skip to content

  • Kick-off: 15:00
  • Venue: Vicarage Road Stadium
  • Attendance: 19660
  • Referee: Rennie, U

Live Commentary

90mins

FULL TIME: WATFORD 0-0 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR: Uriah Rennie blows his whistle to signal the end of a fast paced game which saw both sides put the effort in but with no end product. Watford will be the happier of the teams with this battling point.

90mins

Young plays in Henderson who beats the offside trap but Robinson is quick off his line to put the ball out of play

90mins

The fourth official holds up the board to indicate there will be two minutes of injury time

89mins

Berbatov wins an aerial challenge and his header finds Defoe but his effort is way off target

87mins

Jenas takes the freekick which finds the head of King but from eight yeards out the English centre back misses the target

86mins

Mahon crashes into the back of Berbatov and is booked for his late tackle

85mins

Lennon again shows his skill and puts in a wicked cross which Jenas manages to get his head on but it goes wide as Spurs waste their best chance of the matchLennon again shows his skill and puts in a wicked cross which Jenas manages to get his head o

84mins

Young wipes in a dangerous cross which Robinson flaps at and can't gather, luckly for the England goalkeeper Chimbonda is there to cover and clear

81mins

Jenas is booked after bringing down DeMerit inside Watford's half

80mins

Murphy plays in his fellow subsitute Defoe but a late call rules the England international offside as both sides search for a vital goal

77mins

Watford launch another long throw into the box but like the previous attempts Spurs are capable of dealing with it and clear the ball away

75mins

Robbie Keane is taken off and Jermaine Defoe comes on to sharpen the Spurs attack

74mins

Lennon takes the ball off the stuttering Stewart and works himself room for a good shot but Foster is capable of matching his shot with a good save

73mins

Shittu launches a ball into the Spurs area but King is there to clear away before Young can get in on goal

71mins

Bouazza takes the ball down the left flank but is running down a dead end as Huddlestone takes the ball and another Watford attack breaks down

69mins

Lennon shows good skill to get past Shittu and tries to play in Keane but the Watford defence stands strong to clear the ball

66mins

Danny Murphy comes on for the Eyptian Ghaly

64mins

Young takes the corner but Chimbonda is there to head away and launch Tottenham on another attack

63mins

Mahon takes a long throw aiming for Jordan Stewart and his flick on takes a deflection and goes behind for a Watford corner

60mins

Ashley Young has an attempt from distance but it flies wide of Robinsons' right-hand post

59mins

Watford are pressurising Spurs as they try to play it around but just don't have enough options avalible for the man on the ball

56mins

Ghaly beats Doyle in the air to set up Keane who has a clear sight on goal but Foster is there to save well

55mins

Damian Francis fires in a shot from outside the area but it takes a deflection and just goes wide for a Watford corner

54mins

Lennon skips away from Doyle and shows his pace as the England international closes in on goal but DeMerit is there again with a timely tackle

52mins

Robbie Keane gets down the right hand side and plays the ball infront of the goal but DeMerit is there to clear with Berbatov breathing down his neck

50mins

Doyle launches a long throw into the box which Shittu flicks on causing chaos in the box but Spurs scramble the ball away

48mins

Bouazza becomes his second booking within a minute after a late tackle on Keane

47mins

Demrit is booked for a late challenge on Lennon as Uriah shows his first card of the game

46mins

Henderson sets up Young who just rolls the ball infront of Smith but the Watford player just can't reach the ball and the chance goes begging

45mins

Tottenham get us underway again as both teams continue their search for a goal

45mins

HALF TIME: WATFORD 0-0 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR: A frantic first half which could have seen both teams score as the game goes from end-to-end, Tommy Smith guilty of missing from a yard out and Foster denying Lennon with three good saves.

45mins

Lennon gets in a dangerous ball looking for Robbie Keane but Shittu is there to clear

45mins

The fourth Official indicates there will be one minute off added on time

44mins

Lennon and Keane combine to set up Jenas on the edge of the penalty area but the former Newcastle player wastes his chance and puts it wide

42mins

Jenas takes the corner he won buts it nodded away by Demerit only to Zokora but his shot is sliced wide

42mins

Jenas gets inside the box but meets Bouazza who puts the ball behind for a corner

40mins

Bouazza beats King to the ball and plays in Young who puts it past Robinson but the linesman has signalled offside.

38mins

Damien Francis has a hopeful shot towards the Spurs goal which Robinson has to scramble across his goal to save

36mins

Tommy Smith comes forward with a blazing run and gets down the right flank, tries a shot which is deflecte wide by Ledley King

36mins

Young recieves the ball on the edge of the penalty area and does well to turn but his cross is dissapointing and goes wide

34mins

Ghaly easily takes on Doyle who looked all at sea and the Egyptian plays it across to Lennon who has a snap shot which Foster does well to save

32mins

Huddlestone looks to play in Ghaly with a long ball but Foster is quick off his line to grab the ball before the Egyptian can get there

30mins

Young has a freekick just inside the Spurs half and plays it in towards the the penalty area looking for Henderson but again its the Tottenham defence who are quickest to react and win the ball to clear

29mins

Doyle takes a long throw into the Tottenham box and Bouazza tries to head it down for a Watford player but Spurs are qucikest to react to clear the ball

26mins

Bouazza crosses the ball in from the left flank and it goes all the way across the box and Smith steams in to reach it but the ball has just too much pace on it

24mins

The corner is taken by Jenas as he looks for Huddlestone but Shittu uses his areil presence to beat the Spurs man in the air and clear it away

23mins

Jenas again proves a threat as he plays the ball towards the far post but Doyley is there to flick the ball away for a corner before Keane can get there

23mins

Mahontakes a long throw into the box which Shittu gets his head on but his flick on fails to find anyone and spurs clear

20mins

After the frantic start to this game both sides have begun to get into their stride as the play goes from end-to-end

17mins

Tommy smith gets away from King but is tackled by Ghaly, but the Watford midfielder doesn't give up to win the ball back in a good display of determination.

16mins

Young puts pressure on Ledley King who has to put the ball out of play in a promising position for the Hornets

14mins

Mahon gives away a freekick just inside the Watford half after Mahon crashes into the back of Ghaly as Spurs try to get a grip on this game

13mins

The lines man has to change his flag which gives the players a chance to have a break in this frantic game

10mins

Keane just gets past Doyley and plays in Lennon but his shot is smatrly saved by Foster again as he denies Lennon for a secod time in two minutes

9mins

Watford again get down the the flank as Young puts in another good cross but tis time bouazza and Henderson who have a communication break-down and combine to head the ball wide.

8mins

Lennon shows his quickness and skill to beat two Watford players but the England Internationals shot is smartly saved by Foster

7mins

Stewart displays some good skill to find Shittu who just lays it across to Smith who looks certain to score but from two yards out he miss-kicks his shot a it bobbles wide.

4mins

The corner is wiped into the Watford box and it beats everyone as Berbatov stretchs to reach the ball but it just runs to Smith who clears

3mins

the freekick is taken by Jenas as he tries to pick out King but Stewart beats him to the ball and clears it out for a corner

2mins

Danny Shittu chops down Jenas as he trys to get away from him and is lucky to get away without a booking

1mins

The second corner again finds a Shittu who has a free header from eigth yards out but its straight at Robinson

1mins

Ashley Young wipes in a corner which finds its way to Bouazza who shots but it hits King and goes out for another corner

0mins

Straight away Watford are on the attack with Tommy Smith get down the flank and tryng to pick out Henderson but its cleared by the Spurs defence

0mins

Watford are again without Marlon King, and have a new injury worry as defender Clakre Carlisie has been ruled out. Tottenham are without Slateri, Malbranque and Lee Young-Pyo who are all out through injury. Watford are without a win in 10 games.

0mins

Watford XI: Foster, Doyley, DeMerit, Shittu, Stewart, Smith, Mahon, Francis, Bouazza, Henderson, Young. Tottenham XI: Robinson, Chimbonda, Zokora, King, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Jenas, Huddlestone, Ghaly, Keane, Berbatov

Match Report

Spirited Watford moved out of the relegation zone after holding near-neighbours Tottenham Hotspur to a 0-0 draw at Vicarage Road, but it was yet another case of what might have been for Aidy Boothroyd's battling team.

It was difficult to fault the Hornets for their lung-busting effort and approach work, but it is the quality of the finishing that makes all the difference at this level and again they were found wanting.

Seven days after striker Darius Henderson missed the game's best chance by blasting over a near open goal at Charlton, worse was to befall team-mate Tommy Smith to leave Spurs counting their blessings.

It appeared the Watford right winger couldn't miss when Dan Shittu's cut-back fell ideally for him barely three yards out and with the target at his mercy, but the 26-year-old somehow contrived to put the opportunity over the top.

That early gilt-edged opening aside, the chances were evenly shared over the 90 minutes, with most following to Aaron Lennon.

The England winger had five on-target attempts but each time he was denied by international colleague Ben Foster, who took the opportunity to shine against Steve McClaren's current number one Paul Robinson.

Watford set the tone for what was to come from the kick-off when, instead of pumping the ball into the opposition half, they immediately sought out Smith on the right flank and he went on a dazzling run before sending over a cross that was destined for the head of Henderson until it was brilliantly cut out by Michael Dawson.

This led to a sequence of three corners for the home side which saw Jordan Stewart have a shot deflected behind and a Shittu header saved.

But quite how Smith then failed to give the Hornets the lead only he will now, but having survived that major scare, Spurs, and in particular Lennon, came alive as an attacking force.

The winger forced Foster into two smart saves in almost as many minutes after he had comfortably got the better of Lloyd Doyley both times.

Foster had the measure of a stinging Lennon drive later in the first half, but the closing minutes of the opening period belonged to the home side. First the lively Smith showed great perseverance to win a battle for possession with Benoit Assou-Ekotto, before breaking clear on the right side of the Tottenham area and attempting to pick out a team-mate, only to see Dawson turn the ball over his own bar.

But then Watford thought they'd got the goal they deserved five minutes before the interval when Hameur Bouazza's ball split the Tottenham defence and Ashley Young kept his composure to slide the ball beyond Robinson from 12 yards, only for the celebrations to be cut short by a late, and dubious, offside flag.

Tottenham offered more of a threat after the break and Robbie Keane looked poised to set up Dimitar Berbatov for the opening goal after rounding Foster until his cut-back was brilliantly back-heeled over his own bar by the calm Jay DeMerit.

Foster then kept out Keane's low curling shot, before Damien Francis was unlucky to see a low drive deflected narrowly wide of the target at the other end.

The game's last meaningful opportunity fell, perhaps inevitably, to Lennon who streaked clear down the right side of the area before striking an angled effort, but Foster was again equal to it, pushing the ball into the ground and up over his own bar.

Watford

Tottenham Hotspur

Corners

77

Fouls

1414

Goal attempts

911

Shots off target

73

Offsides

28

advertisement

advertisement