Watford vs Preston North End. Sky Bet Championship.
Vicarage RoadAttendance19,244.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Watford and Preston at Vicarage Road as Slaven Bilic's Hornets saw his side suffer a blow in the play-off race after a goalless draw.
Saturday 4 March 2023 18:40, UK
Watford and Preston played out a tedious 0-0 draw at Vicarage Road that served neither side's promotion ambitions.
The contest had all the excitement of a pre-season friendly for much of the afternoon, with Preston keeper Freddie Woodman producing the only two saves of note during 90 forgettable minutes.
For visitors Preston, this was their ninth goalless draw of the season, while Watford have now drawn four of their past six games.
The first half did not offer up a single clear-cut chance. Preston's organisation away from Deepdale has bred a comfort in Ryan Lowe's side that is absent at home.
Happy to sit off Watford until they ventured over the halfway line, the visitors quickly squeezed the space in front of their back four, offering home playmaker Joao Pedro no room in which to pick his passes.
Pedro did manage an eighth-minute shot from a Craig Cathcart cross, but it lacked the power to beat Preston keeper Freddie Woodman.
That effort apart, the only time Slaven Bilic's side quickened the pulse of their supporters during a flat first-half display was when Ismaila Sarr skilfully created space on the edge of the Preston area only to see his low cross evade his team-mates.
By contrast, the visitors served up a number of shots in the opening half, although all of them were from at least 20 yards.
First Ched Evans then Alvaro Fernando fired efforts that found the midriff of Watford keeper Daniel Bachmann.
Both players had a further effort each, but it was Alan Browne who came closest with a free-kick four minutes before the interval that dipped just too late.
Their failure to create chances helps explain why only Cardiff have scored fewer Championship goals this season.
Bilic was clearly as frustrated as the Vicarage Road crowd by his side's inept display, bringing on the twin attacking threat of Yaser Asprilla and Keinan Davis for the second half.
That did at least create some excitement, as did a Pedro shot that was saved low down at his near post by Woodman.
As the need for victory was transmitted from the stands to the pitch, Watford went close twice inside four minutes.
Davis burst through only for Woodman to race from his line to block the striker's shot superbly. Then Sarr turned smartly and instantly sent in a shot that skimmed agonisingly wide.
The remainder of the match passed without notable incident, as befitting a dire contest.
Watford's Slaven Bilic:
"If we were at the start of the season or in a comfortable position in the table, I would be not happy, but I would say this result is okay. But considering where we are and what we want for the remainder of the season, it's simply not enough. One of the chances was clear-cut, while the Sarr shot was unlucky to miss the post. Preston are a good defending side. They know how to frustrate you, how to keep the ball, how to waste time. But there is always something missing from us. We spoke about it on the training ground. Either you don't get the cross in or you do but the cross is bad. Then, when the cross is good, then the touch in the box is bad.
"Then, when the touch is good and you are through one on one and everything is perfect, then you still don't score. If any team deserved to win it was us, but we didn't really do enough to win the game. We didn't have the quality to open them up. The second half was much better and we had two or three chances. But we have too many draws. The boys are trying and fighting but we couldn't find a way to open them up. We are missing that quality in the box. There is always something missing when we get there. But the clean sheet is a positive. I expected much more from us although I have no complaints about the second half."
Preston's Ryan Lowe:
"We had to be solid today and I thought our game plan from minute one to 96 minutes was fantastic. We're a good team on our day. And we can keep the back door shut. I think that is sometimes credit to the back lads and the defensive unit, but also the striker and everyone on the pitch for making sure that we keep clean sheets and defend from the front. I said to the lads in there to get some shots away, but I'm happy with the overall performance and the chances that we created.
"But it's got to be a shot that you get on target, not just taking shots for the sake of it. We didn't penetrate them much, but we didn't want to be done by a counter-attack. You have to pay teams like Watford respect. They have a fantastic squad of players. It's a collective thing. And the staff and the players are all on the same page. We are where we are in the table. I think people got too carried away in the first part of the season about what we could achieve, but we're not getting carried away. It's nice to be able to send the fans home happy."
