Deeney facing FA charge
STOKE star Joe Allen laughed off his run-in with Troy Deeney following ‘The Battle of the Vic’.
But the FA won’t take such a lighthearted view, with the Watford skipper set to face retrospective action. Both players were booked by referee Michael Oliver following their late dust up, but that’s unlikely to be the only action taken against Deeney, who didn’t give the ball back to Stoke after they had put it into touch following an injury stoppage. TV footage of Deeney grabbing Allen by the neck and appearing to dig his thumbs into the Welshman’s face could well land him in trouble. And after Stoke literally found their fighting spirit to ease the pressure on boss Mark Hughes, Allen said: “It was handbags really, nothing to it.
Habit
“I really like Troy. He is a good guy and a really good player. It was nothing personal. “We were clinging on and we were expecting the ball back. They were chasing the equaliser and decided to play on. “These things happen but there was not really anything to it. He is a big guy and we were both laughing. “I knew I was beaten in that situation – I have a bit of a bad habit of picking the wrong fights.” Darren Fletcher’s fine 16th-minute volley earned the Potters a muchneeded win to settle a poor game. There were as many touchline brawls as clear-cut chances in a fiery Vicarage Road clash. After two major second-half flashpoints, the FA could also fine both clubs for failing to control their players.
Deeney, on the other hand, can expect his own punishment and a three-game ban.
In Watford’s last home match, Deeney claimed Arsenal’s defender had no ‘cajones’, but it was Stoke who bullied the hosts here.
Allen was just relieved to see the Potters return to winning ways and help Hughes silence his snipers.
He added: “There’s always rumours floating around in football Everyone knows our last couple of performances have not been great.
“I think there should be a bit of perspective with the way Manchester City are playing at the minute. It was a bit embarrassing (7-2 defeat) but it can happen.
“But the one which hurt was the Bournemouth game (2-1 defeat) as our home form has been good. We knew we could come and get a result here. It was far from our prettiest performance but it was all about the points.
“People will always be waiting to criticise us but at least we silenced them until next week.”
The Hornets have now lost back-to-back games and defender Kiko Femenia said: “In the first half, we were not our normal selves – we threw it away.
“But we have to look at the positives in the way we tried to find a way back. I’d prefer to dwell on the positive aspects of our secondhalf performance.” WATFORD (4-3-3): Gomes 6; 6, FEMENIA 7, Kabasele 6, Britos 5, Holebas 5; Doucoure 6, Cleverley 4 Capoue 4 (Gray 58, 5); Carrillo 5. (Hughes 80), Richarlison 5, Deeney Subs: Karnezis, Janmaat, Mariappa, Zeegelaar, Watson. UP NEXT: Everton (a), Premier League, Sunday. STOKE (3-4-2-1): Butland 6; Zouma 7, SHAWCROSS 8, Allen 6, Wimmer 7; Diouf 6, Fletcher 7, Sobhi 5 Pieters 6; Shaqiri 6 (Adam 88), 5. (Berahino 78); Choupo-Moting Subs: Grant, Jese, Afellay, Ngoy, Edwards. UP NEXT: Leicester (h), Premier League, Saturday. Referee: Michael Oliver 5. star YOUR TURN: Which Watford a scored an own goal to give Stoke 1-0 win at Vicarage Road last season?