West Brom 3 Watford 1: Hawthorns turns into a battle zone as Roberto Pereyra sees red and Baggies march into 6th
James McClean escapes red card for a stamp as both managers storm onto the pitch and set piece prowess pays off for Baggies
WEST BROM moved up to 6th in the Premier League with a 3-1 win against a depleted Watford side.
If you wanted a good old-fashioned English blood and thunder clash then The Hawthorns was the place to be today.
Set piece goals, red cards and both managers forced to charge onto the pitch like commanders trying to organise two armies who had long since forgotten all their orders in a fit of pure rage.
Nobody could have seen what was to come in a first half where West Brom looked like they would secure a routine victory in the mould of their manager.
Jonny Evans got the scoring underway in a manner that will greatly please the Welsh boss.
There are quality set pieces and then there are Tony Pulis set pieces.
Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes is normally adept at charging out to claim crosses, but Baggies captain Darren Fletcher brilliantly, and legally, stood his ground to prevent the Brazilian moving off his line.
As a result, Jonny Evans nodded a free header into the net to make it a magnificent seven goals from corners for Albion, the highest total of any team in the league.
And it was another set piece that undid the visitors for West Brom's second goal.
James Morrison rolled the ball back to Chris Brunt, whose powerful shot deflected off Camilo Zuniga and span past Gomes.
But Pulis wouldn't have been impressed with his side's defending of set pieces on the hour.
Seconds after Ben Foster acrobatically prevented a Gareth McAuley own goal by tipping over the bar, Watford were back in it.
However from the resulting corner, the Baggies' defence left Christian Kabasele unmarked and the Belgian defender latched onto a Troy Deeney knockdown and prodded home to become Watford's 9th scorer of the season.
On 77 minutes Watford had a fantastic chance to level the scores when Roberto Pereyra controlled another Deeney knockdown, but former England goalie Ben Foster charged out just in time to dramatically deny the Argentine.
Four minutes later, tensions boiled over when Pereyra fell to the ground and James McClean blasted the ball at the former Juventus man then stamped on him.
When he got up, Pereyra shoved the Ireland international and apparently aimed a kick, with both managers charging onto the pitch to calm their players.
After consulting with his fourth official, Graham Scott surprisingly produced a red card for Pereyra and just a yellow for McClean.
When the game got started, West Brom put things beyond doubt when Matt Phillips curled the ball past Gomes into the corner.
But the drama didn't finish at the final whistle, as former Watford full-back Allan Nyom turned into the defensive version of Emmanuel Adebayor.
The Cameroonian ran the length of the pitch to celebrate Phillips' goal and then goaded the Watford fans again at the final whistle, almost inciting a riot in the away end.
FACTS, STATS, GOALS AND LOLS
- Before we get to the football - make sure you catch the highlights of this one for a spectacular bust up between James McClean and Roberto Pereyra which saw the Watford player red-carded - and led to a touchline free-for-all - even Walter Mazzarri got involved!
- Tony Pulis’s organisational skills have helped West Brom corner the market in CORNERS! Jonny Evans took just 16 minutes to head home their SEVENTH goal from a flag kick this season – the best stats in the Prem.
- In stark contrast Watford’s Walter Mazzarri must shudder every time his side concede one. His Hornets have leaked a Prem high EIGHT goals from corners – but at least they managed to score their first goal of the season from a corner here!
- Heurelho Gomes saved two penalties the last time he was at the Hawthorns. But the Brazilian goalie looked far from inspirational when Chris Brunt scored from a 25-yard free-kick. Sure, it was deflected – but Gomes never even thrust out a hopeful hand.
- There was a nice bit of seasonal banter from Baggies fans who taunted Watford’s travelling support by singing: “You should have gone Christmas shopping instead.”
- But by the second half they were quite so jolly, as they pointed out to Watford fans their former left back had moved on to a better cub. Albion fans belted out: “Allan Nyom left you ‘cos you’re Sh**!”
- Tony Pulis admits Matt Phillips’ only fault is he lacks self-belief and confidence. But two goals and three assists in his last three games suggest he is long overdue a Scotland call-up. He gave Camilio Zuniga a torrid time before the full-back was hooked.
- Walter Mazzarri’s gamble to go with long-term absentee Stefano Okaka instead of last season’s prolific hitman Odion Ighalo failed to pay off as the frontman lacked a cutting edge and actually blocked one net-bound Amrabat effort!
- Troy Deeney went through SEVEN and HELL and is still suffering from the yips. The Brummie striker remains one goal short of scoring his 100th Watford goal – this was his seventh unsuccessful attempt to nail that elusive milestone. (correct at time of sending)
- Salomon Rondon is made of strong stuff. The Venezuelan striker was sent home from training suffering from tonsillitis on Friday but put in his usual hard-working shift here – without MUMP-ING about it!
- Albion must have suspected it was their day when Gareth McAuley glided out of trouble in his own box – with a Cruyff-turn!
BIG PICTURE
DREAM TEAM RATINGS
WEST BROM: Foster 7, Dawson 7, McAuley 7, Evans 8, Nyom 8, Fletcher 6, Yacob, Brunt 8, Morrison 6, Phillips 8, Rondon 6
SUBS: Chadli 6, McClean 5, Robson-Kanu 6
BOOKED: McAuley, McClean
GOALS: Evans 16', Brunt 34', Phillips 90+1'
WATFORD: Gomes 5, Holebas 6, Kabasele 7, Prodl 6, Zuniga 6, Amrabat 7, Guedioura 6, Capoue 6, Pereyra 5, Okaka 6, Deeney 7
SUBS: Ighalo 6, Sinclair 6
BOOKED: Deeney
SENT OFF: Pereyra
GOALS: Kabasele 61'
STAR MAN: CHRIS BRUNT