Troy strike gives Watford victory in board games
to gain some revenge and it was ironic their main talisman and club skipper Deeney stole the headlines with the crucial matchwinner on 79 minutes to show there is life without Silva.
New Watford boss Javi Garcia (right) is clearly enjoying his time at Vicarage Road after he saw his team follow up their win over Chelsea with crucial three points to ease their relegation worries.
In stark contrast this was another day for Everton to forget as their woeful away form continued. Allardyce did his best to get the Everton players in the mood by jetting off to Dubai for a warm-weather training camp.
The former Newcastle and West Ham boss has always argued some much needed Vitamin D can make a difference for his players as they prepare for the final part of the campaign but it failed to help this time.
It was certainly a wake-up call for the Everton players who basked under the hot sun in the Middle East during the week and then faced -3C at Vicarage Road. The freezing conditions affected both sides as the first half failed to provide quality.
The home fans needed something to get them off their cold seats but it took a nasty looking challenge on 27 minutes from Michael Keane to spur them into action.
The England defender went in with a late challenge and his follow-through caught Abdoulaye Doucoure, causing outrage from the Watford players and home support, but much to their fury ref Anthony Taylor waved to play on.
Things threatened to get out of hand as the two sets of players contested the challenge and fourth official Kevin Friend had to come on to restore order.
One of the shining lights for Watford in recent weeks has been the form shown by former Everton star Gerard Deulofeu, who would have been desperate to put one over his former club. The Spanish forward caused all kinds of problems for the Everton defence on 33 minutes when he fed the ball to Etienne Capoue who fired a shot just over the bar. It was ironic Watford played ‘Desire’ by U2 as the players headed off at the break – as both sets of players failed to live up to their normal standards. Garcia knew a change was needed for his team to break the deadlock and made a double change bringing on Kiko Femenia and Stefano Okaka to replace the ineffective Richarlison and Roberto Pereyra. The move paid off as Watford dominated the final part of the game. And the home side finally got their just rewards when they broke the deadlock 60 seconds later when the outstanding Okaka burst clear down the right and crossed low for Deeney, who took one touch before firing an unstoppable shot past Pickford. Everton could have snatched a point right at the death when Cenk Tosun saw his header well saved by Orestis Karnezis but Watford held on to gain another impressive victory.