After a night when Watford’s points tally for the season ticked almost unnoticed into the 50’s, it feels almost churlish to say this – but it would be nice to win a game comfortably and comprehensively.
The 1-0 victory over Swansea took the Hornets to 52 points, thus going beyond the 50-point mark which is seen as the point at which you can safely talk about being in the Championship next season.
That’s not to say there has ever been any fear of relegation this season under Tom Cleverley.
Quite the opposite. Watford haven’t even set foot in the bottom half this term, and have spent much of their time in or near the top six.
Bearing in mind, when he took over, there were remote but lingering fears of being sucked into a relegation scrap then the head coach has, even on a very basic level, guided the club progressively.
Last season, the Hornets went beyond 50 points on April 1 as a result of the 2-2 draw at West Brom – it’s been achieved nearly three weeks earlier this time around.
And, despite the poor run of performances and results between Boxing Day and Valentine’s Day – five points from a possible 35 – Watford now sit 10th in the table and four points outside the top six, though with an inferior goal difference it’s effectively five.
Cleverley will not be looking beyond the trip to Oxford at the weekend, but after the Swansea win he did refer to ‘nine cup finals’ laying ahead, acknowledgement at least that delivering a late surge into the top six is still a possibility, if not a probability.
However, what he also made clear after last night’s 1-0 win is that Watford will have to do more if they want to win those nine games.
Playing well for 45 minutes and then apparently hoping for the best in the second half is not something that is going to propel a team from 10th to sixth.
The last three home games have been an example of what Cleverley is talking about.
Two goals to the good against Luton having battered the Hatters in the first half, Watford were unable to kill the game off and while victory never looked in doubt, they left the door ajar.
Against Millwall they were similarly dominant for 45 minutes, but then wilted completely and paid the ultimate price.
Last night, while not totally blowing Swansea away before half-time, Watford were good value for their lead at the break and could have enjoyed a bigger advantage.
They never reached similar heights in the second period and, while Swansea were fairly comfortably kept at arm’s length, it only needed an unexpected moment of skill, a deflection or a random decision from referee Mr Simpson to change that – and, as we witnessed, the official was certainly a prime example of randomness.
Look back over the victories this season in the Championship, and the list of occasions where you could say the three points were achieved with any degree of comfort is quite short.
Stoke at home back in August, the 6-2 win at Sheffield Wednesday obviously (though the dominance came after half-time), the away success at Derby perhaps?
It may sound a trifle greedy, perhaps even unfair, but Watford’s 15 league wins this season have largely been tight and cagey – like winning a 100m race with a big dip at the finishing line, rather than the Usain Bolt style of victory where he was looking round at the cameras with 10m to go.
It is, though, two more than last season and only one short of 22/23, so chances are Watford will end this campaign with their most league wins since dropping out of the Premier League.
And that, again, is progress.
But as Cleverley rightly says, winning games in this manner and seeing matches out in a somewhat underwhelming fashion is no more sustainable than it is enjoyable.
Last night’s win was pleasant because of the outcome, but it wasn’t a comfortable or fun watch.
The visitors had the first chance when Zan Vipotnik curled a shot from just inside the box but Egil Selvik – who again looked comfortable and commanding – pushed the effort away.
The decisive moment, in the 27th minute, should go down as a partial assist for Swansea’s Goncalo Franco, as his turn and pass towards the Watford right flank was as important in the winning goal as it was inexplicable.
He can’t have looked as he played the ball perfectly for Tom Ince to run onto, but there was still work to be done even then.
The midfielder showed his experience as he looked up and played the ball square, where the equally evergreen Moussa Sissoko took control of matters by driving a shot into the top-right corner.
Great work from Ince, a fine finish from Sissoko – but Franco had an absolute mare.
Soon after, Imran Louza went into the book for a foul. On first viewing it looked harsh, but replays subsequently showed he might have dodged a bullet as his boot made contact with ankle and not ball.
Early in the second half there was only inches between Ryan Andrews and a stunning goal as he took James Abankwah’s raking diagonal pass in his stride and then struck a textbook volley just wide of the back post.
Then Edo Kayembe, who made a very decent go of playing as a No.9, nearly had his own ‘Wes Hoedt’ moment when he spotted Lawrence Vigouroux off his line and sent a dipping strike from just inside the Swansea half over the keeper but onto the roof of the net.
There was always a degree of susceptibility about Watford as the club ticked down, but the closest Swansea came to levelling was when Mattie Pollock’s thigh deflected a flicked corner over his own bar.
It was never a case of needing to watch the game from behind the sofa – which judging by the amount of empty seats inside Vicarage Road was an option available to many – but in lieu of a second and decisive goal, the risk always remained.
However, a fourth clean sheet in five games was testimony to Selvik, the increasingly impressive Abankwah and his partnership with Pollock – who was back to his aerially dominant best.
Louza once again pulled all the strings and, bar his booking and a needless shove later on which was dicing with seeing red, he gave another display which continues to make him the first name on the teamsheet.
Last night though, the most eye-catching performances came from the men involved in the goal: Ince and Sissoko.
Their output, and customer satisfaction scores, have gone through peaks and troughs this season, but last night they showed all the qualities you want from players with more than 500 senior appearances each.
They ran hard, they chased back, they played with intelligence and guile, and it was clear the younger players drew upon their leadership.
In the first half especially, they almost played as if Watford were down to 10 men, giving that extra percentage required in such a situation.
Of course, by opting to go without a recognised striker, Cleverley could be accused of almost voluntarily starting with a man less – but Kayembe’s ability in the air, a previously largely unseen side of his game, and power meant he led the line well.
Ince and Sissoko scurried around him to good effect, and while Giorgi Chakvetadze had one of his quieter games it’s become obvious through the season that opponents are wary just due to his presence and ability.
Tom Dele-Bashiru, so impressive only a few weeks ago, had his second successive iffy game and was withdrawn before the end.
Options in that central area of the pitch are thin with Pierre Dwomoh still recovering from injury, and whether the effects of Ramadan fasting are hitting Dele-Bashiru harder than others are unclear.
However, his assuredness on the ball and neat passing have deserted him somewhat in the last two games and he appears to be one who will be glad to see the international break on the horizon.
The lack of recent game time for Rocco Vata may be puzzling. The forward, who seems set to be called into the full Irish squad, has played only 95 minutes in the last six games.
What we don’t know is whether the virus that forced him to miss two games totally has left a lingering mark, but Cleverley has referenced regularly that he picks teams based on performances both on the pitch and in training – so maybe the latter is having some influence.
All in all it was a night where result massively outweighed entertainment. Functional, not fantastic.
Yet should Watford win at Oxford and have other results go their way, they could head into the break in seventh and return later in the month very much in the play-offs picture.
At the same stage last season, the Hornets were 13 points off the top sixth and only nine points clear of the bottom three.
It’s not always been pretty, certainly never plain sailing, but it’s progress.
