On an ice-cold day at the Amex Stadium, Watford held Brighton & Hove Albion to a goalless draw in which the away side, far from their best, had the heroics of goalkeeper Ben Foster to thank for the point they eventually mustered.
The Seagulls were by quite some distance the more impressive outfit on the day, but struggled to break down a resolute Hornets back line which, when breached, had the comfort of a fine Foster in the final line of defence. Nevertheless, manager Chris Hughton was disappointed that his side failed to gain all three points from a tie that they looked poised to win.
Following the draw, Watford climbed above Everton to 8th in the table, now four points behind Wolverhampton Wanderers in 7th — the Hornets face off against the Blues next weekend. Meanwhile, Brighton remain in 13th place with a five-point gap separating them from the dreaded Premier League relegation zone.
Foster the reason for stalemate
It was a comparatively poor performance from Watford. Disappointment stemmed particularly from midfield areas, where the duo of Étienne Capoue and Tom Cleverley struggled to cope with Brighton’s three-man core. Subsequently, the ball scarcely reached the territory of strikers Troy Deeney and Gerard Deulofeu and, when it did, possession was often overturned.
As such, the Watford goal was put under considerable amounts of pressure for large spells of the game. Come the final whistle, it was a wonder that Brighton had failed to find the back of the net, but there was good reason for that: Foster.
The shot-stopper, who has made the most saves in England’s top-flight since records began in 2006/07, produced a vintage display between the sticks. While the 35-year old’s distribution was at times questionable, he used all four limbs to full effect to ensure nothing would pass between him and either goalpost.
Only one save was made in a monotonous first-half — Foster darted across his own goal to claw away a Jürgen Locadia header after a corner situation. The Dutchman again troubled the Englishman deep into the second-half, looping a header over Foster who back-pedalled and saved spectacularly to ensure the scores remained even amidst a spell of dominance for the home side. Foster also saved efforts from Shane Duffy and Florin Andone in the closing stages when Watford found themselves locked on the back foot.
On an afternoon from which little can be concluded, one thing’s for certain: Watford, were it not for Foster, would have suffered defeat at the Amex, and would arguably find themselves in a notably worse position than they currently do had it not been for his consistently fine performances over the course of 2018/19.
Middle of the pack inseparable
This season’s Premier League appears to consist of three roughly outlined ‘mini-leagues’: there are the top six, who all behold aspirations of lifting the title or at least securing a Champions League spot come the end of the season; then we have the bottom six, all of whom could foreseeably find themselves in relegation trouble in May; and finally, the middle eight — too good to be relegated, not good enough to trouble the top six, and locked in an unpredictable struggle for 7th, the final European spot provided in the top-flight.
Saturday’s meeting between Brighton and Watford proved that there is little to separate those middle-lying sides.
Watford were tipped as the favourites but the Seagulls were the stronger side. Nevertheless, the game balanced on a knife-edge. Brighton could have scored three or four but one Hornets goal would have wrapped the tie up.
Up next
Javi Gracia’s side face off against another of their competitive rivals, Everton, next weekend. Former Hornets boss Marco Silva desperately needs all three points to lay to rest a torrid run of form for the Toffees.
Meanwhile, Brighton travel to West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday in the FA Cup Fourth Round replay before returning to the Amex to host Burnley three days later.