Watford finally recorded their first win of the 2015-16 season as Odion Ighalo’s goal was enough for the Hornets to brush aside Swansea City at Vicarage Road on Saturday evening.
A hectic start to a game seemed as a plan from Quique Sanchez Flores, as Watford opened the match with several chances from the left=side. Jose Jurado and Troy Deeney were tough to catch and Swansea could not cope with the energy the Watford players produced in the first 30 minutes of the match.
The only goal of the game came in the 59th minute. After Aurelio Gomes’ long ball, Troy Deeney managed to head it over Ashley Williams and Federico Fernandez, as Ighalo was left alone to score easily. Swansea seemed naïve in trying to stop most attacks the home team was creating, unable to show the threat which was evident a fortnight earlier against Manchester United.
Valon Behrami’s horrific start five minutes after the goal earned him a straight red card, but even that was not enough for the uninspired Swans, who lacked flair and creativity. Watford did not have too much trouble keeping the lead, even with 10 men for almost 40 minutes.
Swansea have problems with high pressing opponents
This was obvious in the first 30 minutes of the game at Sunderland and against Watford it was definitely confirmed, Swansea had a lot of trouble playing from the back when the opposing team played with a high pressing system. The side seemed messy and could not keep the ball on the ground which is a much preferred option for Garry Monk’s squad.
The whole of Swansea’s play was frustrating, as Monk said afterwards, but it was quite obvious that the back four couldn’t cope with Ighalo, Deeney and Jurado’s pressure. Kyle Naughton lost several balls, while Fernandez and Williams had none of their usual defending discipline. Andre Ayew had to come back deep in order to get the ball, making Ikechi Anya’s job a lot simpler. Without their usual build-up from the defensive line, Swansea lacked their sharpness and were ineffective in the attacking-third.
Vicarage Road is a tall fortress
The last time Watford were in the top flight they were rather shiftless, securing a first victory after 10 matches into the season. This year, with 18 or so players possessing great international experience coming in, Watford will be tough to beat. Everton had no solution for them, but more remarkable is their home record so far. Three games and three clean sheets is something Manchester City is proud of, but for a team coming from Championship, that is an amazing achievement.
The Hornets had two goalless draws against West Bromwich Albion and Southampton and now they have beaten Swansea. The team is compact, well organized and do not give much space to the opponents. The Welsh outfit were lacking ideas, because Sanchez Flores’ players were not giving up any space for their pacey wingers and were all the time keeping their eyes on in-form Bafetimbi Gomis. It will definitely be a challenge for opponents to get three points from Vicarage Road.
Naughton and Sigurdsson are weak links
The two players had a poor game at Watford, but that was not unexpected in some terms. Naughton already seemed as the weakest link of the Swansea usual starting XI and today he proved that with an insecure display, unable to give stability to the team on the right-hand side of the pitch. On two occasions, errors led to solid chances for the home team and Ayew often had to come back closer and help him out defensively. Adding six crosses to that, from which none were completed, this was his worst match this season.
Gylfi Sigurdsson may be going to the Euro 2016 with his national team of Iceland, but his displays in the five matches of the Premier League have not been convincing. He did create a goal against Manchester United, but an inability to make an impact on the game against Newcastle and Sunderland occurred again here.
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The Icelander is an attacking-midfielder and should be creating most of the team’s chances, the same way he did last term, but during the 90 minutes at Watford, Sigurdsson completed only 15 passes. That was the only statistical parameter he took part in, not generating a single chance or even a take-on and yet again he did not complete a single ball towards the opposing box.
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