A night when the Grand Canyon-sized gap between two divisions was exposed
It may sound extremely defeatist and negative, but is the dream of being promoted to the Premier League actually far more enticing than the actuality of what happens if you are?
Watching Watford, albeit with a much-changed side, being penned back in their own half by Fulham at Craven Cottage last night brought back reminders of that most-recent torrid relegation season.
Remember it? Tried to forget it?!
It was when most games – certainly in the second half of the campaign – resembled those old Harlem Globetrotters basketball exhibition matches where the opponents (Watford) were there merely for the Globetrotters (most PL teams) to have something to dribble round or to throw the ball back in when it left the court.
The 4-1 scoreline was a very fair reflection of the evening’s proceedings, and it wasn’t like Watford were embarrassingly bad either. They were just well short of the level required to test a team sitting ninth in the division above.
Two seasons ago Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton went up – and came straight back down.
Last term Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich were promoted – they currently fill the relegation places in the Premier League.
There is not just a gap or a gulf between the Premier League and the Championship.
It’s like trying to traverse the Grand Canyon on a tightrope: possible, but with a low success rate and not very pleasant to watch if it goes wrong.
That’s not to say Watford should not aspire to getting there. Far from it.
You don’t have to go far back to recall when the Hornets were not only in the Premier League, but they were holding their own and weren’t mere cannon fodder.
It is within the club’s reach – probably the distance between Gino Pozzo’s hand and the bottom of his pocket. But more of that for a future article.
Last night was pretty much what was expected, not as bad some might have feared (especially upon comparing the line-ups) but also not as close as it could have been.
Everything hinged on the first 15 minutes of the second half really.
The home side must have hoped they would have breathing space by half-time but, when they didn’t, they sent on Raul Jimenez (minus wrestling mask).
The Mexican cost Fulham around £6m alone, as much as the combined fees paid for Watford’s starting XI – just another indication of the gap between tiers one and two.
Raul Jimenez slots home the penalty . . . eventually. (Image: Action Images)
You can imagine Tom Cleverley’s last words as his players went out for the second half, can’t you?
“Let’s keep it tight lads, nothing silly, stay in the game for the first 15 minutes and then we’ll send some attacking subs on…”
Instead, as has so often been the case at the start of halves, Watford rolled out the welcome mat and gifted Fulham a goal.
And from the moment they went 2-1 down, there was never even the merest whiff of a second revival.
Statistics can often be misleading or contorted to support a particular point of view, but last night’s all confirmed the home side’s dominance.
Goal attempts: Fulham 27 Watford 5
On-target goal attempts: Fulham 8 Watford 2
Corners: Fulham 13 Watford 0
Touches in the opponents box: Fulham 58 Watford 3
While it never felt like a total pasting, it was very one-sided - although the timing and brilliance of the equaliser meant the immense travelling support had something to enjoy.
A mention for those fans who made the trip: you were amazing.
Yes it’s not a long journey, but it was a bitterly cold Thursday night which involved trains/the tube or a tricky drive with limited expensive parking options.
It was always expected the Hornets would make several team changes, and the likelihood of an away upset was slim.
There was no replay at stake, but there was the risk – albeit quite low – of extra time and penalties which would have meant a later night and suffering even lower temperatures.
To take more than 4,000 was, quite simply, a sign of just how much the fans are getting behind Cleverley and his players.
The head coach paid tribute to them afterwards, and it didn’t need much effort to read between the lines of his comments about the club needing to come together and all support each other to think that was a reference to his ongoing hopes that the club will provide him with the players he feels he needs this January.
But again, more of that in a future article.
Last night was about showing togetherness and unity at a time when results are not going as anyone would like.
It’s easy to be supportive when games are being won, but far harder to do so when you’ve lost your last four.
From the off at Craven Cottage, the home side set the tone but while they had most of the ball and spent long periods in Watford’s half, they weren’t peppering the returning Jonathan Bond.
Indeed, it was painfully ironic that Watford’s first foray into the Fulham box saw them fail to get a shot away and the home side promptly went down the other end and showed them how.
Yasser Larouci wasn’t tight to Adama Traore, although the winger’s acceleration may have been in his mind.
But the space afforded to him allowed Traore to square the ball and pick out Rodrigo Muniz, who was equally unattended in the middle of the area.
The pass was slightly behind but Muniz still managed to strike a first-time, firm shot into the bottom corner.
It was the sort of instance that might go unpunished in the Championship, but is snapped up in the Premier League.
At that point, the hosts may have been expecting to go on and canter their way to Round Four – enter Rocco Vata.
The Irish Under-21 international is so much fun to watch. He’s fast, he’s positive, he takes risks and he knows where the goal is.
Antonio Tikvic’s firm pass into his feet allowed Vata to turn and, in one motion, completely throw Sasa Lukic off his scent.
Running straight at the Fulham defence Vata barely altered his stride before unleashing a fulminous drive that was past keeper Steven Benda before he could do much about it.
A goal worth the trip to west London on its own, and one that will surely get plenty of TV replays in days to come as the FA and broadcasters combine to stretch the Third Round out longer than the Christmas turkey leftovers.
In the press box there were several different angles of the goal shown in slow motion, and one of them was from the ‘VAR offside camera’ (thankfully not being used for interference purposes last night) which is sort of in line with the penalty spot on the Riverside Stand side.
That replay never showed Vata. He didn’t even come into shot. Instead the camera tracks the ball fizzing past Benda and into the net. A thing of beauty.
Level at half-time despite being forced to defend for much of the first 45 minutes, Watford at least weren’t out of the contest.
Sadly, within a few minutes, they realistically were. And they only had themselves to blame.
Joachim Andersen's volley puts Fulham 3-1 up. (Image: Action Images)
Having gone long from most goal kicks in the first half, they suddenly decided to play out from the back.
Tikvic received the ball as he was being closed down, and passed to his more experienced, full-international teammate Edo Kayembe, who appeared to have his mind still in the dressing room.
The midfielder failed to control the ball and, worse still, was dispossessed by Jimenez, who moved it out to Traore.
The winger was advanced as he had been shutting Tikvic down initially, but still there was no need for the young defender to rush in and take his legs away – particularly as Traore was moving away from goal and Vata was coming across to help.
The resultant penalty was tucked away by Jimenez, complete with a stop-start run that resembled an old jalopy heading off down the road on an icy morning.
That was pretty much that as, by the time Watford had sent on Giorgi Chakvetadze and Kwadwo Baah, they were 3-1 behind.
The pair were warming up and getting stripped off as a corner came in from the right in the 65th minute.
Joachim Andersen peeled away from Porteous in the box and met the ball with a volleyed shot that Kayembe – who had a night he might want to forget and fans certainly will – blocked but turned his back to do so.
That meant by the time he had spun back around the big Dane had volleyed the loose ball into the net.
Once again, a situation that could lead to a goal in the Championship but generally does in the Premier League.
Andreas Pereira rattled the bar with a well-executed dipping volley before the home side added their fourth – and that goal was another case of second-tier defending trying to deal with top-tier attacking.
Timothy Castagne starts his run into the box from well outside, and is checked on his way in by Tikvic who, rather than following him, is drawn towards the ball out on the right.
Castagne then simply strolls into a criminally large pocket of space at the near post and waits for Martial Godo’s cross.
Angelo Ogbonna, who is busy marking grass, has Castagne between him and the ball but doesn’t move towards the Fulham player who, as the cross comes in, simply strides forward and scores with a downward header from the corner of the six-yard box.
Oh to be a fly on the wall when that goal is replayed in a video analysis session at London Colney.
Towards the end Kayembe clipped the base of the post with a well-executed volley but closing the gap to two goals would have made things look far closer than they were.
Very few of those who came into the team did much to advance their cause for a start on Tuesday, although young striker Mamadou Doumbia showed some promising if raw qualities.
A solid first senior start for Mamadou Doumbia. (Image: PA)
Up against the physically imposing Danish international Andersen, who has played top-level football in four different countries and represented his nation at three major finals, Doumbia acquitted himself well.
His willingness to scrap and harry caused Andersen to lose his cool a couple of times, and although he was often a lone figure in the other half, Doumbia showed some nice touches and plenty of enthusiasm.
Those last two traits alone make him a more viable alternative than the one that headed back to Bournemouth this week.
The real highlight for Watford fans last night was they themselves – the fans.
When the entire attendance for the Sheffield United v Cardiff tie was barely above 6,000, to take more than 4,000 anywhere on the same night is a fine achievement.
It would be nice if club were to offer a little gift or voucher to thank them all, though maybe we’d all prefer that money to stay in the club purse in the ongoing hope the owner might loosen its strings soon.
Cleverley said he’d like reinforcements before heading off to Cardiff for Tuesday night’s game in hand, victory in which would take Watford level on points with sixth-placed West Brom.
With no weekend fixture to think about, maybe London Colney will be a hive of transfer activity.
There again, Udinese have a home game with Atalanta tomorrow.
Depends where your priorities are, really.
