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Watford 1-1 Saints - Match Thread


The Cat
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Little in the way of clear chances in the half. Our attempts to cut through their defence, have mostly been from a little deeper, not reaching their target. A shot into the ground near 40 mins got flicked over the bar from Stu. Some of our passes in the final third have gone astray, leading to counters, that have got their fans behind them.

Baz has been the keeper under a little more pressure. He had to do another race out, taking one of their players, before an offside flag was raised. Another ball in he couldn’t keep hold of, as a Watford player raising his foot put him off. The result hit the post, but was offside as well. A cross in just before the break went wide.

Baz had to stand up to the first real effort just before 45 mins.  After last season, he’s more than used to holding his nerve, in such situations.

We’ve had some decent passing moves, and plenty of possession. They’ve got forward in numbers and at pace, looking to exploit our fullback gaps, to get deliveries across. But our defence are well used to this, and have had numbers back, and it’s not fallen for them either. Bednarek has done very well on a couple of occasions to prevent a clear opening for them.

Aribo has been interesting to watch. A mix of things. Physically holding things up. Some good passes. Got back at pace a couple of times, and went on a little run, where he got past his man on the byline. On the other hand, still looks likely to pass it back or sideways without checking for a better forward pass. Especially, after he’s just put a little effort in. He needs half a minute to recharge.

Watford have looked the most likely in a half of not many chances. But we just need one passing move to unlock their defence.

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Not sure this set up is working for us. Definitely missing Flynn Downes, and Shea Charles is having a bit of a shocker. Think I’d be hooking Alcaraz and getting on Smallbone, let Aribo get forward a bit more and provide a better shielding for the defence.

Not a good half.

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Half time.

Pretty uneventful, Watford looked better towards the end, but Bazunu and Bednarek have been very good to keep them out.

The midfield control is really costing us, plus Alcarez has had a shocker and Adams is hardly involved as expected.

 

Will Martin stick and try grind out the 0-0 or go for it? Tricky one...

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Exactly as I thought it would be.

Watford are no mugs, they'll probably be a play off contender. Strong and well coached like West Brom.

Saints look OK but are certainly going to have to fight for this one. Watford  aren't going to roll over for us.

Akcaraz and S Armstrong are giving the ball away far too often. With no Downes recycling the ball is pinging back to the defence too often.

However still 0 0, all to play for. Mara for Alcaraz is pretty obvious. Frazer for S Armstrong at some point.

They'll tire at some point and will bring on weaker players. That will be Saints's opportunity but they need to still be in the game.

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3 minutes ago, Saint NL said:

Half time.

Pretty uneventful, Watford looked better towards the end, but Bazunu and Bednarek have been very good to keep them out.

The midfield control is really costing us, plus Alcarez has had a shocker and Adams is hardly involved as expected.

 

Will Martin stick and try grind out the 0-0 or go for it? Tricky one...

This smacks of an old style Saints performance where we rarely threaten and end up losing one nil.

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3 minutes ago, Charlie Wayman said:

Odd remark, KWP doing very well and Charles having a good match.

We must be watching a different game, in my one Charles is having a stinker.

KWP is not getting much support going forward but when he does it’s the only time we look threatening.

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Just now, obelisk said:

Interesting looking at the half time stats there. Saints worse in just about every respect except pointless possession. Are we still waiting and hoping for this to improve?

We know RM won't change so probably more of the same second half. Think he needs to swap Alcaraz for Smallbone.

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The team is wrestling w how much risk to take to break through.  eg. Aribo's turn half way through was spectacular and nearly led to something. Stu Armstrong is 50/50. Some of his flicks have threatened, others have lost possession. Alcaraz, in principle is the kind of player who can turn possession into chances.  But so far today he's turned possession into not-possession.  But the point remains that against a team as good as Watford, we won't score w/o taking some risks....  I'd give Charlie A another 10 mins, and if he hasn't improved his outcomes, pull him for Smallbone.

Despite the lack of goals, I've still loved seeing a lot of the one-touch play out of defense, esp in the first 15 mins...

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Just now, NewYorkSaint said:

The team is wrestling w how much risk to take to break through.  eg. Aribo's turn half way through was spectacular and nearly led to something. Stu Armstrong is 50/50. Some of his flicks have threatened, others have lost possession. Alcaraz, in principle is the kind of player who can turn possession into chances.  But so far today he's turned possession into not-possession.  But the point remains that against a team as good as Watford, we won't score w/o taking some risks....  I'd give Charlie A another 10 mins, and if he hasn't improved his outcomes, pull him for Smallbone.

Despite the lack of goals, I've still loved seeing a lot of the one-touch play out of defence, esp in the first 15 mins...

Bottom line is we are securely in the play-off spots so not much to be gained by being so cautious and risk-adverse. RM is adamant we must take risks to play out from the back yet when the ball goes forward it seems we are not brave enough to try anything that might not come off. Take more risks to get the win.

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