The relief and elation at St James’ Park was palpable as Ayoze Perez’s second-half header sealed Newcastle United’s first win of the season against Watford yesterday.
Defeat for the Magpies would have made them the first side ever to lose their first six Premier League home games, but after riding their luck in the first half, they pulled themselves together and got over the line.
Rafael Benitez said the unity of everyone in the stadium fuelled the performance which finally yielded three points.
“It was a pity that after playing well in so many games, we couldn’t win,” he said.
“Today, in a different game against a very good team, you could see everyone was together, the fans and the players were pushing.
“We have tried our best [this season]. We have made mistakes, starting from me, but we are trying and the fans appreciate that.
“Now we can relax a little bit, but hopefully we can play more games like we did today.”
Watford came into the game with their tails up, having won their last two games, and they almost took the lead through captain Adrian Mariappa early on.
A corner wasn’t dealt with and, after a goalmouth scramble which saw DeAndre Yedlin clear off the line, Mariappa could only fire wide of the target.
At the other end, Mohamed Diame stung the palms of Ben Foster from distance, while Kenedy and Matt Ritchie attempted to force the issue.
Whenever Newcastle opened up, Watford were able to hit them on the counter effectively in the first half. Gerard Deulofeu really should have broken the deadlock just before the half-hour mark, but his tame effort drifted wide of Martin Dubravka’s goal.
Isaac Success then tested Dubravka as Watford’s attacking wave continued until the break, before which Yoshinori Muto, Newcastle’s busiest player, was replaced by Perez.
After the restart, the hosts started with purpose, but Watford continued to threaten most. Success bullied Yedlin down the left before cutting in and playing the ball to Roberto Pereyra, who struck the bar with a curling effort.
Benitez had made all three substitutions just six minutes after half-time. Jamaal Lascelles came off for Fabian Schar, before Jonjo Shelvey hobbled off to be replaced by Ki Sung Yueng.
Rather than suffering from the loss of three influential players, though, Newcastle appeared to rally and began to put their visitors under great pressure.
On 67 minutes, moments after the clock since they last scored ticked over five hours, they grabbed the lead. It was fitting that two substitutes combined, as Ki’s free-kick was flicked home by Perez.
Salomon Rondon headed wide from Kenedy’s cross with the goal gaping just two minutes later, before Perez nearly latched on to Ki’s corner as a scramble ensued.
There was a wake-up call when Success squared the ball to Watford substitute Andre Gray, but Kenedy, reinvigorated since half-time, was there to make a crucial tackle.
The Hornets had one golden opportunity to equalise in stoppage time but failed to take it when another change, Stefano Okaka, blazed over from 12 yards.
Watford boss Javi Gracia blamed his side’s wastefulness in front of goal for their defeat, saying “If you don’t score or kill the game when you have the chance to do it, you pay.
“If you ask about the game or result I can be disappointed with the result, but I can’t be disappointed with the players.”
