Domestic bliss

Watford v Hull City

Saturday 20^th October

When the national side has lost control of its Euro destiny on a plastic Russian pitch, what can you do but turn to the Championship for your football gratification? Rod had expressed an interest in coming to the Vic a while ago and I met him and Ticktock, his nephew, at Euston for the journey. We walked through Watford to the ground via the Buzz store, where Rod bought tops for each of them, and met Joss outside the shop at the Rookery.

This was Ticktock’s second football game, the first of which was in an executive box at Spurs, so a view of our dilapidated East Stand was probably a come-down but at least there was an atmosphere here for him to enjoy. John-Joe O’Toole started for Lee Williamson, who was sent off before the international break, and Richard Lee started for Mart Poom (who played against England last Saturday but apparently still hasn’t recovered from the bad back he had before the break). Watford, playing towards us, whacked the ball out of play from the kick-off again, in what seems to have become a tradition.

It was fairly balanced at the beginning but by the twentieth minute Marlon King had already troubled their defence and was able to get past the last man and place the ball into the corner of the goal nearest us and put the Horns 1-0 up. I hugged Joss and ruffled the hair in front of us. I gave Ticktock some pointers to help him get involved in the chanting but he only seemed to join in “We are top of the league”.

The game didn’t have the excitement of the first half of the Sheffield Wednesday game (nor the Scunthorpe match, apparently) but I had warned Rod that we’d try to shut up shop if we got ahead. Most entertainment in the second half was derived from the taunting of Dean Windass (who was greeted with “who ate all the pies”) by a fan mentioned before here (Curly). Curly held a pack of Oreos aloft and repeatedly attempted to draw “Deano’s” attention to the pack. The only other point of note was the removal of a fan by us for apparently throwing a fruit pastille onto the pitch. Who says football and sweets don’t mix?

The results that came through put Watford six points clear at the top of the division and, though it is of course early days, leaves us more confident than ever.