FOOTBALLSkyBet Championship
Watford 1-1 West Ham United: Match Report
Amin Nabizada's exquisite chip is cancelled out by a Mattie Pollock own goal as Watford and West Ham United share the points in front of a bumper Vicarage Road crowd.
In this report
Watford and West Ham United drew 1-1 at Vicarage Road in front of 20,976, the biggest crowd at the ground since Liverpool visited in the Premier League. Watford started the day eighth, West Ham 16th and still without a Championship win since relegation.
Watford came in off a Carabao Cup first round win over Crawley Town, a league win over Southampton, a 1-1 draw at Wrexham and a heavy midweek cup exit at home to Peterborough United. West Ham arrived after a cup win over Portsmouth, a 2-2 draw at Burnley, a derby defeat to Charlton Athletic and a 4-1 second round cup win at Southampton.
Alessio Dionisi named an unchanged side from the draw at Wrexham, with Imran Louza having joined Panathinaikos. Nuno Espirito Santo made three changes, Joel Veltman, Divine Mukasa and the debutant Airidas Golambeckis coming in for Konstantinos Mavropanos, Ollie Scarles and Joel Piroe, with James Ward-Prowse sold to Southampton in midweek.
Timeline of key events
- 7'
Bove booked for a foul on Kante
- 13'
Nabizada shoots wide after a Pollock crossfield pass
- 19'
1-0 Nabizada. - a chipped right-footed finish over the goalkeeper and two defenders
- 20'
Iker Bravo denied by a block and a Hermansen save
- 27'
1-1 Pollock (og). - Castellanos' effort deflects in off the captain
- 31'
Veltman booked
- 36'
Golambeckis heads over from a corner
- Half time:
Watford 1 West Ham United 1
- 49'
Keben booked
- 55'
Engels curls wide from 20 yards
- 60'
Payero and Doumbia on for Watford
- 65'
Piroe and Orford on for West Ham United
- 73'
Vata on for Maamma (Watford)
- 85-86'
Kayembe on for Watford; Scarles on for Walker-Peters
- 88'
Pollock denies Solomon with a fine tackle in the area
- Full time:
Watford 1 West Ham United 1
West Ham started brightly in heavy rain but Watford took the lead in the 19th minute with a moment of quality, Nabizada dinking a right-footed chip over the goalkeeper and two defenders from inside the area after good work from captain Mattie Pollock. Iker Bravo almost added a second moments later, denied by a block and a Mads Hermansen save.
The equaliser arrived in the 27th minute. Kevin Keben was caught in possession inside his own area under pressure and Taty Castellanos' effort went in off Pollock for an own goal. Veltman was booked for delaying a restart, and Golambeckis headed over from a corner as West Ham finished the half on top.
Keben was booked early in the second half for a strong challenge on Mukasa. West Ham grew into the game through Bowen and Manor Solomon, Arne Engels curling narrowly wide from 20 yards. Dionisi turned to Martin Payero and Mamadou Doumbia on the hour, and Nuno sent on Piroe and Lewis Orford.
Watford tired but began to counter with more purpose in the closing quarter. Bravo forced a corner off Maximilian Kilman and Pollock produced a crucial challenge to deny Solomon inside the box in the 88th minute. Neither side could find a winner and the points were shared.
West Ham United host Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday, while Watford travel to Swansea City the same night.
Match statistics
| Metric | Watford | West Ham United |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 1 | 1 |
| Yellow Cards | 3 | 1 |
| Red Cards | 0 | 0 |
| Attendance | 20,976 |
Possession, shots, passing and fouls: official match data issued in the press box. Expected goals: third party provider, as published. Saves counted at the ground and verified against the team sheet.
Match details
- Competition
- SkyBet Championship
- Venue
- Vicarage Road, Watford
- Attendance
- 20,976
- Referee
- Robert Madley - Assistant Referees: Constantine Hatzidakis, Conor Brown - 4th Official: Ben Atkinson
- Watford (4-2-3-1)
- Ravaglia - Traore, Pollock (c), Keben, Zemura - Bove, Kyprianou - Nabizada (60, Payero), Bravo (85, Kayembe), Maamma (73, Vata) - Kjerrumgaard (60, Doumbia). Unused: Bachmann (G), Walker (G), Chikovani, Adu-Poku, Eames
- West Ham United (4-4-1-1)
- Hermansen - Walker-Peters (86, Scarles), Golambeckis, Kilman, Veltman - Bowen (c), Engels, Kante (65, Orford), Solomon - Mukasa (65, Piroe) - Castellanos. Unused: Herrick (G), Mayers, Casey, Lamadrid, Ajala, Pablo
Editorial judgement, not a statistic
William Powell's standout players
Amin Nabizada (Watford) - A brilliant chip for the opening goal before tiring after an hour
Hector Kyprianou (Watford) - A tireless ball-winner who covered the ground in midfield
Jordan Zemura (Watford) - Kept Jarrod Bowen quiet with sound defensive work
Airidas Golambeckis (West Ham United) - Calm and assured on debut in the centre of defence
Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United) - Showed his class with some lovely touches as West Ham improved
Selected by William Powell at the ground.
William Powell
Senior Editor · FWA Life Member · Sports Journalist since 1987
William Powell is CUVA Sports' senior editor and lead correspondent, covering football and cricket at the highest level for nearly four decades. A Life Member of the Football Writers' Association, his writing combines deep tactical knowledge with the narrative flair of the best sports journalism.
