Watford held out to win a scrappy contest against Spurs

Both sides came in to the game in great form, having won each of their last three games in the Premier League.

The away side were particularly happy after beating Man Utd 3-0 at Old Trafford last Monday, but the attacking incisiveness of that performance was nowhere to be seen.

Lucas Moura did have some chances early in the first half, but his shots were either blocked or the solid unit of Craig Cathcart and Christian Kabasele did well to avert danger, and kept him and Harry Kane quiet for the rest of the match.

The vistitors dominated possession in the first period, with Dele Alli having some good chances but Watford doing well to deal with the dangers he posed, while his midfield colleague Christian Eriksen was unusually lacklustre in the entirety of the contest.

As the second half began Watford got more in to the game Watford got more in to the game possession-wise, but still neither side looked that likely to get a goal.

It took an exceptionally unfortunate own goal from Watford's Abdoualye Doucoure to break the deadlock, as the ball cannoned off him and went past the diving Ben Foster.

Watford took the initiative after that, and put more effort in to attack which was rewarded when a free-kick was given just outside the Tottenham box, from which Troy Deeney was able to head the hosts level.

Just seven minutes later, Watford completed the comeback when Craig Cathcart rose well in the box to nod in a corner and give his side a 2-1 lead.

 

September 2, 2018

Tottenham had to push for a winner and went mor edirect as the game went in to the dying minutes, but were not able to get back in to the match.

Watford will be thrilled as they continue their perfect start to the season, and go 3rd in the Premier League table to reward their defensive resilience and team spirit.

However, Mauricio Pochettino will only have the return of Harry Winks to take as a positive, as his team had none of the attacking creativity that allowed them to beat Man Utd. He wasn't happy after that win, so he will be even more disppointed after this showing.

 

September 2, 2018