After being pushed back by a late equaliser from Southampton in a 1-1 draw at Vicarage Road, Watford will have to try again in their attempt to go to the FA Cup fifth round for the first time in five years.
Matheus Martins’ early free kick gave the Hornets the lead, which they held until Stuart Armstrong’s goal two minutes into stoppage time gave the visitors a point to extend their unbeaten streak to 22 league and cup games.
The winners will probably get to travel to Liverpool, who were leading Norwich City 4-2 at the time of writing, as the replay will take place in the first week of February.
Following their lead, the home team played disciplined defence and regularly threatened to score on the counter, as Ismael Kone, Giorgi Chakvetadze, and Martins’ quickness often unsettled the Saints.
They failed to get a second goal, though, and after an hour the game began to shift in favour of the visitors, who had made nine changes to their starting lineup, bringing on players like Stuart, Adam Armstrong, and Ryan Fraser from the bench.
Emmanuel Dennis made his debut after moving back to Vicarage Road, but Watford’s attacking threat decreased as Saints increased their pressure due to the absence of Yaser Asprilla and the injured Kone.
After making six changes from the team that drew 1-1 at Bristol City the previous weekend, Dennis had to settle for a spot on the bench as Valerien Ismael chose to bolster his defence. The Hornets struggled to get out of their own half in the final 15 minutes and were unable to hold on to the win as Stuart Armstrong equalised with a shot from the edge of the penalty area. Watford managed to hold on for a replay, but the result was a wasted opportunity for the hosts.
Daniel Bachmann, Vakoun Bayo, Mattie Pollock, Francisco Sierralta, Jamal Lewis, and Martins arrived. Ben Hamer and Tom Dele-Bashiru did not play due to a slight hamstring injury, while Ryan Porteous, James Morris, Jake Livemore, and Mileta Rajovic were benched.
Only Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Che Adams from Southampton’s squad that defeated Swansea City 3-1 the previous time out were able to hold onto their spots going into the match. Southampton had just finished a club record 21 games without losing in all competitions.
The game began tensely, with Mason Holgate receiving a card in the fourth minute for taking down Asprilla outside the penalty area on the left angle.
The most likely delivery appeared to be into the middle of the box.
The first chance for a reaction for the visitors came in the eleventh minute when Carlos Alcaraz’s header from a Tyler Dibling cross from the right was directed directly at Bachmann.
Shortly after, Watford had another excellent chance at a free-kick when Sierralta was fouled by Sekou Mara in a central position at about 25 yards away. Wesley Hoedt, a former Saints defender, managed to get his set-piece around the wall, but it wasn’t close enough to the corner to cause Lumley any real problems.
But the pattern of the match was set: Watford were happy to give the ball to their opponents where they couldn’t hurt them, then try to hit them on the counter when the opportunity presented itself.
One such instance occurred when Martins was released on the right and used his pace to try and get away from Jayden Meghoma, but the left-back got back and made a good challenge to concede a corner.
Leave a Reply