Watford 0-2 Hull City

The return to 4-4-2 was very welcome, as were the return of Garcia and the inclusion of Barmby from the start. Folan, unimpressive at Ipswich, dropped out. Marney was injured allowing Hughes to move inside. Watford were far better than they were at the KC 5 weeks ago and I think they were much better than the side that beat us in October, albeit without the cutting edge. McAnuff gave Ricketts a roasting for an hour, he looked even better than Moses did for Palace a fortnight ago. Watford hit the ball forward quickly, Ellington gave Turner a problem in the air and McAnuff and Smith got around him well. We survived an early scare when Shittu headed home but the 'goal' was chalked off. It looked a harsh decision. City worked hard, particularly across the midfield and defended stubbornly. Whenever we had the opportunity to counter, we moved the ball slickly and unlike last week at Portman Road, we had wide players bursting into the box. We took the lead when Campbell forced Shittu into a mistake, slid the ball across the box and Barmby shot home. From the away end, it was hard to tell the ball had trickled in, after two or three seconds of stunned silence, we erupted. Watford continued to press and City had to defend stubbornly. Several crosses flew dangerously across our box, with a mixture of good defending and sheer luck keeping them out. Last week, Ipswich tended to hit pot shots whenever they got in range, whereas Watford tried to play intricate passes around the edge of the box, which played into our hands. Windass had a decent chance to score a second but hesitated on the ball but the second goal came soon after, Deano nodding in after a Campbell effort deflected onto the bar. Queue Pandemonium and disbelief amongst the awesome City following. Again, to their credit, Watford continued to ask questions of City, but when it counted, we were equal to everything. Andy Dawson made the best block of the season to deny Ellington and Myhill tipped over twice. As the half went on, Campbell looked more and more dangerous. Ash just failed to release him twice, once on a tight looking offside decision, and Shittu looked unable to get anywhere near young Fraizer.

Watford came out fighting again in the second half, as they had too and forced more opportunities to deliver in to the box, some from long throws and others through a stack of soft free kicks awarded by the abysmal referee, Mr Friend. He gave two massive decisions against Watford and gave every other decision against us. He was absolutely rank. City were on the back foot, first Deano and then Campbell dropped back to help out. Barmby was excellent first half, but started to flag a bit in the second as they had more joy down our left. Myhill made one sensational save and two blocks. Our defence stuck their heads and bodies in front of everything and withstood the pressure. The pressure was relieved when John 'Useless' Eustace was sent off. It was hard to tell what the offence was. The Watford fans obviously felt Ashbee was responsible for the decision as he was booed by tens of them when he next touched the ball. Watford continued to bomb the ball into our box whenever possible, but City stood up to everything and broke with unerring ease time and again. The Watford defence, looking knackered from all the effort on a scorching day, were absolutely delighted when Browny introduced Fagan, Doyle and Folan to terrorise them further, or maybe not. The only disappointing aspect of the game was that we failed to add a third. Campbell broke away and was denied by a fine save from Lee, Folan just failed to release him a second time and then Caeb couldn't quite escape the grip of DeMerit, literally. Campobell was denied another opportunity when the ref gave a strange handball decision against Hughes, who was lying prone on the floor at the time. Doyle produced a sublime piece of skill before curling a super effort against the post and with 90 on the clock, Campbell was denied again by Lee as he tried to find the right hand corner.

Myhill hasn't had a chance to shine lately because we've been so good defence. Today, he shone, he was absolutely magnificent. He was quick off his line, showed safe hands and made world class saves. Ricketts struggled; it was probably his toughest test of the season in the first half as Jobi McAnuff showed why West Ham, Palace, Cardiff and Watford have all spent good money on him. In the second half, Ricketts stopped him getting on the ball so much and McAnuff showed why all but one of those clubs has sold him. Andy Dawson also struggled to stop crosses coming in but in the second half. Inside the box, he was excellent; he chucked himself in front of everything and won headers. Turner had a tough time with Ellington and produced his worst piece of defending of the season to allow Priskin a run towards goal late on. When crosses came into the box, he initially struggled against Shittu but then he took command and won everything. Wayne Brown had a great game. He organised everything, took up great positions and put his head on the ball. His distribution was occasionally hurried but generally excellent and into feet.

Garcia looked like he'd missed a few weeks of football. He wasn't quite the driving force he can be, but gave us great balance and showed flashed of his running power. There's something about his presence that encourages Ricketts to get forward and the two of them created some good space to deliver. On the other side, Barmby did an excellent job. Watford produced almost nothing down our left because Nick made tackles and closed space. He was calm on the ball and sprung in behind them on the left hand side. Both wide players looked tired in the second half and received a well earned rest. Doyle replaced Garcia and impressed down the right, he defended Ricketts and looked quick and strong going forward. Fagan replaced Barmby. He made Doyle look like Maradona. In the middle, Ash had another good game. He worked back time and again and proved an obstacle that Watford had to maneuver around. Ash has learnt to hold his tongue these days; he speaks to referees properly and probably does influence them. Earlier in the season, we were done by a Charlton side who manipulated the referee and as the season has gone on, we've shown an increasing ability to 'play the game'. Alongside Ash, Bryan Hughes started in centre midfield for about the first time since pre-season. I thought he was excellent. Had everyone been fit, his performance at Ipswich probably would've seen him drop to the bench but he received an opportunity and grabbed it with both hands. He was strong in the air, broke up play, tracked runners and showed a great ability to read their play. As you'd expect from a player of his experience and quality, he was calm on the ball and kept play moving. He didn't do anything complicated but in truth, today, he didn't have to. He just slid the ball into the wide players and into Windass. As the game went on, he started to win the ball higher up the pitch and got into the box. We have three great options in the centre of midfield.

Browny chose Windass and Campbell and I'm not sure anyone would've argued with the selection. They looked a bit more effective than they did on Campbell's debut! Deano held the ball up as only he can. He was the best attacker on the pitch. He didn't have the ball as much as others, but when he did, he always produced something. He gave their defenders trouble, won the ball in the air and made space for Campbell to exploit. Campbell would have scored a hat trick on another day. He was as tricky as he always is. He gave them the run around. He's bright, he's quick, his acceleration defies belief and he's getting stronger and cleverer with every game. He makes and scores goals. What an asset. I hope he never leaves.

Watford is a pleasant place to go. The pitch is superb. The locals are friendly.

The atmosphere inside the ground is the least hostile and most plastic matchday experience in the country. The team weren't bad today either. They were certainly good enough to ensure no-one will be booking hotels for Wembley just yet. It's hard to see why they've only one 1 out of 15 games. Although today was a cup tie, time to start afresh and to forget everything that's gone before. Form goes out of the window in these sorts of games, they say. In which case, City aren't just a form side, we're a great side, capable of defending for our lives and cutting through opposition defences.

Dream over? Not a chance.

Ratings: Myhill 9, Ricketts 5, Dawson 6, Turner 6, Brown 7, Garcia 6 (Doyle), Barmby 8 (Fagan), Ashbee 7, Hughes 7, Campbell 7, Windass 8 (Folan).