Thought we just shaded it - and that was with a below par performance by Doucoure and Capoue as our dynamic midfield. Luckily Hughes was well on it.
Fair result. Thought we'd ****ed it but we woke up once Leicester got their goal so fair play. More wasted chances though and Deeney is still absolutely woeful.
Pereyra needs a kick in the pants. I would play Pussetto. Hughes was outstanding. Superb tenacity, tackling, passing, creating and disrupting. Capoue a little rusty barring that magnificent volley pass. Sarr needs to pick his head up or check back when crossing when it is needed. Other than that a draw probably a fair result. A pity we did not capitalize on the Sarr and Deeney chances early in the second half when we were coming into the ascendant. Slow-strong-slow but scoring that late on with Dawson (sterling performance) will be a real fillip. All we need now is for Brighton and Bournemouth to lose. Every point is vital. I am sure they would have been cheering on Leicesters goal.
I see no reason to go overboard with praise or defeatism after that. We were good in bits, they were good in bits. We were rusty in bits, they were too. But they’re 3rd and we’re near the bottom so I think I’ll take a point. At 1-0 down we were 18th. With 1-1 we’re up to 16th. Shows how tight it is. Sarr limped away out of shot after treading on the ball immediately before their goal. Let’s hope he was doing it for effect.
Hats off to Dawson, great game, best in a Watford shirt today and saved us. We did ok, their goal was a worldie and it would have been no shame to lose to that. Encouraging signs considering all the circumstances of the last few months etc.. Thought Deeney was pretty good, albeit he faded towards the end which is probably understandable. A late point against a likely Champions League qualifier I would have taken pre match and up to 16th for now as well!
Strange game! Missed a few bits of it but saw most of it (thanks @scummybear for the pass). From what I saw, Dawson was fantastic, Masina and Femenia solid and Foster was great. Think he got a touch for Albrighton's shot too. Kabasele his usual dodgy self with a few good moments. Hughes was incredible, Doucoure a bit poor and Capoue was his usual self. Didn't notice Pereyra much, Deeney was really poor (Evans completely took him out of the game) and Sarr was pretty poor too. Of the subs, I have no idea why Mariappa was so narrow for Chilwell's goal (would like to see the defensive shape again), Welbeck tried very hard but looked like he has forgotten how to play football, Chalobah/Holebas didn't have much to do. Cleverley looked encouraging though. What a goal too! Up to 16th now
Good game . Could have won , almost lost .. And end up with a draw after the MOTM scores with an over head kick.
We were a bloody shambles, didn’t deserve to win but shouldn’t have thrown it away at the end. Really sloppy in general, looked like the first game of preseason and by the time most teams are up to speed the season will be over! I doubt the table will shift that much really on the evidence of what we’ve seen so far.
A lot of vitroil towards Pereyra but in truth we played far better with him and were woeful without, possibly a coincidence, possibly not... Anyway, we should have paid the price for poor finishing but Dawson decided that while Cathcart only scores volleys, Dawson only scores bicycle kicks. Big point, we need to stay above that dotted line of doom at all times.
Can those who are saying Deeney played well try and explain why? Dawson played well, Hughes played well. Deeney won a few headers, then stopped winning headers, completely failed to make runs into the box yet again and offered absolutely zero goal threat besides one header he put wide. The usual. Ah, normality.
Hughes looked like the captain today Hughes, Dawson , Masina, Sarr looked good , on the hole thought Kiko was alright , Deeney was doing something but shouldn’t be upfront any more , most of the rest need to sharpen up a bit capoue and doucs had a few positives , capoue particularly made 2 exceptional passes to Sarr got to drop Pereya he just hasnt got it any more really needed 3 points , but normally a point from a top three club would be a positive
Much needed point overall takes us from 18th to 16th which should be a psychological lift, beat those around us, draw against the good and lose to Man City. That'll keep us up. Foster sharp as ever, great save from Maddison and I think he got a touch on the Albrighton one. Dawson MOTM even before the overhead kick. Handled the very strong threat of Vardy well. Kabasele not bad, bit clumsy but did well overall. Femenia & Masina solid. Masina's little lofted passes to nobody are annoying though. Doucoure poor for me. Poor finish again and touch not good enough. We're not dangerous enough going forward with him as a #10. His touch is poor, needs six chances to finish and not the best vision. Hughes just behind Dawson, set the tempo, excellent pressing biting away at people's ankles, love it. Capoue ok, looked a bit slow. Sarr our main threat again, obvious flaws but still, without a doubt, our absolute best chance at winning a game. Pereyra played like a man who if his contract expired on 30th June he would not have signed a short-term extension, the man cannot wait to leave. Deeney was awful, slow, behind the play, just like a dog that needs to be put down. Really worrying that Pearson thought the two full-backs needed substituting before Deeney because Troy did absolutely nothing to impact of affect the game today. Cleverley cameo was promising.
Point was deserved on chances. Pereyra is a major problem for us. A wimp at the best of times but a total passenger now. No guile to beat a player, just shuffles towards them and hopes for a lucky ricochet. Clearly wants to leave in the summer so doesn't want to jeopardize that. But all other alternatives hardly look great. Welbeck was pants when he came on, Pussetto has looked lightweight every time he's come on and I don't think he's beaten a man yet, luckily Success is injured so at least he can't be considered there. Looked like João Pedro played there in the Brentford friendly, maybe should involve him more? Or play Cleverley there as he looked sharp when he came on?
Thank !$#* for Craig pele Dawson. Deserved point and a bonus point really. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That was an excellent equaliser and it was deserved. Both teams looked fairly laboured, although I felt Leicester always carried more of a threat up front. Chilwells strike was exceptional, won't see anything better but in absence of Janmaat it shows we definitely need a new right back as Mariappa was hopelessly out of position far too narrow. I thought Dawson, Hughes and Foster were exceptional today. Hughes tackling in particular was full on but fair, and Dawson had his best game in a Watford shirt even before the goal. Thought we looked a bit devoid of ideas up front, but Sarr got in some dangerous positions but we didn't seem to have anyone crashing the net of the occasions he did get there. Onwards and upwards, a good point for us.
It's the Deeney usual. Start every single game, do nothing of any real substance, play 90 minutes, praised by fans for the 4 headers he won, rinse and repeat.
I thought that both sides were rusty, but Madison and Gray looked good for you and an excellent save by Kasper. For us Hughes and Dawson were great, as was Ben. Sarr is exciting but needs to work on focus and end product. Kiko should not have been taken off. Reasonable happy with a draw.
True but if he's not going to be used even today then Pearson really must not have any faith in him. Welbeck - Gray - Sarr for the final 10 minutes wouldn't have been the worst idea yet Mariappa for Femenia and Holebas for Masina was the answer?
By far Dawson's best game for us, and deserved MotM. But shout out for Foster's save around the 70th minute. He's still got it. Could be an important point!
I genuinely believe that Deeney brings something , he gets the long ball down a lot, but too often nobody is there to capitalise . I believe he has a place in the squad , but don’t think it’s up front as the loan goal scorer
People saying Deeney was slow today - I accept he’s not the fastest and at times is behind the attacks. However, on balance, we also have to recognise that Sarr is lightening quick. I don’t really blame Deeney for being behind him and actually would be more critical of Sarr not looking up. Everyone put in a solid 7/10 performance - outside of Dawson who would say was an 8 and Hughes who was the standout player on 9 for me. And Pereyra...who was a 5 really. Just looks more interested in having his shirt perfectly set and the sleeves done in a fashionable way. Not quite sure why but he’s always fiddling with them and seem more bothered about that than the actual game he’s playing. Just an incredibly frustrating player because he clearly has the talent. But why he’s so reluctant to show it, god only knows. Let’s hope the players get up to speed with their fitness soon as Leicester were getting on top as the second half wore on - but they stupidly allowed us back in to the game straight after their goal.
Saw most of the game, but missed first 20 minutes or so. Thought Dawson was superb, goal aside, and had Vardy in his pocket for most the game. Indebted to Foster for a superb save to deny Maddison. Doucoure should've scored in the first half, Sarr and Deeney should've scored in the second, but a draw was a fair result all in all. Hughes best player on the pitch, he was immense. So much better in the middle with Capoue than he was playing out wide under Gracia. Deeney looked well off the pace, but that's understandable. Surprised he didn't bring on Gray for Deeney at the hour mark. Could see a resurgence in Gray's form with no pressure on him from the crowd? We saw it with Dawson today, he was excellent. Pereyra was a waste of space, with or without a crowd! On to Burnley. Fancy us to go there and nick a result.
I slightly disagree about Deeney, on the basis that I just thought he was no different to how he has been previously. Actually, he was slightly better in that he did win a few more headers. Don't get me wrong though, we need a more clinical and quick centre forward to lead the line. We started off rusty, almost all of our back 4 making mistakes. Dawson was the stand-out, exemplary defender though. Did almost everything right with dealing with Vardy etc. His only mistake was from the free kick where his arm was out- yes he put off S*y*nc*, but if he headed that towards goal, that would've hit Dawson's arm and it would've been a pen. Our midfield certainly got into the game and started supporting Sarr much more. On that topic, McManaman was a load of guff, lambasting Sarr for all the cross-goal crosses he did. Sarr has every right to ask why there was no one running in at the near post and at many times could not cut back as he was surrounded. I understand why Big Nige made the changes to rotate players and keep them all as fresh as can be for the following games, but the changing of the midfield and full backs screwed us over. Chalobah is no Capoue which meant only one of the midfield was getting stuck in (Hughes, who had a very good game). Mapps and Holebas are too old and too slow and putting them up against a fresh Demarai Gray and Iheanacho was poor and we paid the price. Thank **** for Dawson though. Overall, a good point that keeps the points total ticking against a side that are currently 3rd.
Messing up two promising breaks by passing it to Leicester players, doing a comedy jump for a ball sailing well over his head and chasing someone down to block a pass is not nothing!
Considering how much more important that game was to us overall in terms of staying in this division, I thought we did OK, We did more than enough to win it, and Doucs/Sarr should of buried their chances they had. Saying that, Leicester are a very good side, and dominated the game (as expected) for long periods. Foster pulled off another in-human save second half, which won us the point. Their goal was very good, he hit it clean and early and they had been doing all the pressing up till that moment. Dawson, who gets a lot of stick (and some rightly so), pulled off a masterclass in defending today. More than a few times he put a block in and put himself about when needed. And what an equaliser from him! It was Wright Esq. from the Playoff final of 1999. It really was that good. We looked very rusty at the start of each half, but fitness is bound to be below par after such a long break - and for large parts of the game both sides looked like they were playing for a draw. When we did have our chances though, Doucoure' really should of angled his shot more. Any other side of the goalie and it's in. Sarr one on one was a fantastic save, so no fault of his there, but still a great chance. Much of the game eluded both sides after that, with only a few half chances going to each side with no side really threatening. My MOTM has to be Dawson - not only for his stunning goal, but his overall contribution was excellent todday. Deeney got about and won a few headers but still lacks a bit of pace when getting into the box. He was eager and never let up though. Another highlight was Hughes. A little quiet in past games but today showed the break may have done his confidence the world of good. He was alert in the tackle, played some good passes and held the ball up well. Considering how weak we are at the back, we held the line pretty well for most of the game. Foster had no chance with their goal, it was as good as Dawson's. A negative was the strange subs by Pearson, who again for many made them way to late into the game to have any sort of lasting impact. Welback seemed miles of the pace of the game and broke up a few attacks with a stray pass. But I feel Pereyera is finished at this club now. He may be leaving anyway - but my god. His effort and overall commitment was laughable today. Even with no fan's to jeer him, he must of known his own performance was well below what he can bring. One final thank you to the Shout Box today. Very active and great to see so many of us in there for such an important game. I would of taken a point before this game, and we nearly lost it. We also nearly got all thrree. I have to give the players overall a good comment, as the layoff has been so large. We did look jaded, but so did Leicester. With the games coming thick and fast now, more concentration is needed and the ability to finish chances off will have to be improved upon if we want any realistic chance of staying up. Burnley next.
