Watford ease past Burnley
Aug 20, 2005
Author: Joe Etchells

Another efficient performance by Aidy Boothroyd's men saw an identical scoreline to that of the Cardiff City game last Friday, and the Golden Boys fully deserved the win against a Burnley side who, despite playing poorly, were aided by referee Matt Messias on numerous occasions during the course of the match.

To ponder too much on Messias' errors during the match would take the gloss off a fine victory for the 'Orns. Burnley came down to the Vic on a high following last weekend's 4-0 drubbing of Coventry City, and all Watford fans are obviously familiar with the talents of former Hornets pair Micah Hyde and Gifton Noel-Williams, who both featured in the Claret's starting 11. After a tame nine minutes of play in which Watford passed the ball around neatly and Burnley deployed some familiar 'kick and rush' tactics, Marlon King set the ball rolling with a well taken strike on ten minutes. Debutant Malky Mackay spotted King's run through the heart of Burnley's shaky defence, where Duff and Branch were both caught napping, merely as spectators as King neatly controlled the long ball to emerge in a one on one situation with keeper Brian Jensen. King confidently drilled the ball into the bottom left corner from 12 yards.

Unfrotunately, the lead was to last barely five minutes. On 13 minutes, a punt up field from the Burnley back line eluded Clarke Carlisle and Ade Akinbiyi was suddenly onto the ball and found himself in a one on one situation with Hornet's on loan keeper Ben Foster. It looked as though Akinbiyi had spurned the chance to equalise when Foster expertly nicked the ball from his feet, but this merely resulted in the referee's first terrible decision of the afternoon. A penalty was wrongly awarded (and yet strangely no booking for Foster was forthcoming) and Gareth O'Conner blasted the spot-kick into the top left corner of the net. O'Conner was the centre of attention again two minutes later when he became the first player of the day to go into the referee's book after a blatant foul on Paul Devlin. There was no chance of even Messias getting that one wrong. On 26 minutes, Watford skipper Gavin Mahon joined O'Connor in the book following a foul on former hornet Noel-Williams, but he made amends on the half hour when he restored our lead. Some patient passing deep in Burnley's half by the 'Orns saw the lively Ashley Young receive the ball out wide on the left flank, from where he cut inside, taking on Frank Sinclair to set up a shooting chance for his captain. Mahon took a touch before releasing a shot, which was deflected and looped over Jensen who was left with no chance of keeping it out. This not only marked Gav's first goal of the season, but his first since early 2004.

On 45 minutes Akinbiyi, who was on the receiving end of constant jeering following the penalty incident, finally received his first cheer of the afternoon when he was booked for a potentially dangerous challenge on Jordan Stewart.

Burnley emerged a good two minutes before Watford for the second half, seemingly fired up by manager Steve Cotterill during the break as they sprinted out enthusiastically for the second period. This failed to show in the football they played, however, as there was scarce improvement on their first half performance. Despite Micah Hyde being booked for a foul on Ashley Young after 50 minutes, they were let off the hook on several occasions, most notably when Messias awarded a goal kick when Young tumbled over a wreckless Burnley challenge in the penalty area after 53 minutes. As if this wasn't bad enough, Messias then proceeded to brandish a yellow card to Young for allegedly diving. Cue more furious shouting and abuse from the Rookery. A few minutes later, a goal kick was again awarded, this time when both Messias and the linesman on the left failed to spot a Burnley defender put the ball out for a corner.

The Hornets continued to pile on the pressure following these controversial incidents. On 58 minutes James Chambers and Paul Devlin combined well on the right, culminating in Devlin's cross being met by the out-stretched foot of Young on the volley at the far post. His effort hit the outside of the post, overting the danger for Burnley.
Three minutes later it was Burnley's turn to threaten the Watford goal, as Ben Foster brilliantly saved a Gifton Noel-Williams close range effort, which came about as a result of a mix up in the penalty area after a hopeful cross from the left.

Foster had an excellent game, his best yet for the Hornets, and he showed his class again when he acrobatically tipped over another Noel-Williams effort, this time from 25 yards. Rapturous applause ensued from all corners of the stadium.

The Watford win was finally secured on 83 minutes. Brian Jensen made a mad, David James-esque rush out of his six yard area to challenge Darius Henderson, who emerged with the ball still at his feet and an open goal at his mercy, save for a very acute angle. His drive across the face of the goal eluded everyone in the six yard box but Paul Devlin picked up the loose ball on the right to send in a dinked cross, from which a bit of a scramble came about in the penalty area. Eventually, new boy Matt Spring poked the ball home from close range less than 20 minutes after coming on for his Watford debut after completing his transfer from Leeds early on Friday. The former L*ton midfuelder may have now made amends for his wonder goal in that ill-fated League Cup encounter against the Hatters back in September 2002. A question mark remains over the validity of this goal, however, as Jensen was unfortunately knocked unconscious following his collision with Henderson. But Messias failed to stop play, finally making a mistake that benefitted the home side as oppose to the Clarets.

As the final whistle was blown, the relief around the ground could be felt as we finally got that elusive home victory. And following this impressive performance, optimism about the season ahead can surely no longer be said to be unfounded. Boothroyd's really got us playing football and we really looked like a decent side, and not many times could I honestly say that last season under Lewington.

PLAYER RATINGS:

BEN FOSTER: 9
had an excellent game, making several impressive stops and was desperately unlucky to concede the penalty.

JAMES CHAMBERS: 7
Did what he needed to, keeping his opponent quiet and combined well with Devlin on numerous occasions.

CLARKE CARLISLE: 6
Wasn't troubled a great deal but lost sight of Akinbiyi in the lead up to the dubious penalty decision.

MALKY MACKAY: 7
Decent debut, even chipping with an assist setting up King for the opener. Relatively solid at the back.

JORDAN STEWART: 6
Defended well but made some mis-placed passes and a few hopeful punts up field.

PAUL DEVLIN: 8
Another very impressive performance from the 33 year-old. Still has pace and skill and was a constant menace for the 'Orns down the right. A perfect example of an old head on young shoulders.

DOMINIC BLIZZARD: 6
Had a quiet but error-free game. Could have got stuck in a little more.

GAVIN MAHON: 7
Solid performance by the skipper, capped by the crucial second goal.

ASHLEY YOUNG: 9
Taken off after 61 minutes along with Stewart, but I'd have kept him on the pitch for the full 90. Didn't give his marker a chance with his runs and made a telling contribution with his mich improved passing and almost capped his fine performance with a goal when he struck the post mid-way through the second half. My man of the match.

MARLON KING: 9
Vintage performance from 'The King'. He displayed an excellent first touch, managing to hold up play and play in his team mates time after time. Set the ball rolling with a well taken strike and closed down opposition defenders whenever possible, causing constant havoc in the Claret's defence.

DARIUS HENDERSON: 7
The architect behind the third goal, closing down Jensen to create the opportunity. Used his height well again to play in his team-mates, but had a relatively quiet game compared to his last, at Ninian Park.

SUBSTITUTES:

DOYLEY (for STEWART, 66): 6
had precious little to do in terms of defending. Made one or two forayr forward to good effect.

SPRING (for YOUNG, 66): 6
Scored the thirt to wrap the game up, and looks like a decent player. But he looked less than match fit.