Watford 3 (Pudil 11, Abdi 53,pen, Geijo 68) Charlton 4 (Hoban 34 o.g. Kermorgant 37,70), Jackson 78).
Kevin Nolan reports from Vicarage Road.
This riotous assembly of a football match packed incident on top of incident in giddying sequence while a bemused crowd struggled to keep up. One found oneself checking the score at times as if one was at a basketball game (my thanks to Sir Barney White-Spunner – Spunners to his chums – of the Countryside Alliance for opening one’s eyes to alternative English). Along the way, it featured the curious combination of an own goal (with another one the subject of dispute), a penalty, some marvellous goalkeeping, one or two outstanding goals, occasional outbreaks of violence and, most vital of all as far as Charlton were concerned, their fifth away win of the season.
It didn’t start too promisingly for the visitors. There only 11 minutes on the clock when creative midfielder Alex Geijo was allowed to move into shooting range by a retreating defence before letting fly on the run. His low drive was turned away from goal at full length by Ben Hamer but Daniel Pudil chased down the rebound and fired it across the keeper into the far bottom corner.
There was a faint air of cockiness about the Hornets at the time but their complacency might have been their undoing. After Fernando Forestieri and Johnnie Jackson were both booked for deliberate handball, the Addicks equalised a trifle luckily just past the half hour.
As persistent as ever, Chris Solly won a right wing corner, which Jackson swung in and Tommie Hoban sliced into his own net. The Hornets had been served notice that this was to no easy stroll. Indeed, while they were still absorbing the blow, they promptly fell behind to a second goal of far superior quality.
A breath of fresh air at The Valley since making the step up from non-league Hayes and Yeading, Bradley Pritchard shows respect but no undue awe in his elevated surroundings. Ludicrously dismissed by some as too lightweight for this standard, he can look after himself, as central defender Joel Ekstrand discovered on the end of a foul, for which the slim midfielder deserved but escaped a booking. The more acceptable side of Pritchard’s talent was evidenced not only by the clever, overlapping run he made to collect excellent left back Cedric Evina’s intelligently reversed pass but also the perfect cross he stood up to the far post. Presented by such a tasty morsel, Yann Kermorgant tucked in with obvious relish to head Charlton in front.
Though Ricardo Fuller might have increased the lead with an angled shot into the sidenet before the interval, Gianfranco Zola’s conglomeration of foreign loanees were clearly far from beaten. Forestieri was his usual mixture of irritating gamesmanship and delightful trickery, first being magnificently thwarted by Hamer in one-on-one confrontation, then breaking clear to be blatantly brought down by Dorian Dervite as he bore down on Hamer again. Almen Abdi coolly converted the indisputable penalty and it was Charlton’s turn to wilt.
Another fine save from Hamer tipped Geijo’s deflected effort over the bar before Forestieri demonstrated his mercurial nature by contributing both the miss and the pass of the game in quick succession. The unchallenged mess he made of blasting Pudil’s low cross high, wide and anything but handsome from point blank range faded into insignificance alongside the deliciously chipped delivery that sent Geijo clear to slot calmly past Hamer (3-2, do keep up).
Watford’s second lead lasted just two minutes, the time it took Fuller to bamboozle a posse of bewitched defenders on the right byline, cut in and cross low and hard to the near post, where Kermorgant bundled the Addicks level. Then again, it might have been Nathaniel Chalobah’s final touch but the young Chelsea loanee probably won’t dispute ownership so we’ll stick it down to big Yann’s account. It was a goal and it was dubious but there’s no committee to worry about anyway.
Having drawn level again, the next logical step for the cockahoop South East Londoners was to polish off their stunned hosts. A right wing corner, taken by Dale Stephens instead of Jackson as expected, might have discombulated the Hornets because Jackson was helpfully unmarked as he rose majestically to head the outswinger into the top right corner.
The arrival of Matej Vydra and Troy Deeney, both mysteriously left on the bench, was too late to save Watford, though Vydra netted from an offside position and Hamer was required to produce one final, terrific save to conjure Forestieri’s wickedly deflected effort over the top. But the Addicks deservedly held on for a famous victory in shires not a million miles distant from where the Heythrop Hunt, led selflessly by Sir Barney Spunners, were in pursuit of their own excellence. Great result for Charlton, exhilirating stuff for those other red-clad heroes. Not so rewarding for Watford FC, of course, and a bit of a nuisance for any fox looking forward to a lie-in but there you go, omelettes and eggs, that sort of stuff. Happy New Year to one and all!
Kevin Nolan’s Match Report is brought to you in association with , 294 Burnt Ash Hill, London, SE12 0QD.
Watford: Almunia, Hoban, Neuton, Ekstrand, Murray (Deeney 82), Cassetti, Abdi (Yeates 62), Chalobah, Geijo, Pudil (Vydra 79), Forestieri. Not used: Bond, Anya, Nosworthy, Battochio. Booked: Forestieri, Neuton, Ekstrand.
Charlton: Hamer, Solly, Cort (Taylor 86), Dervite, Evina, Wilson (Cook 79), Pritchard, Stephens, Jackson, Kermorgant, Fuller (Hulse 90). Not used: Button, Wright-Phillips, Kerkar, Seaborne. Booked: Jackson, Wilson, Cook.
Referee: Trevor Kettle. Att: 14,221.