Deeney delivers second straight home win for Hornets (From This Is Local London)

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Watford beat Brighton & Hove Albion to complete back-to-back victories

9:44pm Tuesday 1st November 2011 in Watford FC - Match Reports By Anthony Matthews

Watford’s upturn in fortunes has continued with a 1-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion after Troy Deeney came off the bench to score within 30 seconds and make it back-to-back home wins for Sean Dyche’s men.

The game-changing moment arrived in the 75th minute when the Hornets boss decided to replace Craig Forsyth with Deeney. The substitute’s first involvement was to see a right-footed shot saved by Steve Harper but he followed in to gain a decisive second touch and score.

The second half had been fairly even until that point but it was a goal Watford could justly argue they deserved after an opening 45 minutes that had seen them dominate for large parts.

Brighton could not have complained had they gone into the break a couple of goals behind after Mark Yeates had seen a shot blocked in the first minute, while Adrian Mariappa was unlucky to head against a post and Marvin Sordell spurned a couple of other fine opportunities.

With the likes of Lloyd Doyley and John Eustace still on the sidelines and on the back of Saturday’s first win in five against Peterborough United, there was no surprise that Dyche kept faith with the same starting XI.

However, they were a couple of changes on the bench, with Rene Gilmartin replacing Jonathan Bond, while on-loan Wolves wide man Michael Kightly was back after his hamstring problem in place of Joe Garner.

Brighton made one change to the side that drew 0-0 at Birmingham City, with on-loan Leeds United striker Billy Paynter coming in for Ashley Barnes. However, Gus Poyet was forced into an unwanted adjustment just before kick off when another loan signing, Gonzalo Jarra Reyes, was ruled out, meaning Ryan Harley was promoted from the bench and Alan Navarro came into the matchday 16.

The Hornets scored after four minutes on Saturday but they almost topped that start inside the first 60 seconds.

Dyche’s men attacked down the left, with Chris Iwelumo finding Forsyth whose teasing low centre was not dealt with by the Brighton rearguard, leaving Yeates to have a goal-bound shot on the turn blocked before Prince Buaben stabbed the rebound wide.

The early onslaught continued as Sordell’s pace took him away from his man and although his angled drive was probably going narrowly wide of Steve Harper’s near post, the on-loan Newcastle United keeper took no chances and conceded the corner.

Yeates fired over the top before Watford’s goal attempt count rose to five in the ninth minute when Forsyth saw a low drive saved by Harper at the foot of his near post.

That soon became six when Mariappa, making his 200th first-team start, was very unlucky to see a cushioned header rebound off Harper’s right-hand post following a Yeates free-kick on the right and then Lee Hodson’s off-cue piledriver was blocked.

Having survived the barrage, the Seagulls mustered their first attempt when Watford-born Craig Mackail-Smith found some space near the edge of the area but his well-struck left-footed effort flew wide.

That enabled the visitors to at last gain a foothold in the contest but Watford were still looking to attack and they almost took the lead again in superb fashion in the 25th minute when Sordell met a good Hodson cross from the right with a great angled header that looked destined for the inside of Harper’s far post, only to go agonisingly wide.

Poyet was already preparing to make his first change when Buaben was booked after clattering into Marcos Painter but the substitution did follow, with Mauricio Tarrico coming on for former Hornets loanee Liam Bridcutt, who appeared to be injured.

But the 38-year-old substitute’s first act was to go down in a heap after Forsyth had nudged him from behind in the penalty area, an act that also earned the scot a yellow card, much to the collective annoyance of the Rookery That particular score was soon levelled up when Taricco was cautioned for a foul on Forsyth, with Yeates curling the resultant free-kick over from a tight angle to the right of the area, but before then Sordell really should have hit the target when a second ball seemed to break ideally for him after Iwelumo had been beaten to a header by Inigo Calderon.

Craig Noone had only Brighton’s second attempt in the 39th minute when his speculative left-footed effort drifted away from the target but that was to be the last effort of a first half the hosts dominated at times, but did not have the reward they deserved.

It didn’t took the Hornets long to muster their first attempt of the second period, with Sordell shooting over from distance, but the visitors then began to find their stride, passing the ball around neatly.

Harley had a couple of efforts – one over the bar and one blocked – before Scott Loach made his first save of the night, scrambling a flick from Paynter behind his near post, but the flag was already up for offside.

Sordell’s fifth attempt of the night cleared the bar in the 56th minute but the Seagulls were threatening to gain the upper hand when Watford made a change in the 61st minute, with Kightly coming on for Yeates.

The Hornets kept plugging away and it looked like they might get the break in the 67th minute when Calderon appeared to handle the ball after Iwelumo had gone up to contest a Hodson cross but referee Oliver Langford was unmoved.

It was Brighton who had the next opportunity in the 73rd minute when Gordon Greer got on the end of a corner from the right with a near-post flick that hit the side netting.

Forsyth’s evening came to an end two minutes later when he was replaced by Deeney, but nobody could have foreseen the impact the substitute was to have.

Following a ball in from the left, Iwelumo headed back to Deeney whose first involvement was to hit a shot that Harper saved, but could not hold, and the former Walsall man reacted quickly and managed to bundle in the rebound and give the Hornets the lead.

And one goal wasn’t far away from becoming two in the 82nd minute when Deeney had time to line up his shot from Kightly’s pull-back but his well-struck on-target drive was blocked.

Kightly forced Harper into another stop stop soon after but the visitors then upped the ante in search of the equaliser. But despite having four minutes of added time to try and get it, they never seriously threatened and the Hornets were able to complete a very good four days work.

Watford: Loach; Hodson, Nosworthy, Mariappa, Dickinson; Yeates (Kightly 61), Hogg, Buaben, Forsyth (Deeney 75); Iwelumo, Sordell. Not used: Gilmartin, Jenkins and Mirfin.

Brighton & Hove Albion: Harper; Vincelot, Greer, Calderon, Painter; Noone, Bridcutt (Taricco 30), Harley (Barnes 70), Sparrow (LuaLua 82); Mackail-Smith, Paynter. Not used: Navarro and Ankergren.

Bookings: Buaben for a foul on Painter (29); Forsyth for a foul on Taricco (32); Taricco for a foul on Forsyth (35).

Attendance: 11,818.

Referee: Oliver Langford.

Comments(54)

Hornet Cornet says...
9:53pm Tue 1 Nov 11

I said we'd win !!