Handball row over last-gasp Watford equaliser
AT the end of a week which marked the advent of video technology in English football, this was the moment that might finally push it over the line and into regular use.
With Watford chasing this game in its dying seconds, the ball looped over Southampton’s defence and Abdoulaye Doucoure was at the back post, raising his gloved hand to punch an equaliser into the net.
It was more boxing jab than clever finish; an incredible piece of foul play that referee Roger East and assistant Derek Eaton failed to spot.
With that, Southampton lost their chance of a plucky first win in 10 Premier League matches and Watford rescued a point to improve a recent record that is not much better.
Brighton v Crystal Palace and Chelsea v Arsenal might have trialled the virtual assistant referee in the cup competitions this week but Mauricio Pellegrino was left to rue the lack of it in the Premier League here..
‘It’s clear,’ the under-pressure Southampton manager said. ‘I’m feeling like all my players in the dressing room. We are a little bit sad.
‘The last goal is something that surprised me. For me the level of refereeing is good in the Premier League but this is clear.
‘Everybody makes mistakes. At this level the problem is that you have a lot to win and lose and we are a little bit disappointed.’
It was something of a shame for Watford, too. Their outstanding fightback in this game, led by substitute Troy Deeney, will be largely forgotten among all the controversy surrounding the equaliser.
They fell behind to a James Ward-Prowse first-half double, as Dusan Tadic and Shane Long ran the show, but then turned the screw in the second period, with Andre Gray scoring before the late drama.
‘I don’t need to talk more about the (second) goal,’ Hornets boss Marco Silva said. ‘I think we deserved the result. It’s true we did well in the second half but we did really badly in the first.
‘We didn’t put the right attitude or the right mentality in the first half. It was completely different second half.’
Silva’s assessment was spot on. Watford, coming into this game on a run of seven defeats in their last nine in the league, were timid from the start and came undone through the fight of Long.
First, Southampton’s Irish centre forward battled away from Christian Kabasele down the right before charging to the byline and cutting back with Steven Davis and Ward-Prowse advancing.
The former provided a deft flick with his heel; the latter then had time to slide a perfect finish into the bottom-left corner.
Then, just before the end of the first half, Long broke free again. He roasted the chasing Molla Wague before looking up to see Tadic waiting. The Serbian star took the low cross into his feet and, sensing Ward-Prowse advancing over his right shoulder, tapped it across for the Saints No16 to drive in for 2-0.
Watford were booed off by the home support at the break but Deeney, who says he is taking his time at the club day-by-day amid interest from Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion, proved to be the catalyst of a turnaround.
The bulky centre-forward came on in a change of formation and led the piling on of pressure, which eventually told when he worked the ball across to right back Daryl Janmaat — his drive was tipped on to the bar by Alex McCarthy and Gray was on hand to head in the rebound.
It took until the final moments for Watford to find a path through again. Deeney headed Roberto Pereyra’s cross across the area, perfectly into the path for Doucoure to provide the finishing touch by any means necessary… ultimately using his right hand.
Cedric Soares even earned a booking for his protests — salt in the wound for Southampton. Bring on the VAR revolution.