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Football

Blackburn triumphs with a 2-0 victory over a lacklustre Watford team

The score hardly reflected the performance of Jon Dahl Tomasson’s players, who harassed and hounded their opponents, who were unable to equal their hunger, workrate, and calibre.

Watford suffered their second league loss of the season when Blackburn Rovers scored twice at night at Ewood Park.

The hosts started well and maintained their pace throughout the first half, forcing Daniel Bachmann to make many saves. Rovers’ dominance would finally result in Ryan Hedges’ first goal shortly before halftime. Blackburn capitalised on their superiority as Dolan sprinted down the right flank and while his cross was somewhat off-target, it was perfect for the onrushing Hedges, whose shot beat the Watford goalkeeper.

watfordChristian Kabasele believed he had equalised after tucking the ball past Thomas Kaminski as Watford’s confidence built after halftime, but the linesman disallowed the goal. In the closing minutes, Blackburn’s Dominic Hyam doubled their advantage with a clever finish into the top corner.

Despite a second-half improvement, the Golden Boys were unable to take a share of the victory. This Saturday, the Hornets host Sunderland to The Vic for their next match on September 17.

Rob Edwards made three substitutions against Rotherham United, replacing Kortney Hause, Hassane Kamara, and Yássán Asprilla with Francisco Sierralta, Jeremy Ngakia, and Ismala Sarr.

Prior to the start of play, Ewood Park observed a minute of silence in honour of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, followed by the national anthem.

In the early minutes, both teams established their different formations, although it was the home team that made the better start. Despite having the first shot on goal in the match, Bachmann easily caught Rovers’ attempt after a deft corner routine.

Watford’s Rob Edwards told reporters after the match: “Didn’t start well, lost too many duels. That was really evident. Blackburn were sharper onto a lot of first and second balls than we were. When we did have the ball, we weren’t good enough with it. We weren’t able to break their pressure and counter-pressing and that made for a really difficult evening, especially in the first half. There was a distinct lack of energy and fight in the first half, which must be addressed immediately. No one at any level is good enough to simply show up and win a football match, and we are not, therefore we must earn the privilege. They are dissatisfied, and one or two individuals have spoken up, which is excellent because you need that. I don’t want to be alone in there. We need to see a response. Blackburn were deserving winners.”

watford fcThe result is the Hornets’ second loss of the season, but they’ve won only once in their past six games. They’ve recovered ties after conceding first four times this season, but they lacked fight and creativity in this game.

It wasn’t long before they came knocking again, this time from outside the box, forcing the Austrian shot-stopper to palm the ball behind for a set-piece.

The hosts looked dangerous and had stretches of dominance, while Watford prepared to pounce on the counter-attack. To cope with the Golden Boys’ danger, Blackburn’s Hyam was the first to enter the book for a cynical foul on Joo Pedro.

Edwards was forced to make a substitution on the half-hour mark after Sarr was injured, bringing in Keinan Davis, and the striker was involved in the action almost immediately after being hauled to the floor by a trailing Blackburn leg in the area, but his penalty shouts were turned down.

Blackburn, on the other hand, would remain utterly dominant and would ultimately make their opportunities pay as Hedges hammered the ball past Bachmann to put the hosts ahead.

Blackburn continued to pile on the pressure as the half came to a close, with Ben Brereton Daz looping an attempt past the post.

One ray of optimism for Edwards heading into the interval was Hamza Choudhury’s near-leveling of the scores. The midfielder pounced on a loose Blackburn header seconds before halftime, but he was unable to steer the ball goalward.

During the interval, the Hornets made their second substitution of the night, with Sierralta being replaced by Dan Gosling. A resurrected Hornets side came from the tunnel with renewed ferocity and purpose.

It meant that Watford began to cause difficulties for Blackburn, as Kabasele had the ball in the back of the net but his goal was disallowed by the linesman who raised his flag for offside.

Bachmann had to be alert between the posts as he stopped an onrushing Brereton Daz from close range, tipping the ball behind for a corner.

Next, Edwards was obliged to make another move, as Ngakia was replaced by Mario Gaspar, and Choudhury was replaced by Asprilla.

With Watford pressing for an equaliser, Hyam cushioned the ball into the corner of the net with the outside of his foot after a flick-on reached the defender at the back post.

Edwards’ team fought hard into extra time but were unable to overcome a two-goal setback.

Blackburn’s Manager Jon Dahl Tomasson stated post match: “It was a terrific outcome. We had three shots on goal in the first ten minutes, we were creating chances, we were dominant in the first half, and we scored a wonderful goal with one or two touches against a team who should be one of the favourites to move up. They have a large number of talented Premier League players. In the second half, it was good to see we were dangerous from set-pieces, scoring a goal. When you play against good players, and Watford have very good players, you have to be very focused and concentrate for 90 minutes. All the boys were that. We created chances in the second half and were dangerous with those transition moments. They didn’t have a lot of shots on goal. We said that it should be difficult to come to Ewood Park. Today it was difficult and you saw that spirit and togetherness.”

Kajal S

Kajal S

kajal

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