Bruce Dyer leaps and goes close early on

RAY LEWINGTON paid tribute to Northwood after last night's pre-season friendly, quick to point out that some non-League clubs could have shown a lot less co-operation when releasing their top goalscorer for a crack at the big-time.

"They've been so decent over the Scotty transfer," said the manager. "And tonight, they've really done well for us. The pitch was in superb condition and the Northwood lads played the game in totally the right spirit. We're here to get fitness under our belts not get kicked around so it was an excellent evening in many ways.

"I'd like to say a big 'Thank you' to Northwood - they gave Scott his chance and are pleased to see him doing well. Mind you, they've got one or two more players I wouldn't mind coming to watch again," Ray smiled.

"We told the players most of them would have 90 minutes tonight and that's what we did. You can do as much training as you like but it's those match minutes which fine-tune your fitness levels so I'm pleased with the work-out. As I've said, we've got a nice buzz about our work right now. We're all working for each other, not ourselves, and it's good to see.

"All you can ask for in the early pre-season games, particularly, is that we get that fitness work into us and we look like we're trying to implement things we've been working on at London Colney. It's not good us putting on sessions and the players then ripping up the script once they cross that white line so I liked the majority of what I saw tonight."

Just as the boss had promised Northwood when our local non-League neighbours allowed their then top scorer Scott Fitzgerald to move for free to the Hornets in February 2003, Watford fielded a team full of senior professionals for a pre-season friendly at Chestnut Avenue which ended 4-0 to the Golden Boys.

Well over 1,000 fans - with home and away mixing readily - crammed into the modest Ryman League Premier Division ground and they saw another encouragingly solid display from Ray's side. Alec Chamberlain looked in particularly commanding form all evening while those in front of him clearly had a style and pattern of play they concentrated hard to implement - mixing the range of passing and working hard to recover possession before the opposition reached danger areas.

Give Northwood credit, they gave our lads one or two scares, most notably when Chambo showed superb reflexes to save low to his right when Christian Glynn cut inside his marker to fire in an accurate drive. But it was Watford who scored two goals in each half to run out comfortable winners.

A cross from the right on 17 minutes looking for Bruce Dyer was a little high for the striker but he did enough to force Rob Bullivant into a handling error. The loose ball dropped invitingly for the advancing Brynjar Gunnarsson who drilled home low from 12 yards.

It was two seven minutes later - and this time Bruce was the scorer at the end of a move he enjoyed a full involvement in. Some neat interchanges down the right set Bruce free to cross deep to the far post. Gavin Mahon collected, jinked his way outside his man to stand up an equally good cross which Bruce, recovering a central position, planted firmly past the keeper with a Rotherham-style header.

Danny Webber replaced Bruce at half-time but, save for skipper-for-the-night Scotty's removal to receive an ovation on 75 minutes (on came Jason Norville), it was 90 minutes for all the senior professionals.

Danny scored the fourth a few minutes before the end, nodding firmly home after good work from Paul Mayo down the left flank, but not before Scotty had treated fans of both sides with a trademark goal in so many respects. A weak back-header didn't immediately suggest danger but, in a race for the loose ball, the ex-Woods' hitman outpaced his marker and toed the ball past helpless sub goalie Dean Lindsay.

"It's been a lovely evening," Ray reflected. "Tonight reinforced to me what Watford's all about. We've come five miles down the road, we've got fans of both teams mixing quite happily and, everywhere you look, you see families and children with their Watford shirts on.

"With only a few exceptions - you're never going to please everyone are you - the comments me and the players get at these games when the crowd can come and have a chat to you are really encouraging. The more I meet Watford fans, the more I want to do well for them because of the warmth of feeling that comes across.

"There's a lot of goodwill about the place and that just makes you try a bit harder to do well. I sense the supporters are with us and I recognise that, as long as we're working hard and trying to do the right things, they'll keep backing us."

Watford: Chamberlain; Doyley, Cox, Dyche, Mayo; Devlin, Mahon, Gunnarsson, Ardley; Dyer (Webber HT), Fitzgerald (Norville 75). Subs not used: Lee (GK), McNamee, Collins, Young.

Northwood squad: Rob Bullivant (GK), Dean Lindsay (GK), Lee Gardner, Luke Evans, Mark Dennison, Gavin Hart, Dean Clark, Danny Yeoman, Richard Morton, Christian Glynn, John Murphy, Kieran Keane, Brian Fitzgerald, Dean Papali, Kevin Chakoadza, Gary Austin, John Ellis, John Castegnete, Jay Demerit, Alastair Heselton.

Brynjar Gunnarsson opens the scoring