Show of Solidarity after Defeat to Coventry
01/27/2025 03:13 PM
It was a very slow start to the day before the trip to Coventry. I didn't leave home until after 10 and it didn't seem right to be having a leisurely cup of coffee at home before heading to an away game. I arrived at Euston to find that boarding was delayed, but I was soon comfortably seated on the train. Just after we left, I saw a message from Jacque saying that a train had hit an animal near Coventry, so they had disembarked at Northampton with news that buses would be put on, but they may have to wait a couple of hours. She decided to head back home. The impact on my journey soon became clear as it was announced that the train would no longer stop at Coventry or the Birmingham stations but would have an additional stop at Nuneaton. I looked up trains from Nuneaton to Coventry but saw the train that I needed to catch pulling out of the station just as we pulled in. The trains ran only once an hour, so I decided to get a cab, which was paid for by the refund that I got from the train disruption.
I arrived at the pub to find it deserted, so I picked a seat. I was soon joined by Serena who had been on the train that I had missed at Nuneaton. The previous week, she had stopped for a drink before catching the train home from Derby and found herself sitting at a table with Tom Cleverley's Dad who was rightly proud of his boy. The pub had been my suggestion, but it was soon filled with Watford fans who, after a few beers, started singing raucous songs and I remembered why I avoid designated away pubs like the plague. In addition to that, the food was poor, and they served the beer (before they ran out of Neck Oil) in plastic cups if you were an away fan. It was noticeable that all the locals had their beers served in glass. I won't be returning.
The walk from the pub to the ground is rather lovely as it takes you along the canal. It was a beautiful sunny day and the mini hoolies had taken a different route, so we had peace at last.
Team news was that Cleverley had made five changes from the Preston game with Sissoko, Abankwah, Sierralta and the injured Baah and Louza making way for Larouci, Morris, Porteous, Dele-Bashiru and Chakvetadze. So, the starting line-up was Bond; Morris, Porteous, Pollock, Ngakia; Kayembe, Dele-Bashiru; Larouci, Chakvetadze, Vata; Bayo.
The first chance of the game fell to the home side as Torp played a lovely through ball to Thomas-Asante in the box, thankfully his shot hit the side netting. The same players were responsible for the next chance as Torp, under challenge, managed to play the ball to Thomas-Asante whose shot took a slight deflection off Pollock and flew wide. The resultant corner was punched, but Coventry regained possession until a shot from Simms went out for a throw-in. The first chance for the Hornets came as Chakvetadze went on a run and passed to Larouci, he found Dele-Bashiru who was tackled, but the ball fell to Kayembe whose shot cleared the bar. At the other end a free kick was headed on and dropped to Kitching at the far post, his effort cleared the bar.
The next passage of play for the Hornets finished with shots from Vata and Chakvetadze both of which were blocked. The first booking of the game went to Kayembe for a foul on Rudoni. The next chance for the Hornets came as Ngakia exchanged passes with Porteous before taking a shot that was blocked for a corner that came to nothing. By this point our position at the back of the front section with a gap behind us had meant that we had a couple of incidents of blokes running down to that space to scream at the players and almost deafen us. The steward in charge of the section asked if we would like to be moved. I thanked him for his kindness but said that we were fine. He then asked what my notes were for. I told him about the blog and confirmed that he would feature. Coventry took the lead in the 32nd minute as Rudoni broke forward and played a cross that dropped to Torp who finished past Bond. The Hornets looked to hit back as Larouci crossed into the box, but the ball was gathered by Dovin as Bayo challenged. The Hornets had a great chance to draw level as Porteous played a ball into the box for Dele-Bashiru who turned and shot, Dovin did well to parry the ball which fell to Bayo whose header was caught by the keeper. The Hornets had another chance before the break as an attempted clearance by Dovin hit Bayo who controlled the ball before crossing for Vata who hit a poor shot that flew wide when he should have hit the target. So, the whistle went on a half that the home side had the better of, but there were some promising signs from the Hornets. I met Mike at the interval. It was lovely to see him, and we agreed that at least the performance was better than Tuesday, although that was a very low bar indeed.
Cleverley made a change at the break bringing Andrews on in place of Ngakia. The first incident of note in the second half was a booking for Torp for pulling back Chakvetadze. Morris and Larouci were then both booked for fouls on Rudoni. There had been a lack of goalmouth incident in the first 20 minutes of the second half mostly because each time Bayo broke forward, he was greeted with an offside flag. The first chance of the half came from a Coventry free kick that was headed over the bar by Latibeaudiere. Each side then made a substitution with Sissoko replacing Dele-Bashiru for the Hornets and Thomas-Asante making way for Sakamoto for the hosts. Coventry scored their second after 75 minutes. It started with a free kick by Torp that hit the wall but was adjudged by the referee to have been stopped by Sissoko's arm, which seemed harsh. The free kick was now taken from close to the edge of the box and Torp's delivery flew over the wall and into the net. It was a good strike that gave Bond no chance. The Hornets made a triple substitution at this point bringing Ince, Doumbia and Abankwah on in place of Vata, Bayo and Porteous. Coventry also made a change as Allen made way for Eccles.
Suddenly, out of the blue, the Hornets pulled one back as Sissoko met a cross from Andrews with a shot that took a deflection and beat Dovin. It wasn't a great goal, but they all count. The Hornets rallied again, and a lovely passing move ended with a shot from Chakvetadze that Dovin did well to push wide. The resultant corner was punched clear. Two of the substitutes combined to create the next chance for the Hornets as Abankwah fed Doumbia, but the shot was blocked. At the other end, Torp's hopes of a hat trick were frustrated as he shot wide of the target. There were six minutes of added time, and any hopes of an equaliser from a Chakvetadze free kick were dashed when Pollock failed to connect at the far post. There was a final timewasting substitution by the home side as Bassette replaced Simms. The only goal chance in time added on went to Coventry with a shot from Eccles that flew wide of the near post. So, the final whistle went on a defeat for the Hornets at the end of a difficult week.
Tom and the players came over to applaud the travelling fans. Usually, they come over in their own time and applaud us but on this occasion the players all lined up behind Tom and applauded us for a considerable time. It was an impressive show of solidarity behind their head coach and was really rather moving.
This was always going to be a difficult game. The loss of both Baah and Louza midweek meant that the team was lacking a creative spark. Vata can't do it all on his own. But there were some encouraging signs from the Hornets and Dovin was the busier keeper having to make some smart saves to deny Dele-Bashiru and Chakvetadze. The defence could maybe have done better for the first Coventry goal, but there was nothing they could do about the excellent free kick. There was no disgrace in this defeat and the performance was head and shoulders above that in the Preston game.
After the game, Mattie Pollock, who had captained the team, commented on the support of the fans and the moment at the end. I was impressed with their gesture, but wasn't sure that it was the fans who deserved it given that they had been chanting "Buy some f*ing players" at the end of the game. I am clearly old-fashioned, but I thought that supporting a team was about encouraging those wearing the shirt rather than screaming for replacements. I know that we desperately need to strengthen but have that conversation after the game.
As we walked back to the station, a Coventry fan said, "Good game, lads," to a group of Watford fans. This sent one of the mini-hoolies into a rage as he shouted abuse in return. I arrived on the platform and had half an hour to wait for the next train. Serena joined me and we had strategically placed ourselves on the platform such that we were almost the first on and had our pick of seats. We were joined by an older (than me) Watford fan and a Coventry fan and had a lovely chat on the short journey back to Coventry.
The mini-hoolies were out in force in the station and neither Serena nor I were catching the first train out, so we decided to find a pub. The nearest was called the Sky Blue Tavern and was a 10 minute walk away, but there was a hotel on the corner, so we decided to go to the bar there. There were two men already in the bar and we quickly found out that they were Watford fans. We started discussing the issue of Tom Cleverley and the Pozzos. Unlike a lot of our current away support, they were old enough to remember the state of the club before the Pozzos took over and talked about all that they have done for the club and the fact that none of those calling for them to go seem to have a sensible suggestion about who should take over. They had modified the anti-Pozzo pro-Tom song to sing "All I care about is Watford FC". A sentiment that is difficult to argue with. We were then joined by another Watford fan who said that it was kicking off in the station, so he had also escaped to let the hoolies go home.
When I finally caught my train, I found that it was also filled with football fans, but they were Arsenal supporters on their way back from Wolves, so were no bother.
The speculation of the last couple of weeks has been unpleasant and the transfer window looks to be passing with little in the way of reinforcements, so we could be in for a difficult end to the season. But I hope that Tom in with us for the duration as a change of head coach is not the answer.
