Watford 0–0 Plymouth Argyle: Course set but Hornets yet to strike gold
After the opening-day high that was the 4–0 demolition of Queens Park Rangers, Watford were doomed to underwhelm with the visit of an altogether more polished Plymouth Argyle outfit, fresh from nicking the League One title.
However, a goalless draw did not tell the story of this game. Valérien Ismaël’s side were the stronger, showed far greater intent, had better territory and would have won the game had Vakoun Bayo (more on him later) not passed up a gilt-edged chance to settle this contest late on. One suspects that had he beaten Conor Hazard in the visitors’ goal instead of inexplicably scuffing the ball wide when put through by Imrân Louza’s subtle touch, the analysis around this result would be rather different. But, as we all know, these are the margins and they are so very fine.
Here are five talking points from an entertaining stalemate at Vicarage Road — my first trip of the season…
Val ball is nothing if not entertaining
Having eschewed the opening-day destruction of a pitiful QPR side to take in Wealdstone vs York City, this was my first chance to witness the so-called Val ball in person since another goalless draw against Boreham Wood in the Hornets’ pre-season opener. The difference was night and day. Where Watford lack intensity and identity in that trip to Meadow Park, the plan here was clear.
So often last season it took painstaking effort — or an element of luck — to get into goalscoring positions. Kicking the bag of air into the back of the net usually meant another herculean effort in itself. Here the hosts demonstrated almost exactly what had been evident seven days prior.
In possession, full-backs Ryan Andrews and James Morris drove inside to form a four with Imrân Louza and Tom Dele-Bashiru with Bayo dropping in to form a link between midfield and attack. From the opening-day highlights, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Ivorian striker was starting higher before coming short but on this evidence, his starting position is deeper than your typical №9 with Matheus Martins and Ken Sema starting narrow before providing width.
Morris down the left had plenty of fun linking up with Martins and put a series of tantalising crosses into the box while Wesley Hoedt (more on him later, too) repeated his party trick time and time again by whipping big diagonals out to Sema and Andrews on the right.
Out of possession, the Hornets were hungry, swarming around Plymouth players high up the field in an attempt win the ball back as quickly as possible. The end result might have been lacking but it was not for a want of trying. I doubt there were many games last season where we registered 20 efforts and we definitely won matches while providing less entertainment — or identity.
The final third still needs work
That was the good.
The mediocre came when Watford got into good positions to cross and either got the delivery wrong or had no one waiting to get on the end of the ball. Morris’ first-half crossing provided a threat but that tapered off in the second half. However, he wasn’t helped by a lack of bodies in the box more often than not.
That was the difference between one point and three. On several occasions it felt like the commitment to moving the ball quickly was such that players preferred to shift it onto someone else rather than taking a touch and getting a shot away. Louza was the exception, cracking one off the post after bending one in against QPR last weekend.
The bad was Bayo’s miss. The Crow has been rehabilitated to some extent and two goals in his first two outings this season have quelled some of the talk around his suitability for this team. We certainly saw a more rounded striker against Gareth Ainsworth’s hapless R’s, holding the ball up and linking play in a way that had not previously been evident.
But the miss. Oh, the miss. We can’t get away from the miss.
A clearance from Dan Bachmann, helped on by Yáser Asprilla, found Bayo onside and escaping the attention of Plymouth’s otherwise rigid and obdurate centre-half duo. He took a touch or two to set himself and, bearing down on Hazard, looked for all the world set to slide him the winner, only to drag it wide of the post. And not just wide, horribly wide. A proper scuff. We might not be quite back to square one but it’s a big blot on his copybook.
More so given chairman and CEO Scott Duxbury this week announced Watford are in negotiations with a №9 at the ‘At Your Place’ event at London Colney. Former Cardiff City loanee Sory Kaba — he of the self-set-up bicycle kick at the Vic’ last term — has been linked again, while Kieffer Moore’s is a name that refuses to go away. Once described to me as a ‘thick-as-mince’ type centre-forward, whoever comes in has to bury chances like the one Bayo somehow contrived to squander.
Bad afternoon at the office for Bachmann
While we’re on the bad, let’s touch on Bachmann.
I’ve used this platform to defend the Austrian only this summer. I stand by the fact he isn’t as bad as some — particularly on social media — might have you believe. He proved his shot-stopping worth again, saving really smartly from Adam Randell after bursting into the box in the first half and made another decent near-post stop after the break.
But like Bayo, it’ll all be for nothing if distribution continues to prove his Achilles heel. Three (3) separate times he nearly landed Watford in it with poor, panicked passes.
On the first occasion, he was well outside of the penalty area and under precisely no pressure when he passed the ball straight to a Plymouth player. Only a heart-in-mouth intervention from Ryan Porteous that involved lying on the floor and sticking his head in the way stopped that ending in tears. Soon after, he was closed down by Argyle striker Ryan Hardie after trying to take the ball around him instead of playing a simple pass. After the break, he dinked the ball straight to another Plymouth player who again failed to take advantage.
How long before the nerves spread to those in front of Bachmann? That is assuming they haven’t already. The Vicarage Road crowd already gets the willies every time the ball is played back to him and it’s not a stretch to imagine his team-mates will feel the same way before long. That will lead to over-compensation and risk-taking in order to avoid giving him the ball, bringing yet more unnecessary pressure onto the side.
Doubtless, it is something Ismaël and the coaching staff are working with him on. Right now, it’s a problem for Watford and I’m quite prepared to eat some humble pie on this one.
Classy Hoedt back to his best
Former Netherlands international Hoedt has had a somewhat strange Watford career and it’s only 18 games old. From scoring on his debut against Blackburn Rovers to being deemed the weak link in the partnership with Porteous all in under five months, he has drawn the ire of fans on more than one occasion. Anderlecht supporters were quick to warn us of his shortcomings and perceived arrogance when he joined from their side in January.
Regardless, the one thing in his favour is he isn’t Christian Kabsele. Or, to a lesser extent, Craig Cathcart or William Troost-Ekong. Something the former Lazio and Southampton man boasts that none of his predecessors did is an impressive penchant for long-range passing. Specifically a sweeping first-time ball out to the right.
Hoedt displayed it in all its glory here, time and time again. In total, he attempted (97) and completed (81) more passes than anyone else on either side with Bachmann (49/63) and Porteous (51/61) the next best. Naturally, a few had a bit too much on them but it gave the Hornets a quick, direct and usually accurate out ball they used to good effect.
Changes are coming
The opening-day starting XI was a surprise to many. It was less of a surprise to see only one enforced change for the visit of Argyle with Andrews taking over from the injured Jeremy Ngakia at right-back.
However, given the impetus the substitutes injected here, it’s hard to imagine Yáser Asprilla and Giorgi Chakvetadze won’t be included from the start soon. Summer signings Thomas Ince and Jamal Lewis have both been slated for a return to contention for next weekend’s trip to Stoke City, too, putting further pressure on the two inside forwards in Sema and Martins.
Asprilla, in particular, lit up this contest during his first 30 minutes of the season. There had been some concern the Colombian prodigy was set to follow João Pedro to Brighton & Hove Albion but Duxbury was quick to quash those rumours in the week. Driving inside from the right onto his favoured foot, the teenager was a thorn in the visitors’ side and linked up well with Andrews, creating a presentable chance for the young right-back which Hazard did well to stop at the near post. Asprilla’s one-v-one ability and elasticity is unique in this Watford squad and plenty of hopes will be pinned on him this season.
Elsewhere, and despite his penalty miss in our now-traditional League Cup exit to lower-league opposition, Rhys Healey must surely be expecting his Championship debut to come soon. The summer signing from Toulouse hasn’t got off the bench in two league fixtures. While Bayo has enjoyed something of a rebirth this summer, Healey’s record in France suggests he is the one with the goalscoring touch. How it translates to the second tier of English football remains to be seen.