CLARET & BRUISED
Watford’s first clean sheet in 31 games, but Sema’s ignored penalty claim and dropped points still hurt
BY MIKE WALTERS 0 0
WELL, what did you expect in a howling gale and driving rain at Burnley in February – Krakatoa erupting?
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically across the plain?
Watford’s first shut-out in 31 Premier League games, 707 days and six head coaches – Nigel Pearson, Hayden Mullins (caretaker), Vladimir Ivic, Xisco Munoz, Claudio Ranieri and Roy Hodgson – was not pretty.
But relegation duels at Turf Moor are not beauty contests, and as Hassane Kamara celebrated only the Hornets’ second point since November 20, he called for an “ambitious” approach at West Ham tomorrow night.
He also hinted that new manager Hodgson’s attention to detail on the training ground was already bearing fruit as the 74-year-old former England coach survived a night which should have been referred to Age Concern.
Nimble Ivory Coast left-back Kamara, signed last month from Nice for £4million, has already played under two managers in three games for Watford, and he said: “That’s football, but we don’t like it because we need to be stable.
“The players know we need to do better and try to take more points.
“Yes, it is our first clean sheet of the season, but we can’t be satisfied. A clean sheet is good, but a win is even better. We need points, we need to win, but this is a start. We have had two weeks to reflect and two weeks of training – Roy has worked very hard on organising us defensively and making us difficult to beat.
“On the training ground, we have to work, work, work, but we can only be satisfied when we win and we are not relegated.
“West Ham are much higher in the Premier League but we have to be ambitious. This has given us something to build on and we must prepare again in a good way.”
Watford are convinced they were robbed of a penalty when Connor Roberts handled Ken Sema’s flick in his own box.
Referee Craig Pawson immediately blew for half-time, and Burnley scarpered down the tunnel before VAR Chris Kavanagh had inexplicably waved it through and Pawson could call them back.
Yeah, Chris – stretching your arms behind you, like a swimmer preparing to dive off the block, is an entirely ‘natural’ position and doesn’t make your silhouette any larger, right?
Does anybody actually know the handball law any more? After Middlesbrough’s equaliser at Old Trafford on Friday night, the weekend was a giant leap forward for basketball. Hornets winger Sema raged: “It was a penalty, obvious and clear. I spoke to the ref and he said he couldn’t really see it. We have to keep fighting and dig in.”
Fair play to Uncle Roy (with defender Samir, above). He didn’t make a meal of it afterwards, and Hornets keeper Ben Foster – who won the last of his eight England caps under Hodgson at the 2014 World Cup in Belo Horizonte – said: “The conditions were so hard. I can’t feel my forehead!
“I’ve worked with Roy before and I’ll take that all day long. Everyone knows their jobs. He gets you set up and organised – we just need that quality in front of goal.”