Watford vs Brighton and Hove Albion. Premier League.
Vicarage RoadAttendance20,181.
Saturday 26 August 2017 18:19, UK
Brighton picked up their first Premier League point with a 0-0 draw at Watford on Saturday - but will feel they should have taken all three against their 10-man hosts.
Watford's Miguel Britos was rightly shown a straight red card for a wild, knee-high lunge at Anthony Knockaert on 24 minutes. But despite playing 66 minutes with a man advantage, Brighton were unable to make the breakthrough, managing just two shots on target against their resolute opponents.
Knockaert had already hit the post with a curling left-foot effort when Britos was dismissed and Tomer Hemed struck the other upright with a deflected effort off Christian Kabasele as the visitors pushed to make the most of their numerical advantage before the interval.
Brighton piled on the pressure after the break and there was some confusion when they were awarded an indirect free-kick in the box after Abdoulaye Doucoure's high foot appeared to have caught Knockaert on the face. Referee Graham Scott judged Doucoure to have missed his opponent and refused appeals for a penalty, as Brighton - who are yet to score in three Premier League outings - struggled to trouble goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes.
Nathaniel Chalobah - celebrating his first England call-up - went close to opening the scoring on nine minutes, when his goal-bound header from Tom Cleverley's free-kick had to be hacked clear by Lewis Dunk as Watford had the better of the early exchanges.
However, Brighton - who had lost their first two Premier League fixtures to Manchester City and Leicester - eventually began to get a foothold, with livewire Knockaert clipping a left foot shot from the right against the far post.
Britos' recklessness then handed the visitors even more momentum, and the impressive Solly March carved out another good opening, but a combination of Hemed and defender Kabasele sent the ball onto the woodwork again.
Chalobah again showed his class with a low, arrowed shot just past the Brighton goal, but the Hornets were increasingly on the back foot and their cause wasn't helped when Craig Cathcart, who had come on following Britos' sending off, pulled up seconds after half-time.
Kiko Femenia produced a superb sliding challenge to prevent Pascal Gross latching on to March's cross on 50 minutes before March tried his luck from range, Dunk hit an indirect free-kick inside the Watford box over the bar and Knockaert mis-directed a header from a good position. Still Brighton couldn't find the decisive blow.
Indeed, Gomes' only real work of the second period came when Knockaert fired across goal from range, the keeper parrying well, as Watford threatened to strike on the counter, with the lively Richarlison leading several pacey charges up-field. But the hosts failed to unleash a shot on target at all as the spoils were shared.
Making his first Premier League start of the season, Brighton ace Knockaert provided the attacking creativity this team badly need.
While the Seagulls have once again gone goalless, Knockaert looked like their best chance of breaking the deadlock throughout the contest. He hit the post with a fine curling effort with his left, and forced Gomes to parry a similar strike just before the break.
He was fortunate not to be injured by Britos' fierce challenge, but that was a result of Knockaert getting the better of his marker repeatedly in the opening quarter of the game. He remained a threat in the second half, drawing a decent stop from Gomes with a long-range effort before being withdrawn late on.
Charlie Nicholas: "Brighton were slow starters today but the red card gave them a different angle on the game. They really should have won. They hit the post twice in the first half. They had some half decent chances. But the didn't have the know-how, the craft to make the change. Brighton missed an opportunity.
"Watford were counter-attacking but they couldn't really get it going. It took 84 minutes before they brought Troy Deeney on. Andre Gray hardly got a sniff all day. What's the future for Deeney? I think he'll be away. The tackle from Britos was a shocker. He knows he can't get near the ball and he jumps off the floor and takes out Knockaert. He should go an apologise to Knockaert."
Marco Silva, Watford: "Tough game, really tough game. We started very well. After then, the red card. And everything changed in the match. Our players showed me very good spirit, very good attitude. At half-time we changed some things in our organisation. We worked together, showed good organisation. Brighton created more and more moments to finish. But that's normal. Our boys worked really hard and showed fantastic spirit."
Chris Hughton, Brighton: "It's a penalty because if you look at the cut on Knockaert's nose he has caught him. The referee hasn't given it because he's not sure. Unfortunately for us on this occasion it's gone very much against us. As a team that has just been promoted we need to get whatever points we can. But I'm really pleased with how we went about our work today."
After the international break, Watford travel to Southampton and Brighton host West Brom. Both games are 3pm kick-offs on Saturday 9 September.
