Ground 44: Home Park

Plymouth 0-0 Daggers

Sometimes in these 6 pointers, it's more important to avoid defeat rather than take the 3 points, this was one of those days. We set off around 8:15 to catch our train from London Paddington at 10:06. The longest train journey I have been on lasting just over 3 hours before I arrived in Plymouth at 1:15. Despite the station being only 10 minutes from Home Park, using my trusted Google maps I took my young companions Chaz and Nick on a little tour around Plymouth with the walk taking 30 minutes.

Beautiful Devon coast..

My first impression of Home Park was a very friendly place and a very nice ground for this level. I absolutely loved the area of Devon which was very coastal and seemed to have a very relaxed feel about it. We arrived in the ground to watch it fill up as I helped put up the Daggers flag and spoke to a few of our fans on their thoughts for today's game. The sides were announced as Argyle made two changes to the side that won at Stanley last week with ex Barnet keeper Jake Cole returning to the side as did left back Robbie Williams who had the classic song 'Let Me Entertain You' played before his name was read out which was top banter from the Devon club. The Daggers were forced to make a few changes after their thrashing against Cheltenham the week before. John Still handed on loan Watford keeper Jon Bond and on loan Saints winger Ben Reeves both debuts as they came straight into the side. The Daggers also gave Damien McCrory a start at his former club as left back Femi was out with a thigh strain. A slight tactical change with Scott Doe going to right back and Mickey Spillane slotting in at centre half was the only other change to starting 11 while Rob Edmans was handed a place on the bench.

Home Park - Lovely Ground.

Plymouth started the better in this one as they dominated the early possession, failure to clear the ball from the young Ben Reeves allowed ex QPR full back Paul Bignot to dispossess him and provide the experienced the Nick Chadwick a chance which he hit narrowly over the bar. Plymouth were soon on the attack again as Bignot again involved put through the 21 year old Alex MacDonald through who was stopped by a last gasp tackle from Daggers skipper Mark Arber. The Daggers had a few half chances as they went close as McCrory and Woodall both provided threatening crosses with no one to enforce an end product. MacDonald continued to be a nuisance as he provided some good footwork to set up fellow Argyle youngster Conor Hourihane with an excellent chance as he hit just over the bar. The Daggers had weathered the storm well and were glad to hear the half time whistle. A constant annoyance in the half was the Argyle mascot who seemed to stand far too close to our keeper Jon Bond and came onto the pitch twice. In my opinion, the mascot is no different to a fan like you or me so does not have a right to come on the pitch. I notified a steward at half time who was very helpful and agreed with my views as the mascot was not seen for the rest of the game.

Enjoying my away day as always...

After hoping to push on in the second half, it was very much one way traffic as Plymouth backed by an incredible 7,711 Argyle fans went in search of taking a lead. Bond made his first good save of the game as he saved a long range effort from Hourihane who had scored an absolute thunderbolt in the reverse fixture this season. The Daggers then settled into the second half and were defending fantastically well as Argyle were restricted a long range effort from Robbie Williams. Carl Fletcher made two changes to try and help his side win the game as he withdrew Luke Young and the lively Ashley Hemmings for Congolese Juhvel Tsoumou and Luke Daley respectively. Daley was straight in the action as he took advantage of a static Daggers defence after the ball looked to have gone out of play when he hit a long range effort that had well beaten Bond but didn't have enough to beat the post. It was absolute bedlam in the Daggers penalty area as a threatening cross from Maxime Blanchard was punched out by Bond only to fall to left back Williams who drove the ball goalwards only to hit the same post, that post really was playing a blinder. MacDonald had another curling shot saved by Bond as the Daggers looked to be hanging on. A battling last 10 minutes where Plymouth looked to have run out of ideas gave the Daggers a precious and slightly deserved point for their disciplined defending all afternoon.

Packed Home Park before kick off..

We made our way back to the station the short way this time as we waited for our train to depart Plymouth. The highlight of my day was being joined on the train home by all the playing and coaching staff who had taken part in the game. The players were all very humble and approachable as I spoke to quite a few of them and posed for pictures as I was a little in awe. Special mentions have to go to skipper Mark Arber who despite his black eye was in good spirits and First Team Coach Wayne Burnett who was very friendly and a real humble guy. Josh Scott also deserves a special mention for his amazing swagger as he was rocking his Fresh Ego Kid hat endorsed by former player Marvin Morgan and also wearing Dr Dre Beats. A really good spirit was carried through on the train home as Adam Cunnington was seen purchasing a celebratory beer and Medhi Elito seemed to have issues with topping up his oyster on the tube home. All part of supporting this small club from Essex.

Me & Super skipper Arbs

Looking back at the game as we focus on our players, I thought there were a lot of positives to be taken from this game. While being dominated by a very persistent Argyle side, we defended the best I've seen us defend all season. This was the first 0-0 in a league fixture for over 100 games and our first clean sheet in the league since Boxing Day. Bond seemed to make a few key saves but seemed a bit reluctant to catch anything and preferred to punch which I put down to nerves. The back four looked decent despite my worries of Doe of playing right back and McCrory did well with a very impressive winger in Ashley Hemmings. The midfield seemed to battle well with Saunders and Ogogo sticking to their defensive duties. Reeves looked a very exciting prospect on the ball while Nursey seemed ineffective again as his form has been lacking throughout the season. The front two didn't get too much service but did well when they did, a big point that needs to be made on Woodall is while he has fantastic potential, he needs to get involved in the physical side a little bit more. All in all, a really good point on the road and keeps us in touching distance going into the game at Morecambe on Tuesday Night. Stay Positive. Believe. We are Dagenham.

Bye Devon.. Hope to see you next season.

Plymouth v The Daggers - Preview

Tomorrow, we travel to Plymouth Argyle Football Club in what is arguably our biggest game of the season to date. All season both teams have been down the wrong end of the table in a relegation dogfight and both teams still remain there going into tomorrow's match. Surprisingly, both teams were League One sides last season and both received the same fate of relegation. Both clubs have not adapted well to League Two life and tomorrow's encounter can be seen as nothing less than a 6 pointer from both perspectives. To say the last two season's have been eventful for Argyle would be a massive understatement. The Pilgrims have received back to back relegation's from the Championship as their attendances have now dropped by 50% compared to their first season in the Championship in the 2004/2005 season. It was only 5 seasons ago that the Devonshire club finished 10th in the Championship with now Wolves striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake finishing top scorer with 13 goals. Plymouth had some very well known and respected managers in their time in the Championship with Stoke's Tony Pulis, Blackpool's Ian Holloway and Southend's Paul Sturrock being some of the big names who had spells with the club. The decline was dramatic for Argyle as they spent just one year in League One under the very well respected Peter Reid after they were put into adminstration and received a 10 point deduction last season. With the players and staff of the club having not been paid for months, the club was on the brink of liquidation and rookie Chairman Peter Risdale was desperate for a buyer. The club finally found a buyer in James Brent who bought the club and finally led them to exit adminstration on the 31st October. In this time, the managerial role was also changed despite tremendous loyalty shown by Peter Reid ,including selling his cup winners medal to raise funds for the club, their poor league position meant he was relieved of his duties and player/manager ex Palace and West Ham midfielder Carl Fletcher took over the reins.

The Green Army has had a tough few seasons to say the least.

Recent Form

Argyle seem to be picking up a bit of form in the past few weeks as they are now unbeaten in 3 games. Draws at home to Barnet and Southend followed up by an emphatic 4-0 win away at Accrington Stanley last week has lifted them out of the bottom two and into 21st. Carl Fletcher's men are now also unbeaten in 4 at home and were last defeated at home to Torquay on the 2nd January. The Pilgrims will be looking to keep their unbeaten record in February up as 3 points tomorrow would take them 6 points ahead of ourselves who are at the foot of the table at the moment.

The Daggers have not had the best starts to 2012 as we have only picked up 4 points out of a possible 21. The nightmare showing last week where we were defeated 5-0 at home to high flyers Cheltenham put us into 24th position and 3 points behind fellow strugglers Plymouth, Hereford and Northampton with a massive dent in our goal difference as well. The Daggers have conceded 9 goals in their last 3 games and will need to be drastically better defensively if we are to get anything out of tomorrow's game.

Previous Encounters

The Daggers may well see Plymouth as a bogey team after losing all 3 previous league encounters with the Devonshire club. Last season saw Argyle come out on top 2-1 at Home Park in their lowest ever crowd since they were in the bottom tier with only 4,960 turning out. The Daggers took the lead in this one with a rare Gavin Tomlin goal before second half strikes from now Brighton Hove Albion's Craig Noone and Rory Patterson giving Argyle all 3 points. The second encounter between the two sides came on Good Friday where Argyle were all but down and the Daggers desperately needed the 3 points. On a bright and sunny afternoon, that man again Rory Patterson struck a free kick to give them the 3 points as he was also later dismissed for a 2nd bookable offence. The reverse fixture this season was also high drama in a 5 goal thriller where Plymouth came out on top 3-2. In Plymouth's first away win of the season, they went into a 2 goal lead with strikes from 16 year old Matt Lecointe and Conor Hourihane whose second strike would be fit to grace the Premier League. The Daggers showed good bouncebackability in this one as within 6 minutes they were level with two headers from Scott Doe and Jon Nurse where both goals were supplied by former Pilgrim Damien McCrory. However, in a cruel twist of fate, McCrory was adjudged to have brought down Isaac Vassell in a highly controversial decision resulting in a red card for McCrory and skipper Simon Walton converting the penalty to give Argyle all 3 points.

The two sides line up in the reverse fixture in October...

Team News

There is no official word on Argyle's team news yet but one would expect a pretty similar side to the one that ran out comfortable 4-0 winners last week at Accrington which includes Argyle legend Paul Wotton and the ever experienced skipper Darren Purse. Carl Fletcher's men seem to have a mix of youth and experience with the youngsters such as Connor Hourihane, Matt Lecointe and Luke Daley mixed with the likes of Purse, Wotton and Nick Chadwick.

The Daggers will be forced into a few changes after last week with keeper Chris Lewington being suspended for 2 games, on loan from Watford Jon Bond will be expected to deputise in goal. The Daggers have also moved to bring in Saints winger Ben Reeves who may go straight into tomorrow's side. No other fresh new injury worries but the game is expected to come too soon for central midfielder Luke Howell who is back in training.

One To Watch:

A difficult choice for me with the Argyle squad having a lot of potential and experience as I decided to opt with captain Simon Walton. Walton joined Argyle in 2008 and has had a rocky career at the Devonshire club. Walton has been loaned out 3 times in his Argyle career to Blackpool, Crewe and Sheffield United. Walton has had his fair share of controversy when he fell out with Paul Sturrock and was transfer listed. Despite this, it seems Walton has finally put his troubles behind him and is having a successful season under Carl Fletcher who has handed him the captiancy this season. Although, Walton started on the bench last week, he has started 31 times for Plymouth in all competitions and has scored 8 goals for them this season making himself the top scorer at the club. The defensive midfielder seems to have a real good engine and will be a real tough opponent if selected tomorrow.

Walton is also engaged to glamour model Nicola Tappenden.

My Prediction:

As you all know, I never make direction predictions on games, just how I think the game will go and where it will be won and lost. Last week's result would obviously have knocked the dressing room's confidence however I feel with strong leadership from Arbs and the philosophy of gaffer John Still, we'll be fine and well prepared for tomorrow's make or break game. I am incredibly nervous for this one and have avoided thinking too much about the game this week if I'm honest. However, I do have this to say, we must see this a must win game but if we don't, it is not over. We have 15 games left after tomorrow's match and we should not be written off. A lot of our fans have already wrote us off after last week's result but one bad day at the office does not relegate you. There are 66 points available to fight for and we must continue to support and believe in the boys, as much as you may not realise your negativity spreads onto the pitch and this is not helpful. I remain optimistic as always and believe there is enough talent in the squad to keep us up and it is time for the whole squad to stand up and be counted. I will post my match report on Sunday as Home Park is a new ground for me and will be my 44th League ground. Stay Positive. Believe. We are Dagenham.

The Daggers team huddle on that sunny afternoon in October.

My reaction if we manage to get 3 points tomorrow afternoon..

Daggers v Cheltenham

Well yesterday could well be the worst game of the season so far for us Daggers and I can imagine there a few like myself still hurting from the result. I was going into the game with a bit of hope due to Cheltenham's recent form and the fact I felt our performances had been a little bit better lately. The Daggers made two changes to the side that were defeated by Oxford on Tuesday night as the impressive Medhi Elito and ex Gresley man Brian Woodall came in for tricky winger Dominic Green and former Palace graduate Billy Bingham. This meant the Daggers reverted to going back to 4-4-2 in oppose to the recent 4-3-3 that has been used in recent weeks. Cheltenham made 3 changes to the side that lost to Torquay in midweek as they welcomed back the experienced centre half Steve Elliot, journeyman Josh Low and ex Bournemouth striker Jeff Goulding which forced the discplined Keith Lowe, on loan James Spencer and Scottishman Daryl Duffy out of the starting eleven.

With 3 hours sleep, I decided to resume the drinking session just after 1 in the clubhouse as I watched the early FA Cup clash between Chelsea and Birmingham. I then bumped into Fenners from Take It Like A Fan who were at the Daggers yesterday on my way out into the ground, really don't understand why all these famous people want their pictures with me? The Daggers had the early exchanges with two half chances from ex Colchester winger Medhi Elito and the dangerous Brian Woodall which gave the Daggers some confidence to settle into the game. Cheltenham were professional and then came into the game themselves where a last ditch tackle prevented ex Kidderminster midfielder Russell Penn from taking a lead. The promising Daggers keeper Chris Lewington was then at full stretch as to prevent the returning Jeff Goulding. However, it wasn't long before the visitors took the lead as ex Argyle midfielder Luke Summerfield picked up the ball from a corner and hit a rocket shot into the top corner. The Daggers were right under the cosh at this point and ex Leatherhead stopper Lewy was scrambling in his goal soon after he just about managed to keep out a long goal kick from the Robins keeper Scott P Brown. Mark Yates men soon doubled their lead as the Daggers failed to clear their lines and ex Gashead centre half Steve Elliott captilised to slot the ball past Lewy.

The teams shook hands before kick off...

The Daggers almost got back into the game as striker Brian Woodall squandered a header from 9 yards to give Daggers a bit of hope. However, the games major turning point was to come, after a sloppy header back from experienced centre half Scott Doe, Lewy attempted to grab the ball in order to prevent the oncoming Cheltenham striker from taking the ball. Unfortunately, Lewy found himself out of his box and was consequently shown a straight red card for deliberate handball. A tight decision that was made by Football League debutant referee Mr Mohareb was judged to be the right decision on the television replays. Things then went from bad to worse for us as sub keeper Dave Hogan came on for winger Elito and his first action into the game was parrying the resulting free kick straight into the pathway of Welshman Kaid Mohamed who made it 3-0. The Daggers then were completley stunned as January acquistion Mickey Spillane missed a header and a few rash challenges were made just before the break.

Take It Like A Fan attempted to lighten the mood...

A dejected Daggers side came out to attempt to survive another 45 minutes with just 10 men and little hope for getting back into this game. The pace of the game was a lot slower as Cheltenham relaxed enjoying some good possession while the Daggers huffed and puffed. The 4th goal came just after the half hour mark as the promising left back Femi failed to clear the ball and allow James Spencer the chance to smash home a 4th. This is where my match report on the game ends as I couldn't take anymore, I never condemn leaving a game early but the way the match had gone was too much for me to handle. I watch this team week in, week out and it means so much to me so would not call myself unloyal for my actions. I drowned my sorrows in the clubhouse as it came up that Cheltenham had added a 5th to the game. I did watch the 5th goal later which summed up our day as Daggers defender Mickey Spillane deflected the ball into his own net.

Reflecting on this game, this defeat will live long in the memory as it hurt to see our boys get absolutely demolished and being outclassed by another side in this league. We returned to the bottom of the league on goal difference despite Northampton not being in action which made the day even worse. We travel to relegation rivals Plymouth next week in a vital make or break game this season. Win it and this week's result will be forgotten, draw it and we have a standing chance and if we lose it, it is unthinkable and it will be a long road to safety. A lot of the players tweeted expressing their feelings on the game apologising to the fans, next week is the time to turn things round. All is not lost yet but this defeat will have drained a lot of confidence from us all. I will address you in the week regarding the game at Home Park next week which I will be attending as always. Take care. Stay Positive.

Myself with Fenners from Take It Like A Fan.

Ground 43: Oxford v The Daggers

Oxford 2-1 Daggers

Due to the recent weather and big freeze we've had across the country, like most teams this was the Daggers first game for 2 weeks and our first fixture in February. The Daggers had won the last time out at the end of January when they beat South Yorkshire side Rotherham 3-2. Oxford however had not won in 3 games and may have been welcome of the break that postponements gave them. Going into the game Oxford sat just inside the play offs on goal difference while the Daggers sat just outside of the relegation zone by 1 point. This was a game which both teams desperately needed the points for contrasting reasons.

We set off around 4 o'clock from Chadwell Heath as we planned to get the train from London Paddington at 17:50. We made this train and arrived at Oxford station just before 7 which we then caught a taxi to the ground as it is a considerable 4 miles from the ground. My first impressions of The Kassam Stadium was that it reminded me a lot of The New Den, home to Millwall FC. While it looked very nice and modern, it seemed to lack a bit of culture and tradition and therefore atmosphere. The team news was quickly read out as we took to our surroundings. With both teams first in action since the transfer deadline day, there was a few players making debuts for either sides. Oxford welcomed the deadly Scott Rendell, ex Doncaster midfielder Mark Wilson and striker Oli Johnson to make their full debuts while providing other new signings ex Swindon striker Medhi Kerrouche and midfielder Lee Holmes places on the bench. The Daggers gave a debut to ex Fulham and Lincoln man Matthew Saunders as the Daggers also welcomed back the skillful Dominic Green from injury. Star man Brian Woodall was injured which meant the strong Josh Scott and top scorer Jon Nurse joined Green to form a front three. Lively winger Medhi Elito was also welcomed back to the bench for the Daggers.

43/92

The first half was not the liveliest of halves as both teams seemed to be lacking a bit of tempo and cutting edge from the 2 week break. The Daggers seemed to be keeping their shape well but struggling to maintain possession. The only real chance the host's seemed to create was down to some hesitant defending from young Billy Bingham who was outmuscled by ex Luton Town midfielder Asa Hall who couldn't trouble Lewy between the sticks. In fact it was The Daggers who probably created the best chance of the half after some good build up play from the composed Mickey Spillane, the ball fell to Bingham who forced non league journeyman Ryan Clarke into a good save as Daggers couldn't capitalise on the rebound. The two teams went in stalemate at the break with both managers probably expecting more from their sides.

The sides line up before kick off...

The second half was defiantly where the action started as ex Halifax manager Chris Wilder introduced central midfielder Lee Holmes to the game to replace Asa Hall. The U's started the half the better and were in front 6 minutes after the break. Some good work from left back Liam Davis who provided the cross for Oli Johnson to open his account for Wilder's men. Lewy was left with no chance as the Daggers defence really need to reevaluate their slack marking for the goal. The Daggers reacted immediately as skipper Mark Arber had an effort cleared off the line. John Still then made the tactical change withdrawing Billy Bingham for striker Adam Cunnington as ex Posh man Dom Green dropped back into midfield. Still soon after introduced the influential Medhi Elito for Green and it was the ex Colchester winger's cross which found South African Mark Arber who headed across Clarke to put the Daggers back on level terms. Cue the Poznan from the 119 travelling fans...

The Daggers now had the ascendancy and had two guilt edge chances which could have put them in front. Firstly, after more good work from Elito he laid it back to Josh Scott who was too eager as he opened up his body too soon allowing U's skipper Jake Wright a chance to block the shot. Then, Cunnington showed some impressive technique as he hit a shot on the half volley which had Clarke beaten but only hit the post. Unfortunately, the Daggers were hit with a killer blow as after passes were exchanged between substitute Medhi Kerrouche and goalscorer Oli Johnson he put through the prolific James Constable who smashed home the winner for Oxford. Controversy followed this goal as replays show the striker to be two yards offside however there was no flag from the linesman and the goal stood. The Daggers pushed to equalise once more in the remaining 11 minutes but it wasn't to be as we dropped back into the relegation zone on goal difference.

Arbs saluting the travelling fans..

Reflecting on another highly disappointing loss, I felt we could have and maybe should have had a point last night. Their winning goal being offside doesn't particularly help our cause but these decisions go against you in football sometimes and I'm sure it will even itself out in the due course of the season. I was content with the level of the performance and felt the shape was good but it is still worrying times as we continue to yoyo in and out of the relegation zone. The introduction of Medhi Elito was key to us having a dominant period over Oxford and feel if he can match that level of performance every week he will be a key assest to us between now and the end of the season. Other stand out players on the Daggers side were skipper Mark Arber who seems to be proving his critics wrong and left back Femi had another accomplished game. We just made it back to Oxford station to catch our train home at 22:11 and then made the last train from Stratford to Chadwell Heath as I got home at 1 o'clock in the morning very fatigued and ready for bed. We host high flying Cheltenham Town on Saturday where I shall address you all again on Friday with the preview of the game.

Ground 42: Vicarage Road - Home to Watford FC

After my scheduled trip to Morecambe was cancelled on Friday due to the postponement of the Daggers fixture away to Morecambe due to a frozen pitch, I quickly thought on my feet and looked at my other options in order to satisfy my need of live football every Saturday. With a host of games being postponed due to the weather I didn't have many options, after discussion with my little brother Chaz we decided we was going to visit Vicarage Road, home to Watford FC as they were at home to Barnsley in the Npower Championship. With ticket prices being excellent value for money and after discovering Watford were wealthy enough to have undersoil heating, we purchased our tickets online Friday night and were looking forward to visiting the Hertfordshire club and a new ground.

Watford 2-1 Barnsley

As always, I was quite excited for the game as I haven't seen much Championship football this season and hadn't seen either of these teams play this season. Both were showing signs of being comfortable mid table sides with Watford sitting 18th possibly slightly wary of being dragged into a relegation scrap despite being 9 points clear of relegation, Barnsley slightly more comfortable as they were 13th in the league, 6 points off the play offs.

The Vicarage Road Stand housing the Watford & Barnsley fans.

We set off around 12 as me and Chaz met fellow Daggers Nick and Matt at Chadwell Heath as we made our routine trip to Euston before going overground to Watford High Street in a journey which took the best part of two hours. A 10 minute walk from the station, we followed the crowd to the ground which was a rare occasion for us as we usually find ourselves using Google maps when we go to the likes of Crewe, Accrington, Burton etc. with crowds being less than 4,000 and not a lot of people around to ask for directions. After eventually collecting our tickets and finding where our seats were, we went into the ground at around 2:50pm. We had an excellent view dead on the half way line in The Rous Stand which ran along the side of the pitch which seemed very similar to Stamford Bridge's East Stand obviously with slightly less capacity.

The Rookery Stand housing all home fans.

Sean Dyche's Watford were totally unchanged from their much needed victory at Millwall in midweek with the bench being identical to the one on Tuesday night as well. Keith Hill also left Barnsley's side unchanged after their thrilling 3-2 win at home to Derby on Tuesday night however he made one alteration to his bench as he gave new signing ex Reading left back Scott Golbourne a place on the bench in replacement of striker Reuben Noble-Lazarus. With both teams picking up impressive wins in midweek wins, you would expect both of them to be in good spirits coming into this encounter.


The player's came out for the first half..

Watford were the far more dominant side in the first half and created most of the opening chances in the first 20 minutes. Barnsley enjoyed some good possession but were often forced to revert to long ball due to the constant pressure of the impressive Watford midfield who allowed the Yorkshire side little time on the ball. The first chance was from the lively Watford winger Alex Kacaniklic who fired wide after some tricky footwork. Barnsley also had a half chance when centre half Rob Edwards wasted a free header from a Michael Tonge corner. The opening goal did come just after the half hour after the experienced Hornets skipper John Eustace showed good improvisation as he volleyed Sean Murray's free kick over his shoulder to give Watford a deserved lead. Watford then controlled the rest of the half however they couldn't capitalise on their dominance despite some impressive build up play.

Watford's team huddle before the game..

Keith Hill had a lot of work to do in the Barnsley dressing room at half time as they really hadn't got a foothold in this game yet. The only bright spark from the Tykes was the blonde playmaker David Perkins who I'd seen a lot of at Rochdale and Darlington who was having a very good contest with the talented Watford midfielder Jonathan Hogg. The home side continued the second half in the manner they ended the first when ex Stoke man Eustace beat the offside trap and wasted a glorious chance as he headed over from 8 yards. On an extremely cold day, conditions weren't ideal as both sides worked hard to get the edge on their opponents. However, it was a bit of magic from the star man John Eustace that doubled Watford's advantage as he went through the Tyke's defence to put the ball past the Barnsley keeper Luke Steele. Watford target man Troy Deeney forced ex Man United keeper Luke Steele into another good save before with 6 minutes to go debutant Scott Golbourne threw Barnsley a lifeline as he was the only one to react to Scott Wiseman's cross to make it 2-1. A nervous last 5 minutes resulted in Watford grinding out a deserved 3 points for Sean Dyche's men to put them up to 16th in the table while Barnsley dropped to 15th only 3 points above their opponents.

In difficult conditions, I don't believe I saw the best of either sides in this game however Watford seemed to deal with the conditions slightly better as their two central midfielders John Eustace and Jonathan Hogg were exceptional in controlling the game. On the way home I reflected and discussed if anyone out there would be good enough to grace the Premier League. I identified four potential players who might be able to step up to the next level who were all part of the home side as Barnsley seemed very ordinary and no one stood out for me in a side who looked a lot like Keith Hill's side when he was at Rochdale who had 4 ex Dale players from his reign in his 16 man squad yesterday. I thought the young Jonathan Hogg looked very impressive and had great potential to make it at the next level, I also thought despite his age John Eustace would be a good addition to one of the lower positioned Premier League sides, I thought centre half Adrian Mariappa who nearly left for Newcastle in the transfer window just gone was solid and didn't do much wrong and also thought the Hornets keeper Scott Loach who has been involved with the England set up was very good and organised when called upon yesterday.

I found Vicarage Road a pleasant atmosphere and would imagine it a nice place to play football for any young player. The Watford fans were not very vocal but were very welcoming and seemed to be very content with what they were seeing in a crowd of just over 11,000. A good away following from Yorkshire as Barnsley brought 522 fans in a day where the journey was made more difficult by the conditions. As I was coming out of the ground, I noticed a few Rochdale fans coming out of the away end as their game was called off late away at Charlton so obviously decided to go to the nearest game to them. Overall, I had a good day in a decent match and was happy to tick off ground 42/92.

Myself at Vicarage Road yesterday...