Thanks, that's helpful. I suggest we all go ape **** and cause a safety/security issue if an opposition player ever celebrates in front us.
Yeah, we certainly got lucky as the extremely marginal penalty decision - given by the assistant with the ref presumably blindsided by his ample midriff - just appears to be outside with the beaten defender just planting his foot a few inches/cms beyond the line (which is of course part of the area as we all know!) to take out KB and then presumably receive his yellow card after the free kick awarded. The extra risk he took, that this foul was mighty close to the area has "alluded" (copyright BBC, thank you @Keighley) him, given neither official could be certain so they guessed. It wasn't an outrageous decision but it was wrong, just. Still don't understand some of the Jebbison support from that extensive showing. He does seem reasonably pacey from that early poor miss but nothing really seen of him in the first half as he retreated into his shell rather than work harder. His confidence is clearly paper-thin. I didn't see him knitting the attack together or seeking to move into positions. He appeared paralysed for much of it and the one time he managed to get into that easy goal-scoring position 2nd half he recreated his 'Norwich' miss. He had showed a little more 2nd half as we upped the pressure and Pompey went into early time wasting but he gave even less than a typical Bayo anonymous showing without causing any concerns for their defenders. For a tall man he seems as weak in aerial challenges as he appears to be when the ball is there on the ground to be competed for and won. Has scored for England U19s and U20s so there must be something there. I'm not usually one to dismiss a player so early but he doesn't appear to have the motivation to work harder in training and take that into a game. Can't see this loan working out. Not a starter or a finisher but certainly an enigma!
It got lost in all the drama afterwards, but Bayo's ball over the top leading to the winner was brilliant.
Very rarely do I have second hand embarrassment for opposition fans but grown men getting so upset over a player doing a celebration to them after giving them **** all game is actually pathetic and a bit sad.
I’m sorry, but I can’t agree with the stick for the Jebbison miss. Seeing it in real time from the SEJ, the keeper’s deflection came at him so fast there was absolutely no time to adjust his feet. I see it as akin to a wicketkeeper’s chances of taking a catch if standing up to a fast bowler (slim, in case you hadn’t got my drift!)
Baah is a 21 year old playing his first season for us and he’d just seen his side win a dramatic stoppage time victory. In the same way that players know they aren’t allowed to take their shirt off to celebrate a goal (nonsensical rule imo) or celebrate with the crowd, they often do. Why? Because exuberance takes over. They live for such moments, scoring goals or celebrating last minute victories. What a joyless world if such things are frowned upon. If Baah’s second yellow had been for breaking an opponent’s leg, or tbh even kicking the ball away from a free-kick, I too would be annoyed with him yesterday, but I have no issue with what he did, other than the fact he’s now going to miss out on Sunday. He’s a wonderful talent, a free-spirit still obviously growing as both a player and a human being, I feel we are blessed to have him, and he will learn from yesterday, no problem.
I can see how the penalty was given, just outside the edge but everything then landed in the box. The sort of thing VAR should be restricted to rather than the everything use it gets. Portsmouth fans bless them have not suffered VAR so they don't know any better but I'd rather be 1-1 and angry about a decision without VAR. Jebbison wasn't terrible but did miss two good chances, I think we need to get round the idea of a #9 in this team not being the dynamic focal point we all think we should have.
Agree. Keeper did well . Would have been a bit farcical . Assistant over rules the ref who then gets overruled by VAR! Would rather sum it all up .
I’m in complete agreement with you here. I hate to be critical of the fans who have supported this club through thick and thin, and been willing to sing. My hat goes off to our diehard supporters and all those who have done their part in creating a noise in the good times and the bad. I’ve been there and lent my voice when I could. But how I would love to have a good, original Watford chant, rather than the same ones every other club has, with the names altered. I did suggest one or two ideas to Roy of the Rookery, several years back. But he was only ever interested in reinventing chants that were sung elsewhere. And getting giant banners printed. Maybe one day.
Yes John, you’d really sack a player who’d be the best player Pompey have had since Jermain Defoe over a silly dance!
Now that Rocco has scored a couple I'm incredibly disappointed that my suggestion of "Sharif he don't like it" has not been taken up.
Yes I do appreciate that we don't absolutely need our number 9 to be the attacking focal point but from what I see, that's the loan player we/Tom thought Watford were getting from Bournemouth but his inexperience/inabilities so far don't give us a viable alternative to Rayovic - with all his faults - who was presumably ditched to try out a more rounded, skilled version of that focal point player. So far that tactic simply hasn't worked out. Jebbisonn was undoubtedly a promising alternative and the number of teams chasing him suggests we weren't alone in that thinking but although good on paper I sense this is as good as we'll get. It's a shame but he's not up to the task.
Thanks for this. As someone who doesn't go to games anymore I appreciate the highlights. 1. Our kit is great. That's the best kit we've had for years. It looks unmistakably Watford. 3. Ngakia did OK on those highlights 2. I like the look of Baah. 5. The penalty was spot on. Ref and lino brave to give such a correct decision in the face of so much visual evidence to the contrary. 4. Saw a handball given against Ngagkia where the ball couldn't possibly have touched his arm. 3. Worth us remembering this when we next concede a last minute goal, and all moan 'we never score late goals, only concede them.' 4. I wanna actually go to games now.
Absolutely loved that, can’t beat an injury time winner and the ensuing limbs. Thought we deserved that over 90 minutes as well. Personally I went into this season with very little expectation , just hope that we would win a few games and have an enjoyable season. 58th year at the Vic so was lucky to enjoy the glory days but have endured the bad times as well ,and to be honest the pre match beers at the West Herts have often been the highlight of the day recently. TC has come in and improved an average side, made us harder to beat and brought the likeability factory back to the club. Yes we can be frustrating but if Georgi had a higher assist ratio or Bayo was a better finisher they would not be in the Championship. Personally thought Jebbs put in a much better shift and was pleased for hi. Allegedly Baah was being racially abused ( don’t know if he was the player abused at Burnley as well ) but surely that should be the discussion point not his dancing. This should not happening. We are currently sixth at the half way point which exceeds all my expectations. I love TC and what he is trying to build and thoroughly enjoying this season. Who knows what the second half of the season holds , but we have been a second half team so far , so let’s enjoy.
On a side note atmosphere from a Watford perspective was rubbish yesterday, hardly a sound from the 1881 before the penalty yesterday
It's the correct order. You need to take the first letter of each sentence to work out the secret code.
Credit to Sissoko. It may have only been a cameo performance, but two things appeared to me: His surge into the box to control a (very good) ball from Bayo and shielding it in tight circumstances to create defensive chaos and a subsequent goal. And his enthusiasm in celebrating the goal was every bit as strong as the youngsters'. This from a footballer who has played 71 times for his country and must have seen it all by now.
I love it when a winner rolls slowly into the net, thus increasing the anticipation for us and the agony for the opposition (who, in this case, deserved it ).
Baah got a lot of stick from the Pompey fans in the first half and I understand why he gave it back at the end. Portsmouth, as supporters and as a squad, started the aggravation. But this was 12-year-old stuff from a 21-year-old and he is well payed to be a professional. No sympathy whatsoever for the oppo fans but he must learn to 'pick his fights'. Agree with the people who say that it is such a welcome change to see Watford players showing such passion, mind you. It brings better results and a great connection with the fans. Baah, by the way, looks the real deal as a player with enormous potential. Reminds me of the speedy strong man who played on the right for Wolves a few seasons back and whose name escapes me.
The penalty looked to me as outside the box in real time. But subsequent viewings on replays show it to have been much closer than I thought. I didn't think the ref was all that good, but a certain amount of sympathy for him there.
Given there were 20000 in the ground, I have never heard a player screaming so loud above the hubbub as the lovable scamp Matt Ritchie. It was alarming. Was he subbed off because of a sore throat?
Despite Kim Jong Duxbury’s published figures we haven’t had 20k in the stadium since our last PL game.
Even more pathetic is the Portsmouth player in the ear of the ref in the centre circle pointing and moaning as Baah’s doing his thing. No one likes a grass.
