Watford

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Geoff Doyle, BBC Three Counties Radio

There was a moment when Watford got on top against Brighton. Certainly not in the first half where the visitors had impressively ed them off the pitch with the Hornets somewhat surprisingly set up defensively for a match like this.

It was just after the break when Ismaila Sarr and Imran Louza had been introduced. Hope was restored and it felt like Watford had a chance of getting something from the game. Emmanuel Dennis hit the crossbar. The ers had something to cheer about. It didn’t last very long.

No doubt sensing it, Brighton’s bright young manager Graham Potter countered it and brought on two central midfielders to add to Adam Lallana and Jakub Moder already in there and the Seagulls got on top again slicing through Watford’s midfield two.

One couldn’t help enviously watching on and wishing Potter was in the other dugout. We know Roy Hodgson is a short-term appointment. And Potter is exactly the type Watford need when Hodgson leaves at the end of the season and in all likelihood the Hornets are back in the Championship.

A young hungry manager who has earned his stripes in lower league football. A manager who has built and developed his own attractive style of play; one which after two consolidating seasons in the Premier League is about to finish in a top ten position.

After Newcastle’s weekend win Watford are now six points from safety. The doom and gloom at Vicarage Road needs to be lifted which is why the next management appointment is so crucial.

Hornets fans missed being there for the wins in the Championship promotion season due to Covid. Instead they’ve had two successive seasons of defeats and poor performances. It’s grim and they’re rightly fed up. Management stability would help and one like Potter would be nice.

Image source, Getty Images

• Watford have lost six consecutive home league games for the first time since August to October 1990, a run which also included a defeat by Brighton.

• The Seagulls have lost just one of their last 12 away games in the Premier League, all coming in 2021-22 (won four, drawn seven) – no side has lost fewer away games in the top flight this season (1).

• Watford haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last 17 home Premier League matches, equalling the record Premier League run without a home clean sheet - also Sunderland (2003-05), Blackpool (2010-11), West Brom (2010-11) and Wolves (2011-12).

• Neal Maupay scored his 26th Premier League goal for Albion – the t-highest tally for the club in the competition alongside Glenn Murray.

Image source, Getty Images

Alex Bysouth, BBC Sport

Graham Potter insists Brighton are not thinking about Europe but if the Seagulls continue their current form, they will soon be in contention.

The visitors dominated possession against Watford at Vicarage Road but it took a moment of magic from Neal Maupay to open the scoring, curling a looping effort into the far corner from Tariq Lamptey's cross.

Brighton have only lost four Premier League fixtures so far this campaign - a record only bettered by Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea - and are enjoying their longest unbeaten streak in the top flight.

Watford boss Roy Hodgson, who took a call from former Hornets chairman Elton John earlier this week, has only been in charge a little over two weeks but no doubt will be increasingly worried about his side's lack of goals.

Watford are yet to score since he arrived and now find themselves six points from safety.

Brighton manager Graham Potter, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "One of our better performances in of controlling the game away as much as you can in the Premier League. Apart from a 15-minute spell in the second half, I thought we were in a good place in the game. It is not easy to create chances against Roy's teams. The personality of the players was really good.

"It was a fantastic finish from Neal [Maupay]. I was sat down and it wasn't the easiest of views. It looked a really good finish from a nice period of play. You have to wait for the right time to attack. It was a good ball from Tariq and a nice goal.

"We reacted well throughout the game. When we lost the ball we reacted well. We ed it with patience and, when we could, with a purpose. It is not easy. The boys had courage and personality.

"It is nice for the fans to enjoy their day. All we do is go to Old Trafford on Tuesday and to get three points and play well. We are looking forward. We respect the competition and table. We are in a good position. We want more points. This is a hungry group."

Watford boss Roy Hodgson, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "In the first half we didn't play anywhere near as well as I was expecting. Still a bit unfortunate to go in 1-0 down as we were still not conceding a lot of goal chances. We were better at the start of the second half but still without creating the threat or goal chances we needed. The game gets put to bed with a scrambled goal from a corner. We were hoping for a lot and start a revival. So now we go to the next game and hope we can start it then.

"When the goal goes in just before half-time it is the worst possible moment. If we go in at 0-0 and maybe make one or two points to the players we might have given ourselves a better platform. But we were doing that from the platform of 1-0 down. In the end, putting lots of attacking players on might cost us with counter-attacks. And that is what happened.

"Everyone at the club thinks a lot of Ismaila [Sarr]. I've not had much chance to work with him, but I know of him from watching Watford games. We know what a good player he is and have to hope his talent and skill will help us in this battle for survival.

"It [his track record in the past] puts me in good stead going forward. But I need a group of players with the same resilience and ability to come over disappointments. That will be our message, I can point to ages in my past where it has worked. But the only people who will get us out of this are the players and they are going to need a lot of mental strength going forward. It is a lot of defeats in 23 games and we need some wins."