Watford 3-2 Aston Villa
by Bella Katz
at Vicarage Road

THE football season kicked off triumphantly for Xisco Munoz’s Watford as they beat Villa 3-2 at home on Saturday afternoon, in their first game back in the Premier League.

The sunshine and the prospect of a stadium at full capacity lit up the faces of Watford and Villa fans alike at Vicarage Road ahead of the match. Tributes were paid to the late Graham Taylor, who managed both clubs during his career.

Watford asserted themselves from the get go, and only 10 minutes in they found themselves 1-0 up.

The home crowd erupted as Ismaila Sarr crossed the ball into the box for Emmanuel Dennis to take advantage. The ball deflected off of Ezri Konsa, but the Nigerian attacker made no mistake in pocketing the rebound, to the delight of the crowd.

The Hornets continued to sting their opponents for the remainder of the first half. Villa put up a fight, but appeared to be a shadow of the team they were last season, without home-grown Jack Grealish leading the pack.

Watford’s new arrival Juraj Kucka acted as a powerful driving force in their midfield and cut through Villa’s midfield on a number of occasions.

The mascot, Harry the Hornet, banged a drum in the crowd, setting the tempo of the first half — the perfect background noise to accompany a Watford side on the prowl for three points.

A clearance made in Villa’s box set Morgan Sanson free on the counterattack. He sent the ball to Sarr on his right who fired it further upfield and scored a goal that sailed into the left side of the net off of Tyrone Ming’s leg. The scoreline sat at a convincing 2-0 after 45 minutes.

The good feeling continued in the stadium during the break, as nearly 200 NHS staff members from Watford General Hospital took a lap of honour around the pitch.

Fans thanked them for their hard work during the pandemic with a standing ovation. The big screens commemorated Watford fans lost since last March.

Things heated up in the second half, particularly as super-sub Cucho Hernandez made an instant impact off the bench, on none other than his debut.

Tom Cleverley swept the ball across the pitch as he fell to the ground simultaneously, for the Colombian forward to collect it and strike successfully into the far post. The flash of silver hair, stature, and accuracy of the strike was reminiscent of Kun Aguero.

Not long after, John McGinn scored a stunning half-volley, a style now seemingly signature of the Scotsman, yet no-one could catch him as he struck the ball will full force from the edge of the penalty area.

Villa found their footing following the goal, but it was not enough.

A last gasp penalty in extra time for a clear foul on Traore in the box was taken by Danny Ings, who didn’t look out of place in the claret and sky blue number 20 shirt. He scored the consolation with composure.

Xisco glowed about the performance, telling Sky Sports: “I think today the fans gave us one person more. This is very important, and it’s important to carry on with this atmosphere and this very good mood.

“Always it’s important to win, but even more in the Premier League. For me I feel very comfortable, I am very happy for the three points, but the most important thing is that the players receive what they worked for in the pre-season. We have an amazing challenge this season.”

Villa boss Dean Smith expressed his disappointment: “A very disappointing first-half performance has cost us the game, and we cost it ourselves. We looked lethargic, had no intensity about us, whether it was passing on the ball or second ball.

“That’s what disappointed me, there’s been no sign of that in pre-season or the build-up. We've allowed them to counterattack us and score goals.

“They came back well at the end, getting it to 3-2, but in our first-half performance we threw the game away.”