WHAT A CORKER
Jack and Josh are surprise heroes
By TOM HOPKINSON at Vicarage Road
ROY HODGSON’S hopes of playing a peaky blinder went up in smoke as late goals from Jack Cork and Josh Brownhill all but condemned Watford to the drop.
But Burnley’s stirring comeback has given them real belief of survival.
Under-the-weather Hodgson, who was not well enough to complete his pre and postmatch media duties, spent the entire 90-odd minutes rooted to his seat in the dugout. And for a long time he looked to have masterminded a win which would have kept alive the Hornets’ slim hopes of staying up.
As the clock ticked past the 80-minute mark, James Tarkowski’s early own goal still separated the two sides.
But Cork stormed into the box soon afterwards to thump home a deserved equaliser with his head.
And within four minutes, Brownhill had applied a cool finish from 18 yards to spark scenes of mass celebration on the pitch, in the visitors’ technical area and in the away end.
Brownhill led all but one of his team-mates on a pitch-long dash to enjoy the moment with those travelling Burnley supporters.
Ashley Barnes, the odd man out, skidded on his knees, fists pumping in delight, in front of the Watford fans who’d been goading him just a few minutes earlier.
Those scenes and the noise in the away end told their own story of the belief Burnley have of staying up after winning three Premier League games in a row for the first time since 2019.
And why wouldn’t they be really starting to believe?
Caretaker boss Mike Jackson (above) said: “It’s a great result for us.
“It wasn’t our best performance. We didn’t start well, the group knew that, and we had to respond in the second half. The games are so emotionally-charged you’re not going to get silky football, it’s about finding a way and we did that.
“We got the first goal and then the second and it’s just mayhem.
“But that’s this group, that’s what they do. People give them criticism for other things but what you can’t criticise them for is team spirit.”
This defeat for Watford – an unwanted record 11th in a row at home, breaking Sunderland’s previous mark – does not mathematically condemn them to relegation with Norwich.
But if they drop another point they are gone and, even if they don’t, their goal difference is so poor we might as well bid them farewell from the top flight now.
Hodgson’s assistant, Ray Lewington, said: “Whether it is or isn’t us down, we have four games to play and the most important thing
is that we don’t just drift away.
“For the players’ selfesteem and for the supporters it’s important we go into the matches and be competitive.
“It’s obviously grim, but we must go out and perform and the results will take care of themselves.”
Juraj Kucka’s shot rattled the bar and rebounded against Tarkowski before bobbling over the line to put Watford ahead.
Aaron Lennon aside – the winger was always looking to get on the ball and get deep into the Watford half – Burnley were disappointing for the rest of the first period.
But they came out a different side after the break and, when Cork met Charlie Taylor’s cross, it was a goal they deserved.
Buoyed by that moment, they came again soon after and when a messy passage in the Watford play saw the ball ultimately fall to Brownhill, he steered it past Ben Foster.
Lewington added: “There’s a massive fear factor here, particularly at home, and that comes from losing matches.
“It happens at any club.
“You could see it at its extreme – first-half we were on the front foot, in the opposition’s half, creating chances, crowd behind us and we went in feeling good.
“But players look at the clock, 30 minutes to go, they start to drop off a little bit to try to protect the lead, which we said at half-time was the most important thing not to do.
“You allow crosses to come into the box and then you’re playing Russian roulette and I’m afraid that’s caused us the defeat.
“It’s an unforgiving league.”