Catching complacency

Watford v Blackpool

Saturday 29^th September

Nobody was in when I rolled up to Kerry’s but a quick phone-call to Joss reassured me that he was just round the corner after catching a bus back from ‘town’ with a new pair of shoes and a bag of cat litter for their new kitten, Ollie. Dex died a month or so back and is buried under a new flowerbed in the back garden.

We walked to the ground predicting victory and sat down earlier than we have at home this season. So early, in fact, that we were able to see a section for wheelchairs very close to us that is either new or usually hidden by fans. It was the same starting line-up as last week and we were hoping that Marlon King would score his first home goal of the season. While he worked hard, he didn’t get many chances to shoot.

Like last week, there were elements of our opponents just trying to stop us playing, which is a compliment but one we have to learn to overcome if we are going to return to the Premiership. Blackpool played five in midfield and smothered us effectively. Nevertheless, a free-kick just before half-time gave the impressive Adam Johnson, who’d been booked for diving earlier, the chance to show he could curl a ball over a wall as well as he could go past defenders and we went into the break one up, like last week.

Ten minutes into the second half Betty took off Darius Henderson and Johnson, who’d gone down very easily right in front of us, for Nathan Ellington and Jobi McAnuff to boos from the home supporters. It didn’t do the trick and the Duke was poor while McAnuff’s failure to challenge for a ball is said to have led to the penalty Blackpool were awarded with twenty minutes left, which they converted.

The level of possession they’d had meant they deserved the draw they got but Watford, despite hitting the bar twice, seemed…what? Complacent? Passionless? For much of the game until the final minutes brought a desire to keep the one hundred percent home record. We walked back more interested by the Portsmouth v Reading score (7-4) than by any football we’d witnessed, though admittedly pleased to see we were still top despite two lacklustre displays.

It’s Joss birthday tomorrow and I’d been told there’d be a little party for him but Trevor and Sarah weren’t coming round and Kerry was still up the “town” when I rang her. Joss and I had a couple of games of chess and the younger Watford Boy won his first ever victory. Maybe complacency is contagious?