MURMUR AT THE VICARAGE
Sanchez kills off Watford - but for Spurs a month of hell is waiting
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BY NEIL MOXLEY
A LAST-GASP winner from Davinson Sanchez sets up Spurs for a month of hell.
The Londoners face a twolegged Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea, either side of an FA Cup tie against Morecambe, followed by a north London derby against Arsenal and a daunting Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge.
They are unbeaten in eight under Antonio Conte but we won’t know the real Spurs until jittery January is out.
Even match-winner Sanchez wasn’t getting carried away by this three-point haul at Vicarage Road. “It’s going to be a tough month,” the Colombian said, with masterful understatement.
“Chelsea proved last season they are one of the best teams in the world – and we have to play them three times. We also have the derby against Arsenal. So we have to be focused every game.”
In the build-up to this match, manager Conte said it would take more than one transfer window to turn his new charges into Champions League challengers.
But in eight Premier League contests under the Italian, they have kept five clean sheets. He’s clearly doing something right, even if he might privately admit they got away with this one.
Spurs had plenty of possession but striker Harry Kane (below), well marshalled by Hornets defender Adam Masina (right), had few chances to up his goal tally.
Emerson Royal will need to up his game. Given countless opportunities to feed the ball into the area, he wasted every single one.
It took a moment of quality from Heung-min Son to fashion the winner. A ball with pace that was whipped into the danger zone needed just a minimal contact from Sanchez (top) for it to be diverted into the net.
The match-winner has been one of the chief beneficiaries of Conte’s arrival.
He played against Leeds in the first home fixture under the Italian and has been there ever since. Asked what he had done to curry favour, he said: “I’m just honest about my job whoever the manager is. It’s important to be together as a team. We’re happy with the manager and the direction we are going.”
For Watford boss Claudio Ranieri this was a bitter pill to swallow. The Hornets failed again to keep a clean sheet – they’ve not managed a shut-out in their last 28 games – and that kind of run usually leads to relegation battles.
But former Chelsea and Leicester boss Ranieri still delivered a bullish message after the final whistle. “I wanted to create more but we had a big Tottenham side in front of us,” he said. “We played much better on the counter-attack in the second half. It was a pity. But I’m proud of my team. The fans should be proud of the match.”
This was a ninth defeat for Watford in 11 games since Ranieri succeeded Xisco Munoz in October. But the Italian remains defiant. “We are alive,” he said. “And we will survive.”
Watford midfielder Juraj Kucka also believes the Hornets are on the right track despite losing their last six matches.
“It’s always very bad when you concede a goal in the last second and for us especially because every point matters,” he said.
“We have to try to pick up every single point in every game and fight until the end.”
Whether he and Ranieri are still so bullish come the end of January is another mattter.
Watford’s next two Premier League matches – after this weekend’s FA Cup third-round trip to Leicester City – are against chief relegation rivals
Newcastle and Norwich.