View from the South – Watford v Birmingham City

I had four tickets for this game having got them for myself, Chris, Will and little Jack. Will cried off at the last minute due to not having access to a car, an item he was going to have to buy when the match was on so unless I could offload the ticket he was going to be £26 lighter with nothing to show for it. As fate would have it Mrs Bazza and I had to go to Oxford early doors to pick up our youngest son Ben who is recovering from a dislocated knee cap. Fortunately, he is on the mend and fancied the trip to Vicarage Road and so having dropped us off near the ground, Mrs Bazza took the car home and we resolved to come home afterwards by train.

We met up with Chris and little Jack at the Oddfellows pub and on a bright sunny day enjoyed a couple of scoops before walking up to the ground. It was just as well as Vicarage Road is one of the few venues I’ve been to that doesn’t sell alcohol in the ground which is a poor show in my view but it’s obviously a policy choice they’ve made. The ground is looking much better than in previous years now that the new Sir Elton John Stand has been completed although there is still some builder’s rubble in the corner which detracts from what is a very nice stadium with an excellent playing surface to match.

The game itself was a bit of a curate’s egg of a game to be honest. Watford had the majority of the possession especially in the second half and once they scored early in the second period, they played with confidence, poise and speed with slick, precise passing. Blues for their part defended well throughout but failed to exploit the home team’s early nervousness when with a little more care and perhaps the odd bit of luck we might have snatched the lead in the first half which I think would have made things interesting. As it was, the game was decided by a sublime piece of skill from Craig Cathcart. The defender’s acrobatic scissor-kick from a pinpoint cross from substitute Anya to bury the ball into Randolph’s net was easily the best strike I have seen in the Championship this season. It was a cracking goal and one which you would travel many a mile to see bettered. Sometimes you just have to stand and applaud such an effort and accept that with the best defending in the world it cannot be stopped; Bravo my son, take a bow!

After they took the lead we were never really in with a sniff. Don’t get me wrong, Blues didn’t play badly; far from it; at times Birmingham knocked the ball around very neatly and played some slick attractive football when they got it but the problem was – particularly in the second half – we simply didn’t see enough of the ball. In the latter stages, Gary Rowett brought on Wes Thomas alongside the ever hard-working Clayton Donaldson and we went more direct. However, this proved ineffective as the Watford rearguard had recovered from their early first half jitters and Watford’s game management towards the end was excellent with Troy Deeney showing just how to run the channels, take it into the corner and prevent the opposition ever seeing the ball again! For the most part though, I felt Michael Morrison played him well and prevented his obvious threat.

We were solid at the back and despite Watford’s superiority of possession and attempts on goal; Randolph was largely protected and had very few saves of note to make apart from a flurry of stops midway through the first half. He could do nothing with the shot that beat him however, it was an absolute beauty. The first chance actually fell to Blues; a clever dummy by Donaldson put Shinnie – in for the ineligible Fabbrinni – eight yards out, only to be thwarted by Juan Carlos Paredes whose timely sliding tackle prevented Blues taking the lead. After that Watford came onto us and it was attack versus defence for most of the half. Midway through the half we were lucky to survive not going behind.

Deeney escaped his marker in the area and fired a shot across Randolph which the keeper did brilliantly to parry only for Vydra to volley the rebound back in from 18 yards into the ground which Randolph brilliantly tipped up onto the bar. Vydra had another chance just after when a fierce cross shot skimmed the far post with Randolph a spectator. Abdi also went close with another curling cross shot that took the paint off the upright and it was with relief that Blues managed to get into the break all square. We had a bit of fun with Chris Kamara who we could see to our left in the corner covering the game for SKY. “Kammy, Kammy, give us a wave”; which he did and “There’s only one Chris Kamara” rang out from our contingent, determined to enjoy the day in beautiful bright sunshine regardless of the outcome. I can imagine his reaction and report to the TV audience when Cathcart scored in the 56th minute; he would no doubt have been apoplectic with excitement!

The second half was pretty one sided if the truth be told but Blues did have a decent chance just after the break when following a flowing move, Paul Caddis fed Donaldson whose pace took him away from Gabrielle Angella. He got his shot off well enough but was too wide to do anything other than put it straight at Gomes who saved well. That was all she wrote as far as we were concerned as the home side took control, the lead and the points which they thoroughly deserved.

Angella nearly doubled the Watford lead; he beat Randolph to a straight free kick but headed over and Gleeson cleared a shot from a corner off the line to preserve the deficit at only one. Towards the end Paul Caddis looked to have conceded a penalty when he tripped Anya but the referee adjudged the foul to have taken place just outside the area. It looked clearly inside the box from where we were and at first I thought the referee had given the spot kick. Whether he was just signalling for a free kick I couldn’t say from the angle we were viewing it from but we were in line with the edge of the opposite penalty area and I would have had no complaints if a penalty had been awarded. Nothing came of the free kick but Watford ran out worthy winners. On to the next one; three games left and fortunately none of the teams we are due to face are as good as Watford so hopefully still some positive results to come.

The Good: The goal that settled the match; as good as any you will see at any level of football.
The Bad: The catering facilities; this is something I would suggest that Watford could improve on especially if they are moving on up.
The Ugly: The builder’s rubble in the corner of the away stand and Sir Elton John stand; a bit of an eyesore which spoils the appearance of what is now a very nice stadium.

Watford (4-3-3): Heurelho Gomes 7, Juan Carlos Paredes 7, Gabrielle Angella 6, Craig Cathcart 8, Tommie Hoban 7, Adlene Guedioura 7, Ben Watson 7, Migel Layun 6 (Ikechi Anya 55, 7); Almen Abdi 7 (Tozser 84, N/A), Matej Vydra 6 (Odion Ighalo 55, 7), Troy Deeney 9.
Subs not used: Jonathan Bond, Gianni Munari, Fernando Forestieri, Marco Motta
Goals: Cathcart 56
Bookings: Cathcart.

Birmingham City (4-2-3-1): Darren Randolph 7, Paul Caddis 7, Michael Morrison 8, Rob Kiernan 7, Jonathan Grounds 7, Stephen Gleeson 6, Robert Tesche 6 (David Davis 45, 7) David Cotterill 6, Andrew Shinnie 6 (Wes Thomas 57, 6), Demarai Gray 6 (Lee Novak 71, 6) Clayton Donaldson 6.
Subs not used: Colin Doyle, Paul Robinson, Jonathan Spector, Koby Arthur.
Goals: None
Bookings: Grounds.

Referee: Mark Haywood 8: I thought the referee and his officials had a good game; certainly I have no complaints about the decisions which were fair and decisive. I feel Caddis was lucky not to give away the penalty though. People closer to the incident may be able to help out here.

Bazza KRO SOTV