Ash fired up to turn it around
counterpart Javi Gracia at full-time. “I loved locking horns with a great manager,” said Gateshead-born Dowson.
“I gave him a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale – he bloody took it. He gave me one of his sangria. I thought he was a bit tight. The Newcastle Brown was bigger.”
Will Hughes struck early for Watford before captain Troy Deeney came off the bench to secure the win with a late tap-in.
Hornets boss Gracia praised Deeney for ending Woking’s hopes of further progression after introducing his captain with 19 minutes remaining.
“Troy is always ready – and in that moment when we need to kill the game, it was the right moment to put him on and I was sure he was going to score,” he said.
“In that moment I was not looking for only his experience, I was trying to kill the game by scoring another goal and with Ken Sema playing on the left and Troy as a striker, we had more options to kill the game.”
Gracia’s first game as Watford boss came with a fourth-round defeat by Southampton last season but this was the Spaniard’s first experience of an FA Cup tie in such modest surroundings.
“It is true that it is a little bit different but I am happy to have the chance to live this today because it was different but an amazing experience for me and for the team,” he added. HOTSHOT: Norburn celebrates