Watford see off West Brom to go fifth in table

20 Feb 2023
Watford celebrate Ken Sema's goalUntil beating West Bromwich Albion, Watford had not won in the Championship since 14 January

Watford saw off a spirited West Bromwich Albion side in an entertaining contest at Vicarage Road to move back into the Championship play-off places.

Albion twice levelled after falling behind but were eventually beaten by a Ken Sema shot that deflected in off Erik Pieters, which keeps them 10th in the table and four points from a top-six place.

Sema had given Watford a first-half lead, firing high into the net from close range after Darnell Furlong had blocked an initial effort from Keinan Davis.

A double substitution at the break paid off for the Baggies, with left-back Conor Townsend popping up in the box at a corner to acrobatically hook in past Daniel Bachmann.

Watford winger Ismaila Sarr - who scored from inside his own half in the 1-1 draw at The Hawthorns in August - looked to have made the decisive contribution with a fine first-time finish into the corner, only for the Hornets to surrender that lead when Jed Wallace capitalised on Bachmann's poor pass out to equalise.

However, ex-Albion boss Slaven Bilic was able to celebrate a victory against his former club when Sema cut in from the right and his shot from the edge of the box flew in off defender Pieters.

Relive Monday's Championship action as it happened

Both goalkeepers made smart saves during the flurry of second-half goals, while Sema also had an effort ruled out for offside shortly after Wallace had made it 2-2.

Watford ended their five-game winless run to go fifth in the table ahead of a trip to second-placed Sheffield United on Saturday, while the Baggies will aim to end their recent blip when they host in-form Middlesbrough.

West Bromwich Albion boss Carlos Corberan told BBC Radio WM:

"We wasted the first half because we didn't show any of the things we wanted to show. We didn't create any attacks how we wanted to attack and we were not aggressive enough in defence.

"The team played with more personality in the second half and tried to attack more. The spirit we put in the second half was very important.

"The problem is we didn't manage the minutes well after we scored the goals. We didn't protect enough the goals that we were scoring, and that's why, for me, at the end we lost the game."

Line-ups
Watford

Formation 4-2-3-1

1Bachmann3M Gaspar22Porteous44HoedtBooked at 31mins42Morris4ChoudhuryBooked at 46mins11KonéSubstituted forBacunaat 81'minutes23Sarr10João Pedro12SemaSubstituted forLouzaat 84'minutes7DavisSubstituted forAssombalongaat 90+1'minutesSubstitutes6Louza21Araújo25Bacuna26Hamer27Kabasele34Assombalonga37Martins
West Brom

Formation 4-2-3-1

33Griffiths2Furlong4O'Shea15PietersBooked at 55mins3Townsend25ChalobahSubstituted forMolumbyat 45'minutesBooked at 75mins35Yokuslu22AlbrightonSubstituted forDianganaat 45'minutes17J Wallace19SwiftSubstituted forGrantat 80'minutes21Thomas-AsanteSubstituted forDikeat 62'minutesSubstitutes1Button6Ajayi11Diangana12Dike14Molumby18Grant20Reach

Referee:Tim Robinson

Attendance:18,634

Match Stats
Live Text

Match ends, Watford 3, West Bromwich Albion 2.

Second Half ends, Watford 3, West Bromwich Albion 2.

Britt Assombalonga (Watford).

Jayson Molumby (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

João Pedro (Watford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Darnell Furlong (West Bromwich Albion).

Attempt blocked. Grady Diangana (West Bromwich Albion) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.

Corner, Watford. Conceded by Erik Pieters.

Attempt blocked. Britt Assombalonga (Watford) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Imrân Louza.

Ryan Porteous (Watford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Daryl Dike (West Bromwich Albion).

Substitution, Watford. Britt Assombalonga replaces Keinan Davis.

Attempt missed. Jayson Molumby (West Bromwich Albion) left footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Conor Townsend.

Attempt blocked. Karlan Grant (West Bromwich Albion) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is blocked. Assisted by Darnell Furlong with a cross.

Foul by Imrân Louza (Watford).

Grady Diangana (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Foul by Keinan Davis (Watford).

Dara O'Shea (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Attempt blocked. Conor Townsend (West Bromwich Albion) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.

Attempt saved. João Pedro (Watford) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ismaïla Sarr.

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