Watford 1 v Charlton Athletic 0

Why is it that the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune seem to work disproportionately against us? It's not just me is it? We competed strongly with Watford today and deserved something from the game but our chances were dealt a massive blow by a poor refereeing decision aided by an inept Linesman. Referree Williamson (according to the programme) sent Kelly Youga off in the first half for a last-ditch tackle as Watford broke into the box but replays will show that Kelly made a decent contact with the ball. The Linesman was as well placed as the 1500 Charlton fans behind the goal but he flagged in Watford's favour as he did throughout the match; he was suspiciously bad.

By then, we had managed to go a goal down to nemisis Tommy Smith who got wide of Jon Fortune and ran in to beat a flat-footed Nicky Weaver. We had started the game brightly and had given as good as we had got up until then. Hameur Bouazza nearly scored with his first touch, a swerving drive that narrowly missed the top corner. Therry Racon was having a lively game in midfield and was winning lots of possession and feeding Sam and the over-lapping Semedo on the right in particular. Varney and Gray were working hard against a strong and well organised Watford back-four. With Mark Hudson superbly marshalling our back four, the goal didn't look the end of the contest but the sending off did.

Hameur Bouazza was sacrificed for Grant Basey second half and can have few complaints. Apart from his early shot and a decent break in which he put an off-side Varney in, he had contributed little. Mind you, Nicky Bailey had a slow start too and although he redeemed himself in the second period, he might have hoped to have done a little more and he looked off the pace. Having said that, we played better with ten men and did as much attacking as Watford without creating too many clear-cut chances. Jay Demerit and Leigh Bromby were working overtime to restict us and to support Mat Sadler whenever Lloyd Sam got wide on the right.

Therry Racon limped off to be replaced by Matt Holland and Jose Semedo eventually made way for Chris Dickson to come on with Lloyd Sam reverting to full-back. With three up-front we began to work Watford harder and Varney managed to wriggle through for his best chance but his shot was smothered. Dickson worked hard in confined space but we couldn't get the goal we needed. Watford continue to break and went close on a couple of occasions but the game was really about whether or not we could equalise and we couldn't, but we finished the match attacking with ten men.

Alan Pardew can have few complaints with the work his team put in and the spirit they showed. From that perspective it was better than most of the games we have played in 2008 and bodes well for the games ahead.

Nicky Weaver made several trade-mark saves in the second half but was caught flapping for Watford's first attack which Hudson cleared and might have got closer to the goal which Smith rolled passed him. Rob Elliot might not have to wait too long for another game. Hudson was superb and Fortune had another decent game although he will be disappointed he didn't make it harder for Smith to score. Semedo was sound whilst he was on and Youga had looked ok at left-back until the sending off. Racon played well until limping off and Bailey had an ineffective debut as I have said. He has a quick turn a la Andy Reid and a similar ability to switch the play. I am sure he's probably a bit rusty having sat out the last couple of Southend games and will look better on Saturday.

With Bouazza offering little on the left, we relied upon Lloyd Sam and Jose Semedo to penetrate on the right. Semedo overlapped well and Lloyd Sam never stopped running but he needs reminding he is a winger and should be foraging up and down and not sideways in a congested midfield. Alan Pardew's post-match analysis will be interesting because we looked to be deliberately trying to narrow the midfield, presumably to provide more close support to the front two, which might account for why Bouazza was so quiet.

Gray and Varney had typical games for them but chances were limited and they were up against a really strong looking Watford defence which closed space down quickly and worked in pairs to tackle and clear-up.

It would have been good to have got something from this match to aid the confidence going into the live game against Reading on Saturday but we showed enough today to give you belief that we can record successive home wins (in the league!).