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| Watford 'keeper Rene Gilmartin cuts a disconsolate figure after his side lost on penalties to Bristol Rovers |
Hornets boss Shaun Dyche has had it tough thus far, prior to the single goal scored by Marvin Sordell in the 1-1 final scoreline at Rovers there have been just two efforts rustling in the back of opposition nets, both of those coming on the opening day at Burnley. Two home defeats followed, that including a 4-0 thumping against West Ham, and last Saturday's 0-0 stalemate against fellow strugglers Coventry City did little to raise confidence amongst the squad.
And yet they came out against Rovers and scored within 2 minutes through Sordell, only for Matt Harrold to hit a barnstorming equaliser from all of 25 yards, Watford going on to later hit the woodwork on more than one occasion. When your lucks not in...
The dominance shown throughout the majority of the rest of the match reaped little reward, 13 shots missed the target, while the 14 that were accurate found either Rovers goalkeeper Scott Bevan or a flying defensive body to keep the ball out of the net. That's not to discredit Rovers who kept the clear cut chances down to a minimum, defending stoutly under pressure and never giving Watford time to settle.
It would have been pleasing to see for fans of the Horns who, despite being harried whenever they were in possession, created so many opportunities, the link up play between Sordell and his strike partner Troy Deeney impressive with the midfield four joining in every chance they got.
The defensive side of their game worked fairly well, the Rovers players closed down and crowded out quickly, though when the home side got the ball down and passed and moved at pace Watford did look vulnerable. The way that the visitors forced the Pirates back was, however, a positive, a fair amount of the passing from Rovers done around their own defence.
After Gas forward Matt Harrold was withdrawn from the field of play by his manager Paul Buckle Watford were able to control the game by a grander degree, Rovers leaving Scott McGleish to play up front on his own and packing five men into their midfield, thus finding themselves unable to maintain possession at the top end of the pitch, allowing the visitors to launch wave after wave of attack on the home third.
After putting on a brave face for the first half of extra time Rovers came out and looked to take the game to their more illustrious opponents, Adrian Mariappa required to make a fine block from McGleish while substitute Wayne Brown forced Rene Gilmartin to extend his body fully to keep out a free kick that was bending towards the top corner.
Referee Coote failed to award a penalty to the Hornets late on after a rash challenge felled a Watford forward as he blazed into the area, the luck still not returning for Shaun Dyche's men, and it wasn't to make an appearance in the shootout either.
After Jo Kuffour scored the opening penalty for Rovers, John Eustace was only able to find the body of Bevan which deflected the ball onto the crossbar and away. Though the shootout was levelled up after McGleish missed and Sordell slotted home Watford missed their fourth penalty, Bevan getting down to save once again, this time from Carl Dickinson and Mustapha Carayol made no mistake as he won the game for the Pirates, sending the fans in the terraced end behind the goal into delirium.
So the winless run for Watford continues, the failure to make their way past a side two divisions below them will dent the already fragile confidence further though a game against Birmingham City, another side in a slump both on and off the pitch, gives Shaun Dyche's men a chance to put the doubters to rest.
The way the visitors ran the game, however, signals that all is not lost and the sooner the Hornets catch a break the floodgates may start to open. No doubt it is going to be a bumpy ride, it's just a matter of whether the luck returns to Vicarage Road.
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