Head coach Tom Cleverley lauded four-goal Vakoun Bayo after Watford climbed into the top six of the Championship with a stunning 6-2 victory over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.
Michael Smith quickly cancelled out Ryan Porteous’ opener before penalties from Tom Ince and Bayo put Watford in the driving seat.
Bayo bagged his second and claimed the match ball either side of Pol Valentin’s reply for the Owls and then claimed his fourth in the closing stages.
Cleverley said: “Bayo fully deserved his four goals. I couldn’t be more pleased for an individual; his unselfish play doesn’t generate the most praise but we really appreciate it.
“We want to create a mentality where we’re confident we can deal with big expectations and compete at the right end of the table.
“It’s not been as shocking as it may look on paper with our away form this year. We’ve just had three really poor performances in a tough run of games.
“The fans have travelled in their numbers again and they really deserve it. We’ve had some bad away results and hopefully after today we can move on from those.
“We’ll recover from today and get back to work. We’re pleased with the win but now we’ve got to go to Swansea on Tuesday and back it up.”
Cleverley added: “If there is a negative I’d say we didn’t play our best football in the first half and we need to address that. We conceded from two crosses and we have to work on defending our box.
“I think we rode a few storms and Wednesday had the better of the game in the first half. I could easily be sat here having a more negative interview.
“We generally improved our play in the second half. I thought we took control of the ball and showed our class as individuals and as a team.
“We were organised and showed good structure. In possession we were fantastic. We looked confident and connected on the ball whilst showing real quality in the final third.”
Wednesday boss Danny Rohl was left stunned by his side’s second-half collapse.
Rohl said: “The players and I have a mixed feeling of shock and disappointment because we’ve improved so much in our last few games.
“In the first half we were in a good way, we moved the ball well and created lots of chances.
“I think if you asked the crowd at half-time they would have said they were happy with the performance. I was convinced we could go on and win.
“There were just six minutes between the two penalties which really knocked us back. We tried to get men forward but we lost our structure when we tried to come back into the game.
“We have never had 45 minutes of football like we had today. Watford had seven shots on target and scored six goals which for me is very hard to take.
“We allowed them to show their individual talent in the second half and we allowed so many easy situations against us which I find really disappointing.
“We are struggling to get results at home whether we perform well or not and of course we will work our hardest to change this.
“It’s difficult but we can’t get stuck on today. We will recover in the next days and then we have another tough game against Norwich on Tuesday.”
Lucy Bronze refused to count Chelsea out of the Champions League after they went down 4-1 to holders Barcelona in the first leg of their semi-final in Spain.Ewa Pajor fired the hosts in front in the 35th minute at the Johan Cruyff Stadium and substitute Claudia Pina made it two with 20 minutes left.Sandy Baltimore pulled one back in the 74th minute, but Irene Paredes got Barcelona’s third wi...
Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold says his late winner at Leicester, which put his side on the brink of the Premier League title, will live with him forever.Alexander-Arnold made a stunning return from injury as he climbed off the bench to score the decisive 76th-minute goal in the visitors’ 1-0 triumph at the King Power Stadium.It relegated Leicester and left the Reds needing just t...
Chelsea gave themselves plenty of work to do at Stamford Bridge after substitute Claudia Pina’s brace inspired holders Barcelona to a 4-1 victory in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final in Spain.Ewa Pajor opened the scoring for the hosts in the 35th minute at the Johan Cruyff Stadium after Blues keeper Hannah Hampton had saved a ninth-minute penalty.Pina scored her first with 2...
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has his sights set on history after his side moved another step closer to a sixth treble in nine years.A 5-0 Hampden win over St Johnstone set up a Scottish Gas Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen on May 24.Rodgers and Jock Stein have both completed two trebles, while Martin O’Neill, Neil Lennon and Ange Postecoglou have one each, and Celtic won three trophies ...
Trent Alexander-Arnold put the Premier League title champagne on ice for Liverpool after scoring the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win which confirmed Leicester’s relegation.Alexander-Arnold, making his comeback from injury, climbed off the bench to score the 76th-minute winner at the King Power and put his side on the brink of glory.The Reds will get their hands on a 20th top-flight title ...
Ruben Amorim admitted Manchester United “lack a lot” as their ongoing struggles in front of goal saw them return to earth with a bump in Sunday’s Premier League defeat at home to Wolves.Three days on from the dramatic 5-4 Europa League quarter-final comeback win against Lyon, the rotated Red Devils’ positive performance counted for nothing due to their futility in the final...
Mikel Arteta said he hopes Leif Davis’ “dangerous” red-card tackle on Bukayo Saka will not stop his star winger from playing in Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final against Paris St Germain.Saka was withdrawn just 10 minutes into the second half of Arsenal’s 4-0 win at Ipswich and had an ice pack applied to his right ankle following Davis’ late challenge.Davis ...
Celtic hit four goals in 12 first-half minutes to sweep past St Johnstone and into the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup final.The holders wreaked vengeance following defeat in Perth two weeks ago as they won 5-0 to set up a return trip to Hampden to face Aberdeen on May 24.With Celtic needing just one point from their last five matches to wrap up the William Hill Premiership title, the final is set to gi...
Pedro Neto fired a spectacular winner in stoppage time as Chelsea’s late show secured a 2-1 win over west-London rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage.Substitute Tyrique George grabbed an equaliser seven minutes from time to cancel out Alex Iwobi’s 20th-minute strike.Then Neto’s half-volley clinched a victory that took the Blues above Forest on goal difference in the battle to secure C...
Manchester United were brought back to earth after their Europa League heroics as substitute Pablo Sarabia’s sublime free-kick saw Wolves win five consecutive top-flight matches for the first time since 1970.This Premier League encounter was never going to live up to the drama of Thursday’s jaw-dropping quarter-final clash at Old Trafford, where the Red Devils secured a 5-4 victory, an...
- 1 Four Tottenham stars could leave this summer
- 2 PL side eyeing summer move for Rashford
- 3 Man City in pole position to secure Morgan Gibbs
- 4 Pop icon with £580M net worth makes appearance at Stamford Bridge
- 5 Big Brother legend Chanelle Hayes flaunts weight loss in red bikini
- 6 Arteta makes exciting Arsenal transfer claim
- 7 Cole Palmer’s girlfriend Connie Grace dazzles in low-cut top and mini skirt
- 8 Newcastle continue to impress in absence of Eddie Howe with Crystal Palace rout
- 9 Ten-man Falkirk beaten by Raith as late goals keep title race alive
- 10 Annan boost survival hope by thrashing champions Arbroath