Watford go top with a deserved win

After 2 weeks of no action Watford were back with a fixture against Welwyn Pegasus. Today, was their first game with Abi being officially named as captain and Pippa being named as vice-captain. Proceedings started slowly for Watford, with Welwyn’s left winger firing a rocket of a shot into the roof of the net - Abi was left astounded. Completely stunned by the opening goal, Watford were made to work hard to gain possession of the ball and then formed a comfortable passage of play with no end product. Watford were starting with only 10 players, and with Saf having to take a break to rest her ankle, they were left with 9 on the field. Coach Roberto, had to switch formation putting Maya on the wing and leaving Iva as the only holding defender in order to pose a more attacking threat. This allowed Watford to gradually grow into the game with Welwyn unable to get the ball without showing their physical strength and therefore giving away many free kicks. Simi tormented her defender and following a through ball from Maya, Simi latched onto it and slotted the ball past the keeper into the net. With the tie now standing at 1-1, Watford were keen to get their nose in front. Towards the end of the half Watford earned a corner which was taken by Iva, who floated the cross which Aliyah attacked, with her header crashing against the post, so unlucky. The half ended 1-1.

Following the break, almost instantly from our kick, a neat passage of passes including some pristine 1 - 2’s led to a wonderful cross from Eva and a planted header from Simi which ended up putting Watford 1 goal ahead. They were in total domination of the game and the speed of Saf and Maya S on the wings led to numerous opportunities being created, but the finishing was just not there. Daisy and Illiana did an immense job, tracking their players like glue and not presenting any sight of goal to the opponents. The 3rd goal came about from another piece of great play on the wings - Pippa played a lovely ball infield to Eva who flicked the ball to Maya S, she completely destroyed her defender and fired a low ball across the face of goal for Aliyah to tuck in for her first Watford goal. More attempts came and went without a goal, a driving run from Maya S broke the lines of the opponents and played a through ball to Saf who fired her shot just over. Aliyah and Iva worked tirelessly in the midfield to keep Watford on the up and maintained control of the game. A throw in on the right wing from Saf to Maya S who skipped past three defenders led to her and being taken out for a penalty. Maya S stood up to take it but fired her shot just inches from the top right corner. The last 10 minutes of the game got a bit scrappy with Watford losing a bit of composure as the opposing team really tested their patience. The game ended with a very stormy and well deserved 3-1 victory putting Watford first in the league.
Player of the match - Aliyah