Watford struggle to get their noses in front

I could imagine the players would be similarly drained but in fact they did well on the Saturday.

From The Watford Observer, Friday, November 11, 1983

Watford struggle to get their noses in front

Watford 3 (Callaghan 16, Richardson 31, 77)

Leicester City 3 (Lynex 22, 90 pen, Banks 47)

WATFORD: Sherwood, Palmer, Sims, Franklin, Sinnott, Callaghan, Bolton, Rostron, Richardson, Reilly, Banes, Substitute: Johnson (not used).

LEICESTER CITY: Wallington, Williams, Wilson, MacDonald, Hazell, Banks, Lynex, A Smith, Eastoe, Ramsey, Rennie, Substitute: R Smith for Hazell (injured after 73mins).

Referee: A Gunn (Sussex): Attendance: 15,807.

WATFORD, like an athlete repeatedly attempting to move clear of the field, look poised for success only to have their ankle clipped or spiked and the momentum lost at the crucial moment. So it was on Saturday at Vicarage Road when with a little luck or a trifle less ill-fortune, the Hornets may well have followed up the Sofia saga with a further morale-boosting victory.

Instead, as City boss was to admit after the game: "We got away with murder." Or as Graham Taylor was to lament: "We have no good fortune in that we appear to be paying for every mistake we make at the back."

Of course there was another element which determined the fate of the points on Saturday the UEFA Cup victory. The longer the match went on, the less able were some Watford players to dig deep into their energy reserves. The emotion and commitment of the Bulgaria epic, had left some players with little in the emergency account.

That fact was too easily ignored by some of the fans who stood and clapped as the Hornets came out to a deserved ovation, and within 20 minutes were back heckling and moaning at the Watford attempts. In some cases, memories are short and understanding thin on the ground.

Callaghan, Sims and Richardson remained on a "high" from Bulgaria while the effects of the exhausting week on the remainder became apparent in the second half. The two newcomers, Sinnott and Reilly, had differing games reversing the previous trend for Sinnott had, if not a "nightmare" a "bad dream", and Reilly put in his most effective performance to date.

Indeed the latter was the most heartening facet of what was, in fairness, an entertaining afternoon. Reilly, as if realising that disappointing performances can be acceptable if you give everything in search of success, went some way towards silencing his critics. Mobility and tenacity have not appeared to be his strong points hitherto but, on Saturday, he demonstrated both, along with a preparedness to have the odd shot at goal.

"I haven't been putting myself around enough I must admit," said the strapping Reilly who shares with the fans, disappointment over his performances.

Taylor has a point when he says there has been a rush to judgment over Reilly on the part of some, but Reilly has not helped his cause. Filling Jenkins' number nine shirt is not an easy task, but soaking it in sweat is the first and most easily attained step. Reilly did that on Saturday and his overall performance was as encouraging as was that of Ian Richardson.

Indeed the partnership of Little and Large, offered the two extremes. Height, power and the strength of Reilly along with Richardson's goal awareness and pace are the ingredients of similar partnerships such as Toshack and Keegan. The signs of an understanding were there, almost instantly which is encouraging. Striking partnerships are better when made in heaven and honed by experience rather than training pitch-enforced marriages. Jenkins and Blissett dovetailed almost instantly whereas other duos looked awkward in tandem.

"There appears to be something there to work on. It is better if there is an element of instinctive understanding," Reilly agreed.

That Watford looked so useful going forward was due to these two and Nigel Callaghan, who maintained his standards from midweek. Had Barnes, who by his own high standards is struggling, demonstrated his best form, Watford would have won in a canter.

One can excuse the aberrations of Frankin and Palmer and the low key displays by Rostron, Bolton and Barnes. Sinnott too has shown that he is made of more effective stuff than Saturday's indecisive performance and one can expect more from the player who has still to collect his first Watford win bonus.

If Watford keep their heads and weather the difficult period in the immediate future, they have the raw resources which should enable them to climb to safety.

As for Richardson, he took his goals well and hogged the headlines.

"I should have had four," says the youngster who shows the Blissett pace and the knack of being in the right place to miss or convert. He benefited from the switch of Banes to the wider role in the second half.

He certainly has the goalscoring pedigree with six goals in six reserve team outings following on from last season's 20 in 37 appearances. His five goals in six first-team games have all been "good" goals but the 19-year-old also has the knack of picking up the rebounds and the scrappy nettings a facet, which students of the art of goalscoring, note as encouraging.

After taking the field to a standing ovation, Watford looked for an early boost to help them end their run of five league games without a win. And with a modicum of luck they would have obtained that break in the fourth minute when a driven and low cross from Rostron found Callaghan at the far post. The Watford man hit it back towards the far side of the goal, leaving Wallington for dead, but the cheers of joy died as the ball struck the inside edge of the upright and bounced straight back into the grounded Wallington's arms.

Bob Hazel, a man with history of unintentioned generosity towards Watford, would have been sent off last season for his seventh-minute foul on Richardson. The youngster sped past Hazel who then pushed him as Richardson cut inside. The referee took no action apart from awarding a free kick so a promising two-on-one situation for Watford was exchanged for a crowded penalty area in the face of a free kick hardly a fair exchange but football continues to allow the cheats to prosper.

From a Sim's knockdown, Bolton clipped the outside edge of the post and although Alan Smith sent a shot wide at the other end, Watford were overdue a goal as early at ten minutes into the game.

Next Barnes sent a perceptive pass through to Richardson, who managed to reach it a fraction ahead of Wallington but as his goalbound toe-poke bounced towards the line, Rennie stretched to clear.

In the 16th minute Watford broke through. Barnes floated in a free kick towards the near post where Callaghan was on hand to nod the ball firmly into the net.

Five minutes later another goal looked certain when Barnes beat two men on the run and crossed for Reilly to nod the ball unchallenged. But his header went adrift, falling to Richardson who sent a reflex effort over the bar.

"Ian was annoyed with missing that, but I should have put it away before him", said Reilly.

Even so, it seemed as if Watford would not be long in adding to their score, but in fact that miss proved costly. Leicester pegged the Hornets back in the very next attack when Alan Smith went down Watford's vulnerable left flank and crossed for Lynex to slot in a simple equaliser.

Lynex then went past the unhappy Sinnott and crossed for Banks to drill the ball into the side netting. After this Watford recovered and mounted another bout of pressure on the City goal. Callaghan's corner fell to Richardson whose header hit a defender on the line and bounced away for another corner. From this kick, again pinpointed by Callaghan, Barnes met the ball and glanced it goalwards only for Wallington to stretch back and make a fine save, flicking the ball over for yet another flag kick.

Again Callaghan switched to take the corner, finding Reilly at the near post, and the ball was nodded on for Richardson to pop up and head Watford back into the lead in the 37th minute.

Lynex headed wide and MacDonald sent a shot over the bar on the turn but Watford finished the half ahead 2-1 and looked likely to increase their hold on the game.

Such hopes dissipated after the break. Two minutes into the second half, hesitancy on the part of Franklin an Palmer allowed Banks two bites at an attempt, and his second struck the net a superb chip shot which went in off Sherwood's despairing arm.

Watford went through an uncomfortable spell but Reilly sparked a revival when he sent in a shot, which was parried by Wallington and hacked for a corner by a defender as Richardson closed. Rostron and a header cleared off the line by Banks and Bolton put in a low drive for Wallington to hold in the 76th minute.

The Hornets were on the rise and this was confirmed in the 77th minute when Callaghan lofted the ball down the centre for Richardson to outstrip the defence and clip a shot past Wallington. The covering Rennie would only hack the ball into his net in an attempt to clear.

Reilly hit the side-netting with a useful shot and when Callaghan sent Richardson away with a fine pass, the young striker exacted another good save from Wallington. It proved a vital stop for City, as in the 90th minute Lynex was upended by Sinnott and duly beat Sherwood from the spot.

Sherwood, it must be said, does not have a happy record on facing penalties. He went without making such a save for six years before achieving three stops in four. The last was against Barnsley in Division Two and he appears mesmerised by the whole procedure in such instances, as if unconvinced that his contribution will have any effect.

Yet Watford had been within 30 seconds of completing the perfect week but there was enough in this display to cause optimism rather than pessimism for the future.