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At the end of the day though we didn’t even have a point to settle for and we only have ourselves to blame. The objective of the exercise is to score goals and we were lacking in that department whilst we gave away a really soft goal.
The first half was just incredible, I would hazard a guess that we had over 80% of the play. There really was only one side in it as we carved them open time and time again. Alan Moore, back in the side in place of suspended Lee Briscoe, on three separate occasions hit in low crosses from the left that were just screaming to be knocked in but all three ended up as Watford goalkicks with no one able to get on the end of them.
Down the right hand side Glen and Robbie Blake were combining well, ably supported by Fred West, whilst Tony Grant and the impressive new captain Paul Weller were running the midfield.
It was the sort of first half performance that should have seen us at least two goals if not more in front and this was when the game should have been put well out of Watford’s reach. It wasn’t though and goalkeeper Alec Chamberlain had much too little to occupy him as the Clarets were unable to get enough shots at goal. The lack of a consistent, natural goalscorer was never more evident.
Watford’s sorties forward were few and far between, they couldn’t get the ball and keep it long enough to put any moves together. However they did force Arthur into one challenge that earned him a yellow card, a fifth this season, and a suspension for the Rotherham game in two weeks time.
As half time got closer the frustration amongst the fans got greater, it was beginning to look as though we would go in level at the interval despite our domination. Then disaster struck and Watford went in front with a simple goal that really should have been cut out.
A routine cross from the left from Jermaine Pennant found their leading scorer Heidar Helgusson unmarked in the box and he headed firmly past Marlon Beresford giving him no chance.
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With just seven minutes of the second half gone Stan decided to change his strike force as Dimitri Papadopoulos replaced Blake and Gareth Taylor returned at the expense of Ian Moore.
Nothing much changed though regarding the pattern of the game with the Clarets still controlling the game and doing most of the attacking but with just eighteen minutes to go it all went wrong.
Less than a minute earlier we had got away with it when Watford should surely have been awarded a penalty after a foul by Mark McGregor but then Tommy Smith was put through looking more than suspiciously offside. He was not flagged by an assistant who had not endeared himself to the Burnley fans following what looked to have been some strange decisions.
McGregor, struggling to get back, fouled Smith and a penalty was awarded. After consulting with the assistant referee Olivier sent off McGregor for a professional foul and then Watford went two up as Smith gave Marlon no chance from the spot.
To our credit though we fought back. Papadopoulos missed a good chance but then Taylor pulled a goal back as he headed in after a Papadopoulos header had been cleared off the line.
There were thirteen minutes left at this stage and the referee was subsequently to add on a further five but it is fair to say that Watford didn’t have a real scare in that remaining time. Burnley did keep pressing forward but were unable to get close to the home goal.
Even when the board went up for the extra minutes it looked all over and so it was, a 2-1 defeat. We will without any doubt whatsoever play far worse this season and win but when we look back at this game it is definitely three points dropped from a game we should have won comfortable.
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Now to referee Olivier or perhaps should we say the assistant. Much will be said about the penalty and the sending off. There are questions to ask although there is no doubt it was a foul. Was Smith offside? Was he the last man when McGregor fouled? Crucial decisions have to be correct and although it was impossible to see from behind the goal it could well be that this one was wrong.
But there were too many occasions in this game when players were clearly baffled at some of the decisions and there was the impression in the stands that the players were anything but happy with the officials. It could be that they got everything right, but I would suspect not given the reaction from the players.
It’s three home games in succession now but when we are next on the road to Gillingham in three weeks time it can only be hoped that we have a little more good fortune than we had this afternoon.
The teams were,
Watford: Alec Chamberlain, Lloyd Doyley, Neil Cox, Marcus Gayle, Paul Robinson, Neal Ardley, Micah Hyde, Jamie Hand (Gavin Mahon 88), Jermaine Pennant, Tommy Smith (Stephen Glass 82), Heidar Helgusson (Dominic Foley 80). Subs not used: Anthony McNamee, Richard Lee.
Burnley: Marlon Beresford, Dean West, Mark McGregor, Arthur Gnohere, Graham Branch, Glen Little, Paul Weller, Tony Grant, Alan Moore (Steve Davis 71), Robbie Blake (Dimitri Papadopoulos 53), Ian Moore (Gareth Taylor 52). Subs not used: Ian Cox, Brad Maylett.
Referee: Ray Olivier (Sutton Coldfield).