Watford skipper Troy Deeney: I thought we'd blown it
Sunday 13 September 2015 14:28, UK
Troy Deeney feared Watford would be made to rue a host of missed chances before Odion Ighalo's decisive strike against Swansea.
Ighalo celebrated his new five-year contract by converting Deeney's cushioned header shortly before the hour mark to score Watford's first goal since the opening day of the season and secure a 1-0 victory.
The Hornets had drawn four blanks in as many matches prior to the weekend and had failed to muster so much as a single shot in their previous two games.
They dominated against a below-par Swansea, unbeaten in their opening four games, but had to wait until the 41st minute before calling Swansea goalkeeper Lukas Fabianski into action.
And Deeney, who played in a deeper role to limit the threat of England international Jonjo Shelvey, revealed he was worried his side would fail to find the back of the net.
"After the first half, I thought it was going to be one of those games where we had a load of chances and we would draw the game," Deeney said.
"We did well, though, and thankfully I got the assist for Ighalo to score. It's a great win and we will enjoy it, but we are back to work tomorrow for training."
Ighalo's goal, the 100th Premier League strike at Vicarage Road, also marked his 18th in 23 league games this calendar year - more than any other player in England's top four tiers.
And the 26-year-old Nigerian moved to praise the club's supporters who celebrated their first victory of the campaign.
"It's always a pleasure scoring and getting three points in front of the home fans, so it's a great feeling, and I'm really happy about the way they are singing my name," Ighalo said.
"After I signed my contract, they've been pushing us and keeping us going and they're one of the reasons why I made the decision to be here.
"I want them to keep on supporting the team, we're going to have some difficult times, but when they keep supporting us like this I think we can make it."
