Watford v Barnsley

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Malky Mackay hailed his young Watford side as they dug in for a gutsy 1-0 victory at Vicarage Road over bottom club Barnsley. This was the Hornet’s first victory at home since the arrival of Mackay following the departure of Brendan Rodgers back in July.

They were made to work hard by a Barnsley side yet to win in this Championship campaign, culminating in the dismissal of Simon Davey after just 5 games. On the evidence of this game, new boss Mark Robins, newly appointed from League 2 Rotherham, has a lot of work to do to secure safety for the Tykes. Robins will no doubt be pleased with the endeavour shown by his team in a lively affair but the lack of creativity was all too plain to see. England Under 21 goalkeeper Scott Loach, fresh from an outstanding display in their draw against Greece in midweek, was rarely tested until deep into the second half. In contrast, Barnsley ‘keeper David Preece was under bombardment at several intervals of the game and but for a valiant effort by Preece, the margin of victory could and perhaps should have been greater.

Watford started the game brighter with neat interplay carving Barnsley open on more than one occasion but the end finish was lacking. Tom Cleverley, on loan from Premiership champions Manchester United, shone throughout and had an early chance to grab the initiative for the Hornets but good defending from Darren Moore denied him. Barnsley’s response to Watford’s early pressure came after 20 minutes, but an over-hit cross was perhaps a tell-tale sign that it were to be a long afternoon for the Yorkshire side and so it proved. Watford centre back pairing of youth academy graduates, Adrian Mariappa and Dale Bennett were proving more than a match for lone striker Andy Gray and half way through the first half, Robins decided to revert to a 4-4-2 formation and hauled off O’Neil Thompson, replaced by Kayode Odejayi. This was still to have little bearing on the eventual outcome.

Barnsley’s only real chance of the first half came from a hotly disputed free kick on the edge of the Watford area. Ross Jenkyns appeared to take the ball with a slide tackle on Emil Hallfredsson but luckily for the Hornets, former Everton man Anderson Da Silva saw his free kick driven into the wall, only for him to have a second bite of the cherry when retrieving the ball and jinking back into the area but again his shot was blocked by a solid Watford defence. A let-off for Watford. At the other end, Watford were getting closer to breaking the deadlock but a wayward header from John Eustace skewed wide of the post.

Immediately after the halftime interval, Barnsley returned with renewed vigour and came close to grabbing an unlikely lead. A decent cross was delivered by right back Bobby Hassell from the right flank but substitute Odejayi’s header flashed over the bar. Barnsley were looking to utilise their obvious aerial presence and crosses from the touchline were becoming more frequent and only staunch defending from Watford was denying them.

Just when it looked like Barnsley’s early second half pressure would ultimately find reward, Watford produced a goal that was worthy of winning a scrappy 1-0 affair. Don Cowie’s free kick from the right, after a foul on on-loan teenager Henri Lansbury, was a perfect opportunity to create a goal threat. His perfectly weighted ball found the head of John Eustace at the back post, who nodded it down for Danny Graham to scramble home his fourth goal of the season from three yards. A typical poacher’s finish and on of the balance of overall play was marginally deserved. Graham, signed from League 1, Carlisle in the summer, has had an immediate impact at Vicarage Road this season and after excelling in pre-season, has turned his good form to competitive games. With the departure of key attacking presences such as Tommy Smith and Tamas Priskin leaving the club in recent weeks, Graham’s goals are likely to be vital to Watford’s mid table safety or potentially a play-off finish. One step at a time for the Hornets so early in the season perhaps.

The momentum had now shifted to Watford due to the goal and Graham had another good chance to make it five in six in the league but clean through after a slip from Rob Kozluk, his precise effort was palmed away by Preece and Cleverley’s effort follow-up was dealt with well. Tom Cleverley again went close with a low shot from the edge of the box but it whistled past the far post. The noise levels from the home following had been turned up a notch and the game was injected with a new impetus. Barnsley, no doubt happy to take a point back to Oakwell after such a disastrous start to the season, came back at Watford but Anderson Da Silva’s shot tamely after good initial build-up play.

The home support was getting restless as Barnsley came to life in the last five minutes and threatened to grab an equaliser. Watford were determined not to make life easy for themselves after playing neat and efficient football throughout. Two home penalty areas scrambles in quick succession were leaving the Hornet’s fans fraught with nerves and but for a goal-line clearance from Adrian Mariappa and alert keeping from Scott Loach, Barnsley would have escaped with a point or even perhaps more. Canadian Iain Hume, injured last season in a clash with Sheffield United centre-back Chris Morgan, was lively after coming on with little time remaining but his efforts were in vain.

Deep into added time, Watford substitute Nathan Ellington hit the woodwork after sauntering unopposed into the Barnsley area as time trickled away. That was to be the last action of a enthralling encounter between the two teams.

Watford boss Mackay heaped praise upon stand-in captain, Adrian Mariappa and overall was pleased with the display shown by a young and evolving side. “Aidy Mariappa was captain for a reason today. He’s been a real consistent leader of the team since pre-season and his attitude and his professionalism is great.” The experience of John Eustace in central midfield also seemed to provide a foil for youngster Lansbury who excelled throughout. Overall Mackay was happy to come away with the three points against a strong Barnsley side; “It’s a tough league to play in and Barnsley have experienced, big, physical players that they threw at us, but we stood up to that.”

Tykes’ boss Mark Robins was frank in his reflection of the game; “I can certainly understand why I was given the job a lot clearer now and things need to be sorted quickly. There is a crisis of confidence and that needs to change quickly.”

Next up for Watford is a long trip to the South-West to take on third bottom Plymouth on Tuesday. However they will be buoyed by today’s performance and go into the game looking for a fifth straight game unbeaten. Barnsley have another tricky away day at Pride Park against Derby County with a lot of work for Mark Robins to do before their next Championship clash.