Emmanuel Dennis scored a second-half header to help Watford produce one of the narrow football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. The visitors had come into the game having lost 10 of their last 12 games. Dennis rose highest to nod home the winner in the 78th minute to give manager Roy Hodgson his first win since he was appointed as manager.
Player ratings
Aston Villa: Martinez (7), Digne (6), Mings (6), Chambers (6), Cash (7), McGinn (6), Luiz (6), Ramsey (6), Buendia (6), Ings (7), Coutinho (7)
Subs: Watkins (6), Young (6), Bailey (6)
Watford: Foster (7), Kamara (7), Cathcart (8), Samir (7), Femenia (7), Louza (7), Sissoko (7), Cleverley (7), Dennis (8), King (6), Sarr (7)
Subs: Sema (6), Kabasele (6), Hernandez (6)
Man of the match: Emmanuel Dennis
Managers Reaction
Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard: “Not too much different than my reaction last week. Really frustrated and disappointed in the result and the outcome of the game. We have lacked quality in the final third, that’s for sure, and I’ve had real honest conversations with the players. We need to wake up and wake up fast because our recent form and our recent performances are way short of what’s needed to move up this table. Look, in previous games, we have had the creation, that inventiveness, we’ve looked exciting in a lot of games.
Watford manager Roy Hodgson: “I thought it was a good performance. I think that in the previous three games there have been episodes where there’s been good play as well. Certainly, I think the players’ discipline and desire to make life difficult for the opponents has been evident from the first game up at Burnley in atrocious conditions.”
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