Deeney strikes to leave Everton regretting one that got away
Watford may have got over Marco Silva pretty quickly but, on this evidence, Everton might still hanker over the manager they had been prepared to pay £10million for.
It was around the time of Watford’s defeat at Goodison Park in November that Everton first made their approach for Silva, which the Hornets ultimately blamed for his sacking.
But this victory for Javi Gracia’s Watford, courtesy of a late Troy Deeney strike, may yet tempt Everton to try again for Silva in the summer once Sam Allardyce has steered them to safety.
Allardyce’s safety-first approach against a Watford team who had previously won only four times at home in the Premier League this term would have frustrated the club’s travelling fans. It was telling that goalkeeper Jordan Pickford produced two of Everton’s most dangerous moments, with a pass that Oumar Niasse wasted and a late header in the Watford penalty area that almost resulted in an equaliser.
Everton have won only once on the road in the league this season and have now lost five successive away games. They managed one shot on target against Watford, which was a deflected Niasse effort in just the 12th minute that Orestis Karnezis saved.
Michael Keane missed the target with a header at the start of the second half and Allardyce said: “If you squander your opportunities, you pay the price in the Premier League. We’ve taken 17 points from our last eight home games, but if you look at the difference away from home you say ‘wow’. The difference against Watford was we didn’t have a finisher on the pitch.”
Everton have not kept a clean sheet since Boxing Day and Allardyce added: “Ultimately, clean sheets are the answer because if we had gone 1-0 up then I don’t think we would have lost the game. We need to keep clean sheets and then nick that one goal, like Watford did, and that will be the way forward for us.”
This was Watford’s second successive victory at Vicarage Road, following the thrashing of Chelsea, and the Hornets have moved on from Silva.
It is fair to assume the club’s owner, Gino Pozzo, will have enjoyed getting one over on Everton, whom he felt unsettled Silva to the point that he had to sack him in January.
Deeney’s winner came with 11 minutes remaining after he unleashed an unstoppable shot on the turn, having received a pass from substitute Stefano Okaka. “It’s three important points for us,” said Gracia. “Troy is very important for us on and off the pitch, and I can only say good things about him.
“It was vital for us to improve our home form because we feel that backing from our supporters. There is a good feeling in the club since the first day I arrived. But after two important victories at home, everything is better for everybody.” On getting his substitutions right, Gracia added: “It’s not easy to choose between them because they are all working very hard.”
Everton’s January signing Cenk Tosun was sent on as a second-half substitute, but his main contribution was to injure Watford forward Gerard Deulofeu, who Gracia said was suffering with pain in his right foot.