BEER WE GO TO GLORY... AND PREM
Munoz leads side back to top flight at first time of asking
XISCO MUNOZ did not have to join fans partying in the pond on the High Street to be baptised after Watford’s stunning surge to promotion.
Saturday night’s all right for fountains, as celebrity Hornets cheerleader and former chairman Sir Elton John once informed us.
But as Munoz led Watford back to the light of the Premier League at the first time of asking –after just 24 games in charge – and his jubilant players drenched their head coach with as much beer as they could get a hold of.
It is customary, in this corner of Hertfordshire, to celebrate promotion by getting your feet wet in the pond opposite the Town Hall.
And on a perfect afternoon for dipping your toes in a municipal water feature, top scorer Ismaila Sarr’s early penalty was just enough to seal a return to the penthouse.
Munoz, who has banked an astonishing 54 points from 24 games since he replaced the scowling Vladimir Ivic at Christmas, said: “Normally beer is for drinking but some of my players used it to give me a shower – and it was an amazing feeling.
“I was very emotional at the end because I had a lot of thoughts going through my head – this was a day for the fans, the players, all the staff who work behind me and, of course, my family.
“It has been very hard at times because I have not seen my kids for six months and my six-year-old daughter keeps asking me why her dad doesn’t pick her up from school.
“But I have to say thank you to my players – sometimes they gave blood and worked so hard to come up with solutions in every game.
“And I hope the fans enjoy the moment. I have a good connection with them on social media and they deserve to celebrate.
“I have missed them because we have achieved our goal and they were never here, but we have to be careful to save lives in this pandemic and I hope they celebrate but stay safe. Normally I would let my players have one beer after a win, but tonight I may let them have five.”
Xisco (right, and far right, celebrating with skipper Troy Deeney), 40, is not even fullyqualified as a coach.
He has begun the process of taking his pro licence and will be allowed to take charge of the Hornets in the top flight next season. Although the
Premier League is far from nirvana, with its VAR obscenities and the naked greed of clubs with an insufferable superiority complex, Watford have not hung around in the Championship’s long grass.
With an astonishing 56 points collected on their luxurious billiard-table pitch at Vicarage Road alone, they have the best home record in the country.
And the pond explorers could not have wished for a better start as Sarr – the most-fouled player in the division – was chopped down in the box by Billy Mitchell. The flying Senegal
winger picked himself off the deck to score his 13th goal of the season from the spot after 11 minutes.
Mitchell almost made amends for his rash challenge by extracting a brilliant save from home keeper Daniel Bachmann before the break.
And the Austrian, who has kept 14 clean sheets in 22 games since replacing the injured Ben
Foster in January, had to scramble full-length to keep out Maikel Kieftenbeld’s deflected header.
Millwall were nobody’s mugs, and manager Gary Rowett said: “We gave away a silly penalty and looked as if we felt sorry for ourselves for 20 minutes.
“After that, we were excellent and I thought we were the better side – but good luck to Watford, they have Premier Leaguequality players and they deserve to go up.”
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