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It felt ominous when the Vicarage Road floodlights suffered a power failure here, not long after Watford had conceded to ensure they’d remain the only club in England’s top four divisions without a league clean sheet this season.
The lights might likewise be going out on their season and Claudio Ranieri’s time in charge. Given their track record, you wouldn’t put it past Watford’s board to be sharpening the axe as we speak.
Norwich, though, believe. ‘We are staying up,’ sang their supporters, who could thank their man from Missouri for this win. Joshua Sargent’s deadly double did the job, before Juraj Kucka’s own goal sparked chants of ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning’ towards Ranieri.
Norwich are now out of the Premier League’s bottom three, and Watford are in it. They’ve got games in hand, but this was the sort of defeat which can do lasting damage.
Just like how Watford sent the maintenance man to put some money to the meter, their board have been trying to fix their problems on the pitch in the same way in the market.
You only need to look at their January signings to understand where Ranieri thinks their problems lie.
They’ve bought a centre back in Samir, left back in Hassane Kamara and defensive midfielder in Edo Kaymebe – and all three made their home debuts here. They couldn’t stop Watford from conceding in their 30th consecutive Premier League game.
Within two minutes, Norwich could have taken the lead after Moussa Sissoko hacked down Adam Idah in front of the Watford box. Milot Rashica tried to send the ball under the wall but, with a man lying down, he didn’t get very far. A lesson in why clubs defend free-kicks in that way.
Just to add a little spice to the contest, neither club had their first-choice goalkeeper in goal. Watford’s Ben Foster was out with Covid, which he described as ‘like having a bad cold’. For Norwich, Tim Krul is sidelined after shoulder ligament damage.
The message from the managers, you imagine, was to test their stand-ins. Yet after half an hour, we were still awaiting our first shot on target. It finally arrived when Samir headed a corner goalward, though it was catching practice for Angus Gunn.
Emmanuel Dennis was cautioned for a late challenge on Pierre Lees-Melou and ought to have received a second yellow before half time. Dennis threw himself to the ground as he passed Grant Hanley in a bid to win a penalty but Mike Dean, bizarrely, waved play on.
If it wasn’t a spot-kick, then it was a dive. For Norwich’s sake, it was a shame VAR could not get involved in a yellow-card offence to correct Dean’s mistake.
Watford’s Joshua King and Joao Pedro were involved in verbals after the latter didn’t square the ball to his team-mate in a good position. Tensions were high and it remained 0-0 at half time.
In the 50th minute, Norwich led. Kenny McLean’s through-ball looked overhit but Teemu Pukki chased it down, barging over Samir in the process. Watford’s players stopped, wanting a free-kick. They shouldn’t have.
Pukki played on and found Josh Sargent, who improvised with the ball slightly behind him. His flicked shot bounced over the line after hitting the crossbar. VAR looked for a foul but the goal was good.
On the hour mark came our stoppage as half of the Vicarage Road floodlights faded to black.
After a 15-minute pause in play, and with the lighting only partially working, the game resumed. Norwich were the ones dancing in the dark as they took a 2-0 lead after a Rashica cross and Sargent header. VAR checked for offside, and it was mightily close, but it stood. ‘USA, USA,’ sang the supporters in honour of their goalscorer.
It got worse for Watford when Dennis was shown a second yellow for a late challenge on Max Aarons. Justice for what happened in the first half, maybe. He’ll be a big miss for their next game, another relegation clash at Burnley.
Down to 10 men, Idah crossed and Watford substitute Juraj Kucka toed the ball into his own goal for 3-0, sparking boos all around Vicarage Road.
Before full time, the floodlights were flicked back on. They might have been better keeping them off. It only emphasised the empty seats. This was an embarrassing evening for Watford, but an encouraging one for Norwich.
RE-LIVE ALL THE ACTION AS IT HAPPENED…
Watford get the Premier League‘s weekend action underway when they host relegation rivals Norwich City at Vicarage Road
Just one point separates the teams heading into the game but with Watford having two games in hand it is vital for the Canaries to at least avoid defeat to keep their top flight survival hopes alive.
Follow Sportsmail’s DAN RIPLEY for live Premier League coverage of Watford vs Norwich, including build-up, team news and updates.
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