WOOTTON’S NIGHTMARE MOMENT IS CUP KILLLER
Scott’s ‘distraught’ after own goal
L EEDS boss Steve Evans leapt to the defence of Scott Wootton after the fullback’s comical own goal all but ended another awful season.
Locked at 0-0 in a game devoid of quality or chances, the Whites were undone when Wootton, attempting to clear, hooked Ben Watson’s cross inside the far post.
The goal sparked a fresh round of protests from the 4,200 travelling Leeds fans, with chants of ‘Massimo, time to go’, mingled with personal attacks on Wootton.
But Evans – whose Championship water-treaders now have nothing to play for after another campaign blighted by managerial upheaval – says the 24-year-old full-back has nothing to be ashamed of.
“I’m not here to judge our supporters,” said the Scot.“They’ve travelled a long way. And they’ve seen a player who has been a little bit inconsistent score an own goal. Of course they’re frustrated.
“But no player in the world means to do something like that, least of all Scott Wootton.Yes, he should deal with it. It’s a bad error.
“If he gets that ball 100 times, he deals with it 99 of them. Even if he does it eight yards out, he’d still have time to recover. It’s very unfortunate.
“He was distraught on the pitch. When we came off, he was standing by the door, shaking hands and apolo-
gising to every member of staff. We’ve all consoled him but there’s nothing anyone can say to Scott Wootton that will help that kid sleep tonight. I feel really sorry for him.”
The FA Cup is full of magical moments, games that lift the spirit and live long in the memory. The only way this one will be remembered is in nightmares, especially those of poor, hapless Wootton.
The defender’s own goal was pretty much the only incident of note in 95 minutes of turgid misery spent almost exclusively in the central third.
Quality? Forget it. Expansive play? Come off it. But if you’re a fan of overstaffed midfields, second-touch tackles and the kind of graceless rucking that would shame a Sunday rugby side, Vicarage Road was the place to be.
Troy Deeney, making his 200th start for the Hornets, got nothing out of the impressive Sol Bamba. Almen Abdi was tamed by the twin shackles of Liam Bridcutt and Toumani Diagouraga, an effective pairing that should give Evans optimism for the future.
Even their 52nd-minute winner owed much to fortune, with the deep cross of Watson – scorer of Wigan’s Cup final winner against Manchester City in 2013 – actually aimed at Deeney before Wootton’s fateful intervention.
Shorn of the injured Chris Wood, Leeds were unable to pose anything even approaching a threat. Stuart Dallas probed with purpose. Bridcutt let fly from 20 yards. Giuseppe Bellusci even had a pop from the halfway line, eliciting ironic cheers from the away end.
Leeds have a ton of competent ball-playing midfielders but none who can create a chance from nothing, nor a striker who can run in behind.
Against such modest opposition, Watford could have contained until Christmas and the chants of ‘Attack, attack, attack’ were surely more in hope than expectation.
“There’s no doubt that 60 per cent of the squad are good enough to build on,” said Evans, who will spend the remainder of the season deciding who to offload in May.
“Bridcutt and Diagouraga look like Premier League players. Defensively we kept a good shape. But offensively we gave the ball away in sloppy areas. We know exactly where we need to strengthen.”
For Hornets boss Quique Sanchez Flores, a man always elated by a clean sheet,a third successive 1-0 win in the Cup represented job done.
“Leeds were very strong,” he said. “The most important thing for us was that we were able to compete with them. I am pleased by our performance.
“We respect this competition.We are progressing well and we want to win it. It’s important for the fans to dream.”