Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA!
Collins seals first Hatters home derby win since Gallaghers were mates
LUTON Collins WATFORD
78 pen 1 0
BY JON WEST
THE Gallagher brothers still quite liked each other the last time Watford lost at Kenilworth Road.
Hatters fans had waited 28 years to savour a home victory in a derby last played at this architectural throwback 15 years ago.
Kerry Dixon was their hero on August 14, 1993 thanks to a cracking top-corner winner. This time it was James Collins who made history in an equally memorable style.
The striker was hurried on to the pitch in the 77th minute to replace Elijah Adebayo, crocked by Hornets keeper Daniel Bachmann’s reckless penalty-conceding rush out.
Collins – who has ice in his veins, according to team-mate Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu – coolly slotted home the spot-kick with his first touch.
“The gaffer asked me if I wanted to take it and of course I said yes,” the Republic of Ireland forward explained.
“I was a little bit nervous, but that’s what I thrive on, that’s what I enjoy.
“Anyone that takes penalties, whether it be first touch or in the 90th minute and you’ve been playing for the whole game, it’s always nerve-wracking. But I knew I wanted to take it.
“I knew I’d score, so I was just happy that the opportunity arose for me to put it in the net.”
The win, which confirmed another season in the Championship for the Hatters, was fully deserved.
Nathan Jones’ side could have been four or five up by half-time against opponents
who didn’t seem to know they were in a derby. Watford were curiously lethargic for a side the table shows to be the second-best in the Championship, although Brentford and Swansea’s own failures elsewhere meant no gap was narrowed significantly.
They take on Norwich tomorrow in a game that could confirm the hosts as champs, but the Hornets will travel to Norfolk without Kiko Femenia.
The defender was sent off for copycat pushes on Kazenga Lualua that summed up their afternoon, as did a stoppage-time header from former Hatter Andre Gray ruled out for offside.
A midfield lacking Tom Cleverley for the first hour was comprehensively overrun and Watford failed to land a legitimate shot on target all game.
Cleverley shrugged off the loss – Watford’s first since February – as an inevitable by-product of a gruelling Championship campaign.
“It’s definitely not time to panic,” he said. “Our great run we’ve been on has come to an end, but we knew we’d have bad results, and it’s how we react to that now.
“We’ve got to keep trusting the game plan and we have the experienced players to deal with that. It’s in our hands, so we’ll just look forward to Tuesday now.”