West Ham United produced a late charge to come from an early goal down at Vicarage Road on Saturday and rescue a point against Watford.
For a long period of the game the Hornets held on to their narrow lead, the result of a Troy Deeney penalty, but eventually the pressure from Slaven Bilic’s men paid off and Andre Ayew equalised to have the match finish 1-1.
It was deserved point for the Irons and in truth they could’ve picked up the victory but a late red card for Michail Antonio halted their late momentum and allowed Watford to rally for the final five minutes and hold on for the point.
The game was marred in the first half by a serious injury to Mauro Zarate and Watford boss Walter Mazzarri is awaiting scans to find out the extent of his problems. Given he was stretchered off, it’s not looking good for Watford’s new signing.
An engrossing game from start to finish there was plenty to take from the match.
Here are FIVE lessons that we learned during the 1-1 draw…
West Ham really miss Andy Carroll
It was clear throughout the 90 minutes that West Ham United lacked a cutting edge in the final third and that was most likely due to the lack of Andy Carroll, who missed the match due to a continuation of his recent niggling groin problems.
It’s not an ideal situation for Bilic. There’s no doubt Carroll is a very effective striker for the Irons when fit but because of his constant fitness issues it may be a problem that Bilic has to fix in the summer.
Regardless, he was a big miss on Saturday and Hammers fans must be hoping to see a return from the big England striker next week. He’ll be needed against Chelsea.
The Hammers are very resilient
One of the most impressive hallmarks of Slaven Bilic’s side is their ability to play until the very final of the moments of a match in search of a result. That’s true whether the match hangs in the balance or whether they have already gone a goal down.
Losing goals doesn’t phase this Hammers team and that was again shown on Saturday. They could have easily collapsed given they conceded in just the third minute but they kept themselves in the match, grew in confidence and by the end looked like the most likely winners.
That resiliency continues to serve them well and is one of the reasons why the team must retain Bilic into next season despite things not quite going to plan this term.
Watford can’t stop conceding
Watford have now only kept one clean sheet in their last 16 Premier League games. That’s defensive form you’d expect to see from relegation contenders but it’s a credit to Watford’s team performances that they are still managing to pick up enough results to stay well clear of any relegation drama.
They will have been disappointed to concede so late in the game against West Ham but it was perhaps inevitable with the way their defence has been performing.
Antonio is still the man
Michail Antonio was again the driving force of West Ham’s performance. It was his shot that provided the opportunity for Andre Ayew to equalise after it bounced off both posts. Despite being dismissed five minutes from half-time for a second yellow card, he was probably man of the match. Everything good the Irons produced he was at the heart of.
He missed a couple of chances but without him, it’s unlikely West Ham would’ve had the energy in the final third needed to get a result.
A good result for both sides
While the draw is not ideal for either side, it’s also not a disaster and both teams moved up position in the table at the expense of teams who have played a game less than they have. It will have felt more like a defeat for Watford due to the nature of the result but in hindsight they can look back on this as a decent point earned.
Similarly, Slaven Bilic can’t be too disappointed with a draw after conceding a silly goal so early and having their late attacks stifled by a sending off.
