Watford 0-2 Scunthorpe United
Saturday October 23, Vicarage Road, (Att: 12,366)
On the back of a fine win against Preston, Scunthorpe meant business in this brisk Championship encounter and Watford's defence started to show one or two creaky elements.
After shipping two goals in midweek, keeping a clean sheet was clearly a priority for Scunny - and their defence held robustly throughout the match.
Watford 0 Scunthorpe United 1
It was all about the volleys at Vicarage Road - and the bar was set pretty high early on. But what was the Watford defence doing?
Scunthorpe delivered a long ball into the box, it was headed across the centre of the 18-yard box before being headed again back out to the edge of the box.
What were Watford doing? Chasing air - that's what. For when Cliff Byrne - not to be confused with snooker pro Cliff Thorburn - unleashed his volley, it flew through the Watford defence like a mildly warm knife through slightly chilled butter. Poor show Hornets.
Watford 0 Scunthorpe United 2
Long balls and looping headers seemed to be the order of the day, and Scunthorpe's second was no exception. WHOOSH, a long ball, THWACK, a header out, and BLAM, a volley into the bottom right corner.
Watford's defence all at sixes and sevens again.
Conclusion:
Watford are something of an enigma at home - rarely threatening the opposition and conceding via simple defensive mistakes.
A man on the edge of the box closing down the opposition could've easily blocked the two volleyed goals from Scunthorpe, and the lack of learning from the first goal ultimately cost them dearly.
Not a sexy show from Watford, but Scunthorpe remained solid at the back throughout and knocked the Hornets down a peg or two with a very simple, well-executed game plan.
If I were a Watford fan I'd worry about how easily this defence was usurped by the footballing fundamentals.
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