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First-half goals from Helguson and Taylor see off Bristol City
9:50pm Tuesday 9th February 2010 in
Watford maintained their impressive home form with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Bristol City at Vicarage Road tonight.
First-half goals from Heidar Helguson, with his eighth of the season, and Martin Taylor’s first for the club put the Hornets firmly in the driving seat at the interval.
Although the visitors improved after an abject display in the opening half, with the exception of one fine save from Scott Loach they rarely looked like breaking through the Hornets’ organised defensive ranks.
With Tom Cleverley still not fit to return, Malky Mackay made just the one change from Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Barnsley, with Danny Graham returning at the expense of Ross Jenkins.
The Hornets started well and had the first chance in the third minute when Martin Taylor headed a Don Cowie corner narrowly wide.
Louis Carey headed wide at the other end, but Watford were well on top in the early stages and their supremacy was deservedly rewarded in the 14th minute when Adrian Mariappa sent over a fine cross from the right and Helguson pulled off his man to score with a trademark header to make it 1-0.
Boosted by the goal, the Hornets continued to dominate and Henri Lansbury and Lloyd Doyley had efforts blocked before a deserved second arrived in the 34th minute.
Alvaro Saborlo became the second City player to be booked in three minutes for a crude challenge on Jay DeMerit and Lansbury struck the resultant free-kick precisely to the back post where Taylor stole in to guide home his first Hornets goal from a tight angle on the right side of the six-yard box.
City were abject in the opening period and it was no surprise that boss Gary Johnson made a double change at the restart, bringing on Marvin Elliott and Ivan Sproule for Saborlo and Jamie McAllister respectively.
And, but for fine save from Scott Loach, the visitors would have reduced the deficit six minutes after the restart when Liam Fontaine was left totally unmarked to connect with Lee Johnson’s free-kick from the right, but the England Under-21 stopper superbly tipped his header over.
The visitors continued to try and force their way back into the contest, with Patrick Agyemang heading narrowly over, but the Hornets defending was largely calm and assured and they were able to see out the remainder of the game with few alarms.
Watford: Loach; Mariappa, DeMerit, Taylor, Doyley; Cowie, Eustace, Lansbury (Jenkins, 84), Harley; Graham (Henderson, 71), Helguson. Not used: McGinn, Lee, Bennett, Bryan and Hodson.
Bristol City: Gerken; Orr, Carey, Fontaine, Nyatanga, McAllister (Sproule, 46); Johnson; Skuse, Clarkson; Saborlo (Elliott, 46), Agyemang. Not used: Hartley, Collis, Williams, Sproule, Wilson and Edwards.
Bookings: Skuse; Saborlo; Nyatanga; Fontaine; Elliott.
Attendance: 12,179.
Referee: Danny McDermid.
Comments(44)
pstannard1
says...
10:50pm Tue 9 Feb 10
Malky Mackay You are a genius. You have managed to find a fantastic partnership with Jay DeMerit and Martin Taylor. Both looked again solid at home and only conceding 1 goal in 3 games must have done the trick and 2 clean sheets and no goals conceded at home this year.
Bring on the Hoops of QPR and without Helguson we need a goalscorer for that game. Lets hope the free weekend before that game next Tuesday night at Loftus Road we can get Cleverley back.
COYH
pstannard1
says...
10:53pm Tue 9 Feb 10
onlyonerodthomas
says...
10:55pm Tue 9 Feb 10
WFC4ever
says...
11:04pm Tue 9 Feb 10
Excellent cross by Mariappa and Doyley was very solid along with Taylor/JD.
Got to say neither Graham and Henderson really impressed me in their time on the pitch which might be a little worry for next week at QPR if H isn't able to play.
Another home win...and nice to keep the home form going.
Shame we'll probably go down a few places comg Saturday!
worthing_hornet
says...
11:15pm Tue 9 Feb 10
ICMRB
says...
11:20pm Tue 9 Feb 10
Taylor is a monster. Didn't miss a header or tackle all game. And his presence settles the others, especially Jay. AM & Lloyd ran their socks off.
Have to disagree with earlier thoughts on Eustace and Lansbury, both we off on their passes a lot. The latter is clearly a class act but many of his little touches didn't come off. Cowie was unspectacular, but helped out in defense a bunch in the second half. Harley had a great game, and set the tempo with his running the first 30 mins.
H = legend. Danny, as many have said just needs a goal, but does a tonne of running and harassing off the ball. Together they made the Bristol defense look very uncomfortable.
Basically a fun game to watch, a much needed result and genuine hope/belief that we have a defense to led us through a good finish to the season.
duckfan10
says...
1:10am Wed 10 Feb 10
ICMRB
says...
7:11am Wed 10 Feb 10
duckfan10 wrote:Unfortunately the 3rd runner up in the 1984 Miss Alaska Pageant (and winner of the Miss Congeniality Award) was too busy thinking up some completely nonsensical statement for the world's media....come to think of it perhaps she has a future in football management? or perhaps running FIFA!
If you came 14,584 miles they should name you "man of the match" - did you bring Sarah Palin with you?
BigDaveH
says...
7:43am Wed 10 Feb 10
Chris the Vic
says...
8:06am Wed 10 Feb 10
Bristol City were not good we were marginally better...Heidars goal was well worked and Loach made a great save.
Between now and Mid march we have a series of tough games starting with two away...Hopefully after the next four games we will pass 40 points and the defence will have settled down Taylor does begin to look like a rock.
Overall I came away feeling hopeful but not ecstatic.
a1derek
says...
8:29am Wed 10 Feb 10
At least it has proved we can win without Cleverley which is also encouraging.
Better teams, though, would have mounted a successful comeback last night I think. But it's three more points and four more wins and a couple of draws should see us safe. With many of the bottom teams winning last night and it being even more congested than normal this year, I reckon we will need 52/53 points to be absolutely safe.
Berko Horn
says...
8:30am Wed 10 Feb 10
First half was too easy and we should have had more. Second half we tried to make the difficult pass/flick and defended far too deep. It would have been nice to have scored more- goal difference could be important at the end of the season, as Cardiff found out last season.
Taylor was immense and the defence looked generally sound, although Sproule gave Doyley a hard time in the second half.
Wins at QPR and Scunthorpe should be possible and then with 5 home games in March, we might stop looking for 50/52 points and start looking upwards, rather than downwards.
pstannard1
says...
8:48am Wed 10 Feb 10
WFC4ever wrote:Heidar can't play next tuesday as he is not allowed to play against his Parent Club.
Very confident performance although maybe a good thing Bristol City were so hopeless up front even when having most of the ball 2nd half but that was down to some very good assured defending.
Excellent cross by Mariappa and Doyley was very solid along with Taylor/JD.
Got to say neither Graham and Henderson really impressed me in their time on the pitch which might be a little worry for next week at QPR if H isn't able to play.
Another home win...and nice to keep the home form going.
Shame we'll probably go down a few places comg Saturday!
You are right about Graham. He hasn't scored since November. its happening again like what happened last season at Carlisle
enlightened one
says...
9:16am Wed 10 Feb 10
Richard - Come On You Golden Boys!
says...
9:26am Wed 10 Feb 10
WFC4ever
says...
10:12am Wed 10 Feb 10
2nd half maybe a bit of a let down but then had we gone out to get more goals and they'd nicked 2 on the break we'd all be complaining!
At least we're getting the job done at the Vic.
Now just got to sort out this away form...if we cannot get anything from the next 2 games then we probably never will!
Randall94
says...
11:03am Wed 10 Feb 10
WFC4ever
says...
11:16am Wed 10 Feb 10
Randall94 wrote:Somebody on another forum suggested their was some sort of disagreement (slight) on Saturday between Malky and Hoskins during the game..
Without agreeing or disagreeing on the Henderson comment above - does anyone know where Hoskins was last night?
Ofcourse that could just be hear-say although it does seem Malky isn't a fan of his.
I presume McGinn isn't ready for 1st team action.
Its a shame the Reserves never appear to play now mainly due to the cup run of our youngsters which ofcourse is excellent news but means certain frgine players don't get game time.
stuperman
says...
11:46am Wed 10 Feb 10
Only 2 Ross Jenkins
says...
11:47am Wed 10 Feb 10
Ok, he isn't scoring, but he brings a lot to the overall team.
As for Hoskins, MM would play him if he thought he was better than the alternatives.
Fairly sure I'd take MM's opinion over anyone elses!
Dr.Oftaw
says...
11:55am Wed 10 Feb 10
enlightened one wrote:henderson sums up the current crop of youngsters coming out of the academy. the subs bench was poor last night at half time they were kicking balls around cones like 8 year olds.
Another good solid performance and a well earned 3pts.Back four looked solid,Scotty pulled out a great save.Thought the midfield went awol for a while in the second half,DC had a mare only time he really caught up with the game was at the final whistle.H is a leg end and DG put in some good work as normal,oh for a goal tho.One final thought can anybody tell me what the point of Liam Henderson is,he's challenging for worst player ever to wear a yellow shirt,woeful.Oh and the referee what a hopeless pillock could quite easily have sent a couple of their thugs off,if he'd had the balls.
herts hornet
says...
12:17pm Wed 10 Feb 10
Berks Horn
says...
12:31pm Wed 10 Feb 10
The defence looks really solid now and the midfield put in a good performance without Cleverley. Thought Harley had a very good game and I thought Graham was really good too. Shame the goals have dried up but he still contributes a hell of a lot. When Henderson came on we lost a lot - I'd agree with some of the posts above, he really shouldn't be playing ahead of Hoskins...in fact I'd rather stick someone in midfield than have him play. He's like a rabbit in the headlights.
Shame Heidar can't play vs. QPR but I guess he'll just got 4-5-1 with Graham up front. Hopefully Clev will be back and if so I'm confident we can get a result.
garston edl
says...
12:38pm Wed 10 Feb 10
SimonW, Godalming
says...
1:02pm Wed 10 Feb 10
Shame we did'nt push on more because Bristol looked there for the taking, talking about taking, can some-one take Henderson away & find him alternative employment because a footballer he is not!!
Mick, Bray
says...
2:06pm Wed 10 Feb 10
The youngsters have just knocked out Liverpool at Anfield!
I watched the game this morning(free on LFC tv) and they played some nice football and the result was not a fluke on the night.
It's fools like you that make me cringe that you have the cheek to post your ill informed opinion on this site.
Dr.Oftaw
says...
3:10pm Wed 10 Feb 10
Mick, Bray wrote:yes congratulations to them enjoy the moment.But how many will actually go on to have professional careers, academy football is not all about building winning youth teams, its about finding and developing an individual player good enough to play pro for our club or better still sell on at profit. where is the next ashley young? what do arsenal and man u do different to produce lansburys and cleverleys while we turn out hendersons? it must be either the scouting or the training.
DR,Do u actually know what is going on at our club!! The youngsters have just knocked out Liverpool at Anfield! I watched the game this morning(free on LFC tv) and they played some nice football and the result was not a fluke on the night. It's fools like you that make me cringe that you have the cheek to post your ill informed opinion on this site.
garston edl
says...
3:31pm Wed 10 Feb 10
SAHornet
says...
4:11pm Wed 10 Feb 10
Richard - Come On You Golden Boys!
says...
5:14pm Wed 10 Feb 10
Mick, Bray
says...
5:14pm Wed 10 Feb 10
Players like AY don't come along very often at any club! I agree with your comments on Henderson who i have not seen have a decent spell yet.
I think Hodson has done well this seson considering he is only 18 and in a tough league.
Rick Holden Forever
says...
5:25pm Wed 10 Feb 10
If Buckley is not yet ready for first team action then we surely have to look to the loan window to bring in another striker. Graham isn't up to it and we can't keep relying on the ageing Helguson, although i would like to see his switch made permanent.
Without H, we really have no other options up front.
grahamwfc
says...
6:51pm Wed 10 Feb 10
SAHornet wrote:Is that the same Freddie Sears who scored a whole one girl while on loan at Palarse.
With HH unable to play next Tuesday, DG not on his best goal-scoring form and with the possibility of injuries to either of them in the future, I would love to see Freddy Sears brought in until the end of the season from WHU
I think I would be hacked off if Will Hoskins - when he got his run last season he did well & added goals then dropped. Sure he probably has some attitude - I bet Rooney has some too, in fact perhaps that is part of what makes him so good.
PLAY HOSKINS
south/west hornet
says...
7:03pm Wed 10 Feb 10
Richard - Come On You Golden Boys! wrote:I would not like to get into it,but richard is absolutely wright. The academy is and always will be vital to watford football club.Is it wright to judge the likes of young,bryan,bennet who have not really turned out in the first team.so how can you judge a player that has not been given the opportunity to do so. Also clubs like manchester,chelsea etc have the reputation and money to invest in any good young players coming through the ranks at other clubs.Remember chris eagles watford academy, utd snaped eagles up even before he kicked a ball for watford's first team. Maybe that's what seperates us from arsenal manchester?
I find it absolutely staggering that on the back of a strong home performance by the first team and an away win at Liverpool for the Youth team all within 24 hours, that "supporters" can criticise our ability to produce young players. We need the academy, it is doing a good job and is vital to our long term future.
diehardhornet
says...
7:12pm Wed 10 Feb 10
stuperman wrote:Is that a dig at Jenkins...if so,HAHAHAH! Do you watch John Eustace at all??
At last! Two up front! And great to see my mate Jenkins come on as sub. I made it one free kick given away and three fell-overs.
I love Watford and hear John Eustace is a great guy but hes CRAP!
Everygame all he does is hook the ball on to knowbody,last week he past to our own player TWICE!..FACT!(rafa,h
a)
He hasnt got the legs to run,cant jump and his passing is well off!EVERYWEEK.Do you not see this?
Cast your minds back to the games where we have won and played well away..Middlesboro,sw
ansea and all last season...WE PLAYED FOOTBALL.
Jenkins is still young,but he dont give the ball away,nor does Henri or Cleverley.They have ability.
When Eustace plays he plays blind and is scared to keep the ball and pass,hes old school.He demands the ball from the youngsters and just bosh's long to knowbody..
I know all you oldies on here will stick up for him,but the Championship is a league where players get stuck in,in your face,need to be super fit and thoese who do well have players who can mix it all up (west brom/newcastle)
Also i know your all going to say 'oh hes a leader,brings experience' HA!
A leader sets examples and is a key team member,he is not! He WAS,but not now.He didnt play for nearly a whole season...
Our KEY players are BALL players,who need good ball or good passes..
MY TEAM:
loach
marriapa,taylor,de-m
erit,doyley
jenkins
henri,cleverly,cowie
helga,graham
*Reason why Jenkins is in my team is:
athletic and great engine,
DOES NOT lose the ball,
tough guy(anybody whos watch the youthteam or rezzies)
does the dirty jobs well,
always wants the play and not pump it like others,
plays for england u20s and just signed with the top agent in the world(well heard they are)
The people who slag Jenkins off will eat ther words one day..
JENKINS & HODSON will be gone in summer ;)
I dont post thatmuch on here,but see everyweek stupid comments and good ones about Eustace.nice guy - but past it.
2010 finish:7th
cliff46
says...
8:03pm Wed 10 Feb 10
I don't agree with diehardhornets comments about Eustace but do think he has a very valid point regarding Ross Jenkins.
Would he really be an England player if he was as poor as some people suggest on this site.
I think he is a little one paced but has the makings of a very good player.
Unless he plays regularly he will not develop adequately and we will miss out on the fact that he will be worth a million or two by the time he is 23. Hopefully Malky will continue to be more forward looking than some of our supporters.
WFC4ever
says...
9:29pm Wed 10 Feb 10
We have some good players coming through but they do need to be given time and my only worry is a lot of them are quite slight and skillfull but lack physic which might be a problem.
garston edl
says...
9:34pm Wed 10 Feb 10
Diehardhornet - Jenkins and Hodson (who i do think has a chance) will be "gone in the summer" - what are you talking about?!
foreverorns
says...
8:37am Thu 11 Feb 10
garston edl wrote:I totaly agree with diehardhornet, Eutace was a good player with passed managers brendan rogers not included, because all they ever did was hoof hoof hoof, now the younger players want to play to feet eutace doesnt fit in he is old school and footballs moving on , with ref to superman dont know what game you watched tuesday, the mid field was breaking up and jenkins came on and steadied it , he never loses position and thats vital in a game we cant all go bombing on , get a rule book mate.
Ok, so maybe Jenkins will improve with time, that is a fair point. However, the fact that he has played for England U 20's means nothing.Plenty of players have played for England at U16 to U 20 and gone on to achieve nothing in the game i.e) ended up at lower league or non league. I believe Darren Caskey (who played for us on loan many years ago) even capatained the U21's when they likes of Folwer were that age. He hardly went on to have a glittering career did he?!
Diehardhornet - Jenkins and Hodson (who i do think has a chance) will be "gone in the summer" - what are you talking about?!
herts hornet
says...
12:21pm Thu 11 Feb 10
diehardhornet wrote:Diehardhornet you are mad ,Eustace is up there as player of the season !,Jenkins is a disaster ,headless chicken cannot pass never scores or even looks like scoring goals can't defend e.t.c ,Eustace attitude is first class he re negiotiated his contract so he could play and prove himself ,he has been fantastic ,try watching the game not the ball !! ,every time i see Jenkins in team my heart sinks AND we nearly always lose .
stuperman wrote: At last! Two up front! And great to see my mate Jenkins come on as sub. I made it one free kick given away and three fell-overs.Is that a dig at Jenkins...if so,HAHAHAH! Do you watch John Eustace at all?? I love Watford and hear John Eustace is a great guy but hes CRAP! Everygame all he does is hook the ball on to knowbody,last week he past to our own player TWICE!..FACT!(rafa,h a) He hasnt got the legs to run,cant jump and his passing is well off!EVERYWEEK.Do you not see this? Cast your minds back to the games where we have won and played well away..Middlesboro,sw ansea and all last season...WE PLAYED FOOTBALL. Jenkins is still young,but he dont give the ball away,nor does Henri or Cleverley.They have ability. When Eustace plays he plays blind and is scared to keep the ball and pass,hes old school.He demands the ball from the youngsters and just bosh's long to knowbody.. I know all you oldies on here will stick up for him,but the Championship is a league where players get stuck in,in your face,need to be super fit and thoese who do well have players who can mix it all up (west brom/newcastle) Also i know your all going to say 'oh hes a leader,brings experience' HA! A leader sets examples and is a key team member,he is not! He WAS,but not now.He didnt play for nearly a whole season... Our KEY players are BALL players,who need good ball or good passes.. MY TEAM: loach marriapa,taylor,de-m erit,doyley jenkins henri,cleverly,cowie helga,graham *Reason why Jenkins is in my team is: athletic and great engine, DOES NOT lose the ball, tough guy(anybody whos watch the youthteam or rezzies) does the dirty jobs well, always wants the play and not pump it like others, plays for england u20s and just signed with the top agent in the world(well heard they are) The people who slag Jenkins off will eat ther words one day.. JENKINS & HODSON will be gone in summer ;) I dont post thatmuch on here,but see everyweek stupid comments and good ones about Eustace.nice guy - but past it. 2010 finish:7th
Mick, Bray
says...
12:53pm Thu 11 Feb 10
Looked good when he first broke into the team last season,but has generally been very average compared to our other midfield players. I think we have to judge him next season whether he is going to be a decent player.
I think JE has had his best season for WFC with a few goals as well.
The Not-so-enlightened one
says...
2:10pm Thu 11 Feb 10
1. The only way to describe Bristol's football (apart from their defence) is robust, witness the challenges on H and JE.
2. That'll be first time I've seen our defence described as robust! Taylor has made a massive impact, long may it continue.
Oh and another thing, initially I was willing to give Henderson the benefit of the doubt but after this performance, I think my alter ego may be right.
Feff
says...
6:46pm Thu 11 Feb 10
Whatever their attitudes towards MM.
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south/west hornet says...
10:38pm Tue 9 Feb 10
ll round performance at the vic. Early days but taylor looks like a great buy.Never thought i would see the words, organised defensive ranks,quoted after a watford game 3-4 weeks ago. Its funny how one man can steady the team defensively.Defenitl
y fill watford can hold firm against any championship side. No cleve's either,were not as good as a team without that boy in the side.Good result. come on you golden boys