Uncategorized

Report: Wednesday 1-4 Watford

|
Image for Report: Wednesday 1-4 Watford

Wednesday’s Championship struggles sunk to new lows on Tuesday night as Watford inflicted the heaviest home defeat on the Owls with a 4-1 victory to pile more pressure on manager Dave Jones.

Michail Antonio had given the hosts the perfect start with a third-minute opener but the impressive Fernando Forestieri levelled 15 minutes later and Chris Lines missed a first-half penalty to send the Owls into half-time with the lead.

Instead, Alexandre Geijo struck after the interval to give Gianfranco Zola’s men the lead and further goals from Troy Deeney and Mark Yeates gave the Vicarage Road club an emphatic victory – to add to the one they collected in Yorkshire at Leeds United earlier in the month.

On the back of a confidence-sapping 2-0 home loss to Leicester City at the weekend Jones made three changes to his starting eleven with Miguel Llera replacing Martin Taylor at the back, and Paul Corry and Chris Lines coming in for Jose Semedo and Jermaine Johnson.

Things started well enough for Wednesday and Antonio fired them ahead in the third minute when he took advantage of a defensive laps from the visitors to fire the Owls ahead and give them a much-needed shot in the arm.

It gave Wednesday confidence but that soon ebbed away when the visitors got on level terms not long after. Forestieri was picked out at the edge of the box and he struck a low shot that Owls goalkeeper Chris Kirkland couldn’t prevent going into the back of the net to make things all square.

Despite the set-back Wednesday had a golden opportunity to regain the lead just before the half-hour mark when Jay Bothroyd was felled inside the box. Lines stepped up to take the spot-kick but Manuel Almunia did well to save the effort.

The Owls finished the first half the stronger of the two sides but Zola’s men, bolstered by a number of foreign loan players with plenty of flair, were in the ascendancy on the restart.

Geijoa had a header well saved by Kirkland as the visitors mounted more pressure and danger man Forestieri twice came close to giving the Hornets the lead for the first time in the match.

They didn’t have to wait long for that lead to come and it was Geijoa who grabbed it, steeling in to head home a Yeates free-kick just after the hour mark.

The goal was a sucker-punch for Wednesday and while the hosts wilted, Watford grew in confidence and added two more late goals to add the icing to their cake.

Substitute Deeney scored with his first touch of the ball and then Yeates added the fourth to bring another chorus of booing to the Hillsborough stands and leave Wednesday with a fifth straight defeat.

Wednesday: Kirkland, Buxton (J Johnson 68), Llera, Gardner (Taylor 46), Helan, Antonio, Lines, Corry, McCabe (Semedo 53), Bothroyd, Sidibe. Unused substitutes: Bywater, Jones, Mayor, O`Grady

Watford: Almunia, Hall, Yeates (Murray 90), Hogg, Pudil (Dickinson 88), Cassetti, Hoban, Geijo, Chalobah, Ekstrand, Forestieri (Deeney 75). Unused substitutes: Bonham, Vydra, Smith, Battocchio.

Share this article

Twitter: @nicholasrigg