Sport

Watford fail to cope with set pieces

The growing gap between the Premiership and the First Division is normally measured in terms of finance

By MARTIN THORPE
Mon Jan 04 1999 - 00:00

The growing gap between the Premiership and the First Division is normally measured in terms of finance. On Saturday the chasm was on the pitch.

With Watford fifth in the First Division, the prospect of Graham Taylor's innocents playing in the top flight next season sparks the sort of dread one normally feels watching England tail-enders face leg-spin. "Our supporters may see this game and say, `Better we stay in the First Division'," joked the Watford manager.

Although Tottenham went behind after 53 seconds and at times defended with a derangement that had their manager George Graham groaning in frustration, the gap between the teams was, as Taylor admitted, "there for everybody to see.

"Today we've seen a bit of what we will face if we go up. The strength, the pace, the gifted individuals, and we're currently talking about a mid-table side. There are much more of those qualities in the Premiership than 11 years ago when I had Watford up there before. But that's the challenge."

READ MORE

With money for new players scarce, that is one hell of a challenge for the man who ended his time in charge of England ridiculed as a turnip but is happily proving that he still knows his managerial onions.

Watford's main difficulty on Saturday was coping with Spurs' crosses and set pieces. And that after they had gone ahead within a minute when Ben Iroha's run at goal climaxed with a shot against the bar tapped in by Richard Johnson.

Six minutes later Micah Hyde hit a post but soon afterwards Steffen Iversen, back after a broken jaw in place of the suspended Chris Armstrong, headed in unmarked from Darren Anderton's tapped corner-kick.

Two minutes later Spurs, already League Cup semi-finalists, were ahead when Steve Palmer handled a free-kick from Anderton, who then converted the penalty. Another tapped corner, again Anderton to Ruel Fox to Anderton, set up Iversen's second.

Watford got back into the game at 3-2 when suicidal defending by Stephen Carr allowed Peter Kennedy a free header, but just before the interval Allan Nielsen pounced on Hyde's poor clearance to drive home from 25 yards.

Spurs created the bulk of the second-half chances and eventually scored again when Iversen chested down David Ginola's far post cross to set up Fox for a tap-in.

Taylor was delighted with his young team: "But we can actually perform much better than we did at White Hart Lane. We've come a long way in the last year but I'm certainly not going to hold any major inquest with the players into what went wrong."

Tottenham: Walker, Carr, Nielsen, Fox, Anderton (Clemence 66), Ferdinand, Ginola, Iversen, Sinton (Edinburgh 88), Campbell, Young. Subs Not Used: Baardsen, Calderwood, Allen. Booked: Carr. Goals: Iversen 11, Anderton 14 pen, Iversen 20, Nielsen 43, Fox 87.

Watford: Chamberlain, Bazeley, Kennedy, Page, Palmer, Iroha, Smart (Wright 65), Hyde (Rosenthal 46), Noel-Williams, Johnson, Robinson. Subs Not Used: Day, Hazan, Gibbs. Booked: Iroha. Goals: Johnson 1, Kennedy 34.

Referee: T Jones (Leicester).