Watford overcame Newcastle United 1-0 in third round of the FA Cup after Troy Deeney capitalised on a horribly wayward Georginio Wijnaldum back-pass just before the break to score.
The visitors had the better of the chances throughout, with Ayoze Perez and Aleksandar Mitrovic both forcing saves out of Heurelho Gomes, though any fluidity to the game was spoilt by a poor Vicarage Road pitch.
Deeney proved the match-winner in the minutes before half-time though, latching on to Wijnaldum’s attempted pass, rounding Rob Elliot in the Newcastle goal, and stroking home with his left foot.
Here’s what we learned.
Watford should invest in a cup run this season
Watford are one of a few sides who look near enough safe in the Premier League this season, while remaining unlikely to challenge for any higher honours.
Quique Sanchez Flores’ side do technically sit in a position which makes Europa League qualification possible, but the reality is that their fairly thin squad and reliance on a few key players will almost certainly see them fall short.
Therefore, there is no reason why they can’t put their eggs in an FA Cup-shaped basket and have a go at winning some silverware this season.
Many sides who will be eyeing up potential glory in this competition - the likes of Stoke City and Liverpool - have been undone by the Hornets so far in the Premier League, and there is no reason why Flores’ men can’t ruffle a few feathers in the cup as well.
Watford have not advanced beyond the fourth round of the competition since 2009, though that is largely down to an unlikely set of tough opponents, and would relish a run in this year’s competition.
Depending on the next few results in the league, Flores should certainly consider going all out for a decent cup run this season, especially after a relatively kind, albeit not easy, fourth round draw that sees them travel to Championship side Nottingham Forest.
It’s clear why Flores is hesitant to rotate his starting XI
Much of the, admittedly brief, criticism of Flores from Watford fans this season has been the negligent use of his squad, in particular the players signed later on in the summer transfer window.
The likes of Steven Berghuis and Obbi Oulare have hardly been seen so far this season, due to a mixture of the success that the players who do start have had, and the new recruits’ failure to come up to speed with Flores’ playing style.
Both were thrown into the action here though, and if Flores hoped to prove a point to those regularly calling for their inclusion, he was perhaps successful.
Berghuis looks to have a decent delivery in his locker, but struggled physically and found himself kicked out of the game more often than not.
Oulare, meanwhile, certainly has the frame to look after himself, but doesn’t yet look physically fit enough to be anywhere near the starting XI – as evidenced by his withdrawal after 45 minutes.
Watford will continue to look for reinforcements in the transfer window as it became abundantly clear that their squad is thinner than it looks.
Craig Cathcart needs a rest
One area well stocked is centre-back, and that may well be a position of strength from which Flores looks to build next up against Southampton.
Craig Cathcart has played the most minutes of any Watford player this season – every single league minute in fact, only missing out on the League Cup defeat to Preston North End back in August – and having impressed, fatigue looks to be kicking in.
You won’t hear a bad word said about Cathcart from any Watford fan, but it has become commonly accepted over the last few weeks that his distribution has faltered and one or two mistakes are starting to creep into his game.
This may well be down to nothing else but tiredness, and with Sebastian Prodl, recent benched, winning man of the match yesterday, the trip to Southampton may well be a good opportunity to test a new partnership between himself and Miguel Britos.
The captain leads from the front again
Plenty of Deeney’s good work has been overshadowed by Odion Ighalo’s performances this season, but with the Nigerian rested against Newcastle, Deeney was the main man once again.
As well as his goal, he was motivating and encouraging his teammates throughout, not least his new strike partner Oulare who looks to need plenty of guidance.
As Deeney held the ball in Newcastle’s half late on, the Vicarage Road faithful were reminded that their captain remains the main man, regardless of any other heroes.
Watford are well set for a run of winnable Premier League games
After a tough run of fixtures over Christmas, the Hornets can now look ahead to a run of games which could see them almost mathematically safe by the end of January.
A trip to Southampton, a side not in the best of fettle, is followed by another to a club in a similar rut, Swansea City. Four or six points from those two games would lead nicely in to a home game that they would hope to win - against yesterday’s opponents, Newcastle.
It is easy to get ahead of ourselves, but victories like the weekend's, which would have seemed monumental just a year ago, should serve as a reminder that this truly is an excellent Watford side.
