Marco Silva bemoans 'slow' Watford display in defeat to Stoke

Marco Silva says his Watford side played too slowly after gifting Stoke their early opener, which proved to be the winner at Vicarage Road.

Darren Fletcher's first-half volley was enough to separate the sides, which helped alleviate the pressure on Stoke manager Mark Hughes.

Watford dominated possession but failed to direct a single shot on target all match despite recording 13 attempts.

Silva was left frustrated by Stoke's defensive tactics, but admits his own side struggled to play to the standard he has come to expect.

"A defeat is always disappointing. First half we didn't play like we planned it. It was not our image in the first half," said Silva.

"These type of games when you start to command the match, our opponent came here to defend, to defend, to defend - to always put 10 men behind the ball.

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"We needed to do something different as in the first half we played too slow. And after we gave a gift with the first corner we conceded.

"In the second half we had three clear chances, and if we had scored then everything would have been different."

Tempers flared just before full-time, with Troy Deeney involved in an altercation with Joe Allen - an incident which resulted in yellow cards for both.

"It's normal I think. It's during the game. When the match has finished, everything is done," Silva added.

"Something happened in the match, and it's hard work for both teams. They came here with organisation, to wait, to wait, and we gave the first gift."

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