Vata Scores a Wonder Goal as Hornets Exit the FA Cup
Yesterday at 04:41 PM
I am going on a diving holiday on Saturday, so had resigned myself to missing the third round of the cup. Imagine my delight when the game was moved to Thursday evening. Despite the odd kick-off time, there was a large take up from Women of Watford and City Orns and over 4000 tickets were sold for the away end, so there would be a very large turnout of travelling Hornets. In preparation for my holiday, I had taken my dive computer to have the battery replaced and went to pick it up in Chiswick before the game. Imagine my surprise when I saw the team coach parked at the hotel at the end of the road that the dive shop is in. I managed to resist the temptation to hunt the boys down.
Our initial thought that we would meet up with the Fulham Lillies was scuppered due to it being an evening game, so I booked a table for our group in a local pub. Our table was in the restaurant with a view of the Thames (although it was rather too dark to appreciate that). The pre-match meal was unusual as I had venison carpaccio as a starter, but I followed it up with an excellent shin of beef pie all washed down with a couple of glasses of red wine. It was delicious and certainly set us up for what promised to be a cold evening by the Thames.
At the appointed time, we crossed the river and walked through the park to the ground. Having queued at a turnstile, we were told that there was a dedicated turnstile for those with bags, so had to make our way through the crowds to the bag check and then we were in and taking our rather good seats.
Team news was that Cleverley had made seven changes from the Sheffield United game giving first starts to Doumbia and Tikvić, who was unrecognisable from pre-season as he is no longer blond. The starting line-up was Bond; Larouci, Tikvić, Ogbonna, Porteous, Andrews; Vata, Kayembe, Dwomoh, Ince; Doumbia. Former head coach, Marco Silva, who Tom Cleverley has named as the best coach that he has worked under, was managing the opposition and was given the sort of reception that would be expected after the way that he left us.
There was a slow start to the game and an early cross into the Watford box was poked wide by Iwobi under pressure from Andrews. There was an early booking for Kayembe for a foul on Pereira. The first chance of note was a shot from distance by Iwobi that needed a good save from Bond to keep it out. The first chance for the Hornets was a Kayembe shot that flew wide of the target. The Hornets attacked again as Doumbia played a great ball for Andrews who was tackled, the ball fell to Ince who broke into the box and was also tackled, sparking a counterattack by the home side that finished with Traoré playing a low cross for Muniz who powered home to give Fulham the lead.
There were shouts for a penalty as Porteous appeared to block a shot from Iwobi with his arm, but the referee was unmoved, the attack continued and a shot from Sessegnon was blocked before a shot from Castagne took a wicked deflection off Tikvić and flew just wide of the goal. The Hornets had to make an early change as Dwomoh, who had gone down needing treatment on more than one occasion, was replaced by Louza. The Hornets drew level on 32 minutes when Rocco Vata received the ball just inside the Fulham half, turned went on a storming run before hitting a screamer that sent the travelling Hornets at the other end of the ground wild. There was a lot of bouncing in that dodgy stand. The home side tried to regain their lead, but a cross from Traoré was caught by Bond. At the other end a shot from distance by Ince was gathered by Benda in the Fulham goal. There was four minutes of added time at the end of the half which passed without incident. So, we went into the break level after a half that had been dominated by the home side. But we were greatly encouraged by the Vata goal which was a thing of beauty and had cheered the travelling Hornets greatly.
Fulham made a change at the start of the second half bringing Jiménez on in place of Muniz. The first chance of the half was a shot from Sessegnon that was blocked for a corner, the delivery of which was blocked by the foot of Larouci. I must admit that it was a while before I realised that a penalty had been awarded at the other end of the ground after Tikvić fouled Traoré just inside the area. Jiménez stepped up to take it and powered it into the top corner. Bond went the right way but had no chance. The home side then had a chance to increase their lead as Lukic hit a volley that flew just wide of the target. Fulham nearly had a third soon after as a great ball from Iwobi reached Jimenez, he cut the ball back for Smith Rowe, but Bond was able to make the block. The first chance of the second half for the Hornets came from a Vata free kick that was punched by Benda, it looped to Porteous who headed wide of the target. Bond was called into action again on the hour mark to save a shot from Sessegnon. The Hornets were 3-1 down after 65 minutes when a corner dropped to Andersen, his shot was blocked by Kayembe, but the ball rebounded to him, and he volleyed home.
Fulham made a triple change at this point replacing Andersen, Smith Rowe and Iwobi with Diop, King and Godo. "I'd been waiting for him" quipped Pete. The Hornets also made a change bringing Baah and Chakvetadze on in place of Ince and Vata. Baah was immediately in action feeding Andrews whose low cross was blocked. At the other end Sessegnon danced into the box and was tackled, the ball fell to King whose shot found the side netting. Then a great back heel from Porteous released Baah who broke forward and put in a cross that was cleared. An attempt by Larouci to win a goal kick off Traoré failed as the ball rebounded to Castagne who crossed for Pereira whose shot from the edge of the box hit the crossbar. The home side made a late change bringing Reed on in place of Lukic. Fulham scored a fourth on 85 minutes as Traoré played a through ball to Godo whose cross to the near post was headed home by Castagne. The Hornets nearly pulled one back when a cross from Doumbia was blocked by Sessegnon, the ball dropped to Kayembe whose shot hit the post and flew wide. Fans were streaming out of the away end at this point with a large number of them not seeing the irony as they sang "We can see you sneaking out" at the Fulham fans while making their way to the concourse. Cleverley made a final change bringing Nabizada on to make his debut in place of Doumbia. The home side had a chance for a fifth when a through ball from King reached Godo, but his shot hit the side netting. Thankfully there was only three minutes of added time, with no further goalmouth action, so the game ended with a 4-1 defeat for the Hornets.
It was a disappointing, but thoroughly deserved, exit from the cup. Fulham completely dominated the game with the only bright spell for the Hornets coming after our goal. As soon as the penalty went in early in the second half, there was only one winner. But it was no disgrace to be beaten by a very good Fulham team. The standout player for the Hornets on the night was Vata who scored a wonder goal that gave us something to cheer on the night and will be rewatched and enjoyed for years to come. One other positive for me was the very brief appearance of Amin Nabizada. He was excellent in the Youth Cup game against Oxford, so I was delighted to see him given this opportunity, and I hope to see a lot more of him in the future.
As we walked to Putney station to get the train back to Waterloo, I heard my name and turned and saw Ross and Zoë from Ayrshire who had made the trip to Fulham on a Thursday night and were staying at Gatwick ready to fly back on Friday morning. Much has been said about the great away following at this game, but that really is dedication for you.
