete faith that despite the poor Watford showing performance-wise and concentration-wise thus far that performances and a turn in fortune will arrive in the next few weeks.
The bright sparks on the pitch in the first ten Championship games amid Watford’s woeful unevenness have been Daniel Bachmann (the team’s best overall performer so far), Choudhury, Davis, Asprilla, Joao Pedro and Hause. Vakoun Bayo has also been good, working very hard for the team. Bayo seems to be finding his way and will continue to score. While the disappointing efforts on the pitch have been a constant in most of these matches — the silver linings are the players mentioned in this paragraph. Watford’s new players still need to acclimatize to each other on the pitch in a competitive match. An igniter is needed in this Watford side. Will Louza be the one? Will Samuel Kalu, still on the books at Watford with little playing time to his name, be one of those to light the touchpaper?
Or will the Watford board wait until January again?
The next set of ten games — or perhaps the next ten minutes at Watford — will hopefully begin to yield some answers.
*-Louza’s injury occurred last season; was included since he is part of the squad and hasn’t played so far this season.
^-Sema, to his credit, has been playing with a groin strain for several weeks now. He has featured in every Watford match so far this season.
Sunderland battled back twice to deny Watford a second successive Vicarage Road win on Saturday.
Watford started with more vigor than against Blackburn on Tuesday night but that early energy quickly dissipated as Sunderland took control of the first half with their high press, swift passing and movement against their increasingly nervy opponent. Watford began passing the ball backwards and sideways, earning the wrath of some of the Watford faithful.
Sunderland looked the more likely to score in the first half until a bit of technical brilliance by Hornets midfielder Yaser Asprilla propelled Watford in front. Asprilla’s sublime long ball to Hassane Kamara, back on his familiar left side of the pitch, was passed along the face of the Black Cats goal for Keinan Davis to score his first goal in Watford colours. Davis, in this his debut start for Watford, was a standout once again, bringing composure, precision and stature to the Watford front line and getting his teammates involved.
Collectively, Watford failed to build upon their advantage and retreated into a defensive position as they have on many previous occasions when scoring first. Sunderland, who should have had two penalties in this horribly refereed match, kept plugging away fearlessly. Having been much the better side Sunderland made their dominance pay on the stroke of half-time. A scrappy goal from Aji Alese put the Black Cats level. Goal-line technology showed the ball had crossed the entirety of the goal-line despite Hamza Choudhury’s best efforts to clear the ball off the line. Replays appeared to show the ball hadn’t fully crossed the line, but the goal-line animation told a decisive story.
Watford were much better after the break, controlling the first 20 minutes. The home side showed confidence, passion and urgency and caused the Black Cats’ defence some problems. The Hornets should have had a penalty as a Sunderland player had handled the ball in the 18-yard-box, but appalling referee John Busby had other ideas. Despite the pitiful officiating Watford pushed on. The Hornets reaped their rewards on 62 minutes as former Watford player Luke O’Nien headed the ball into the back of the Sunderland net, putting Watford back in front. Yet the 2-1 lead saw Watford surrendered their prosperity, to the dismay and frustration of the home fans.
Undaunted and unrelenting, again Sunderland seized the occasion and were more creative and progressive, aggressively picking through a porous Hornets defence. Notably, William Troost-Ekong in his first Watford Championship start this season, was quite impressive on the day having put not a foot wrong. Despite Troost-Ekong’s resolute play, the Black Cats sent a warning sign and sneak preview to Watford’s defence of what was to come. An unmarked Jack Clarke found himself in acres of space and smashed the ball into the back of the Watford net, only to correctly be ruled marginally offside.
That aforementioned heart-in-mouth reprieve for Watford would not last long as about ten minutes later in the 87th minute, Hornets substitute Christian Kabasele, on the pitch for only three minutes, mistimed his jump for a ball crossed in from a corner kick. The ball fell to an open and isolated Jewison Bennette, whom from roughly the exact same area on the right side of the pitch where Clarke was minutes earlier, smashed the ball past Watford goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann to earn a deserved point. Sunderland should have gone to win the match–and it was Bachmann who prevented that from happening with late point-blank saves from Leon Dajaku and Patrick Roberts, the latter a troublesome presence throughout.
With almost a quarter of the season gone, Watford go into the international break having won just once in their last seven Championship matches, sitting tenth, one point off the playoffs and six points off the second automatic promotion place.
(Photo: Watford’s winger Ken Sema takes on a Sunderland defender during the 2-2 draw at The Vic on Saturday. Photo credit: Watford FC)
WATFORD (out of 10): Bachmann 7, Kamara 7, Cathcart 6, Hause 6, Troost-Ekong 7, Choudhury 5, Kayembe 5, Asprilla 7, Sema 6, Davis 8, Joao Pedro 6.
Subs: Bayo 6, Gosling 6, Kabasele 1.
Sunderland (out of 10): Patterson 6, Gooch 7, O’Nien 5, Batth 7, Alese 7, Roberts 8, Neil 6, Evans 7, Clarke 7, Embleton 6, Pritchard 7.
Blackburn handed the Hornets their first away defeat of the season as they easily outplayed Watford at Ewood Park.
Dreadful and inadequate, Watford mustered very little on a night where victory would have seen them rise to third in the table with almost a quarter of the season gone. Blackburn dictated play from the word go, while Watford slumbered. Even extra days gained from last weekend’s postponed match in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death did not accrue for the away team, who looked well and truly out of their depth.
Blackburn had a specific game plan, going forward with confidence and determination, stamping their identity on the match. They sat back when they needed to. Watford, by contrast, had no plan at all. No identity or signature. An ineffective Ismaila Sarr went off injured with a twisted ankle after 30 minutes and was replaced by Keinan Davis, who continues to be a cut above the vast majority of his teammates. Davis was in the thick of things and should have had a penalty within minutes when he was felled in the 18-yard-box. None was given.
In the 38th minute, Blackburn got the goal their endeavour and persistence deserved off a rebound that Daniel Bachmann, who had been stellar all night, could only parry and Ryan Hedges obliged from close range. It was the fourth consecutive match in which Watford conceded first, and their fifth in all competitions.
Aside from a ten-minute spell in the second half, Watford never looked like scoring. They rarely tested Kaminski in the Rovers goal, and when Christian Kabasele put the ball in the back of the net in the 57th minute, he was adjudged to have been offside. He wasn’t. About 30 minutes later Watford’s appalling night of failure went from bad to worse as Dominic Hyam scored for the home side with a sensational overhead flick.
(Photo: Blackburn’s Ryan Hedges celebrates his winning goal against Watford at Ewood Park on Tuesday night as Watford ‘keeper Daniel Bachmann reacts. Credit: Lancashire Telegraph)
Blackburn (out of 10): Kaminski 6, Hyam 7, Ayala 6, Wharton 7, Carter 6, Travis 7, Morton 6, Pickering 6, Dolan 8, Hedges 7, Brereton Diaz 7.
Watford failed to make their quality tell against a disruptive Rotherham side on Saturday at the New York Stadium. Both teams had tasted defeat just once in the Championship this season. Yet Rotherham made the quicker start against a sleepy Watford defence. Barely two minutes had elapsed before the Millers went in front. A loose ball went unchallenged by Christian Kabasele and up popped Richard Wood to nod home past Hornets keeper Daniel Bachmann. It was the third consecutive Championship game where Watford had conceded first and the second in a row in which the Hornets had allowed a goal in the first four minutes.
Though the again scintillating Joao Pedro almost replied instantly, Rotherham could have gone 2-0 up had not for Bachmann making a point-blank save. Watford were put under the kosh throughout the first half hour but the relentless United pressure began to subside thereafter, and the Hornets grew into the game. In their first serious Watford breakaway of the match, Joao Pedro advanced the ball to a speeding Ken Sema, who crossed the ball into the middle of the 18-yard-box for Vakoun Bayo to volley it out of the air and smash it into the back of the Rotherham net after 33 minutes, his second goal in as many games.
From there, Watford took control of the match before the half-time whistle intervened.
The half-time break seemed to work against Watford, as they began the second half the way they played the first 30 minutes of the first half. Sluggish, unfocused and ill-disciplined, Watford were again on the back foot as Rotherham applied early pressure going forward and occasionally looked a threat, inducing Bachmann into another fine save.
For all their effort and pace Rotherham began to tire soon after and Watford once again took control of the match. The home side began to sat deep and yielded much more space to Watford, who frustratingly couldn’t take full advantage of the quality they had. It was not however, for lack of trying. Bayo hit a post with his header when it looked for all the world that he’d get a brace.
Hornets head coach Rob Edwards brought on Keinan Davis, whose interplay and movement were a cut above though not yet at his optimum best, while Joseph Hungbo came on late. Watford, who remain undefeated on the road, huffed and puffed but couldn’t find the match winner against a dogged Rotherham side who have so far yet to lose at home.
(Photo: Vakoun Bayo volleys home Watford’s equalizer against Rotherham at the New York Stadium. Photo credit: Watford FC)
Rotherham (out of 10): Johansson 7, Harding 6, Wood 8, Peltier 7, Barlaser 6, Norton-Cuffy 7, Rathbone 7, Wiles 6, Bramall 6, Ogbene 7, Washington 6.
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