Watford vs Middlesbrough. Sky Bet Championship.
Vicarage RoadAttendance20,002.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Watford and Middlesbrough at Vicarage Road on Saturday; Edo Kayembe and Kwadwo Baah seal a comeback victory for Tom Cleverley's Hornets over Boro.
Saturday 5 October 2024 18:30, UK
Watford came from behind against Middlesbrough to go into the international break on the back of a 2-1 victory.
The game burst into life after George Edmundson put the visitors ahead before substitutes Edo Kayembe and Kwadwo Baah hit back.
It was the perfect reaction to Watford's defeat by Preston in the week, as the hosts made six changes - Ryan Porteous, Tom Ince, Ken Sema, Daniel Jebbison, Tom Dele-Bashiru and Ryan Andrews all coming in.
Middlesbrough made one change with Michah Hamilton making his first league start for the Teessiders.
The away side started brightly and should have taken the lead after less than four minutes when Finn Azaz broke free and connected with a Luke Ayling cross but put his header wide.
After a lively start by the visitors, Watford started to get a foothold in the contest but produced little in the way of chances.
The game was notable for resolute defending by both sides whenever pressure was applied on them, although Ince did well to pounce on a mis-clearance on the hour mark but put the ball over the crossbar.
Like the first half, Middlesbrough started the second period of play on the front foot although the final ball was lacking too often for them.
However, the visitors took the lead eight minutes after the restart. A low free-kick from Azaz was poorly dealt with by Sema, who allowed the ball to roll under him for Edmundson to poke home from close range.
The goal was a welcome shot in the arm for the game as a spectacle, with the visitors looking to quickly double their advantage.
Goalkeeper Jonathan Bond was called into a double save on 63 minutes, firstly parrying Emmanuel Latte Lath's shot from outside the area then preventing Ben Doak from pouncing on the loose ball.
Watford needed inspiration, and they received it with 15 minutes remaining. A fine run on the right from Ryan Andrews found the feet of substitute Kayembe, who fired home past keeper Seny Dieng.
The goal lifted the Vicarage Road crowd and Kayembe almost added a second moments later, but Dieng was at full strength to keep his drive out.
The pace of Baah down the left flank was causing the Middlesbrough back line some issues as both sides looked for a late winner.
And it was the substitute who earned the points for the hosts with four minutes of regulation time left. A long throw from Andrews was flicked on into the path of Baah by Mattie Pollock and he netted with a half-volley.
Watford's Tom Cleverley:
"That was more of a top-six performance. The quality of the opposition we were playing, to compete against that, you know you're going to suffer some periods without the ball.
"Middlesbrough are one of, if not the, best team in possession in this division, that we've faced.
"To me that was a perfect way to respond, we showed our credentials today.
"The pace of Daniel Jebbison and Kwadwo Baah when he comes on, the quality and intelligence of Tom Ince, we can be a real threat.
"A lot of progress has been made with Baah in a short space of time, he was at Burton last year and his progress and attitude is top quality."
Middlesbrough's Michael Carrick:
"For three quarters of the game it was a good performance, so to sit here with nothing is very tough to take.
"There were a couple of things we didn't help ourselves with, which we'll need to look at - to let the game slip away from such a commanding position probably shows the level of performance we've had.
"It shows what we could be like if we're not quite at it. There's real big positives to take from it, but there's obviously a big negative at the end.
"We should still be able to see it off, we may not be able to win by two or three or four but we need to kill teams off."
