Twenty-four years ago today, on October 4, 1997, a Peter Kennedy double inspired Watford to a 4-0 away win against local rivals Luton Town. Here the former Northern Ireland international reflects on a crazy afternoon at Kenilworth Road…
Peter Kennedy had some magical moments in his career.
There was the nerveless penalty he rattled in at St Andrew’s in that dramatic shoot-out in 1999; the perfectly-weighted pass he supplied to Allan Smart for the clincher in the play-off final at Wembley or any of the 20 caps he proudly won for Northern Ireland. But probably the one that the Watford fans most want to talk to him about, and the one that earned him hero status at Vicarage Road, is the unforgettable game he had at Kenilworth Road.
He had a hand in the second goal, scored two in the space of two dreamy minutes and walked off with the Man of the Match award on an autumn afternoon that goes down as one of the most memorable in the club’s storied history.
“I played at Wembley and in the Premier League so they are nice personal achievements, but I think this one was for the supporters,” said Kennedy, now 47. “The fact we are still talking about it years later shows how much it meant to them and still means to them. People still speak to me about it now. It’s not the biggest derby in the world, like Rangers and Celtic, but I didn’t quite realise how much it meant to both sets of fans, so it was nice to put smiles on the faces of Watford fans and give them something to look back on fondly.”
Few saw the madcap nature of the first half coming – four goals in a 24-minute period – but it looked even less likely going into the game as the Hornets had drawn three and lost one of their previous four. Luton were on a 10-match winless run, so it looked being a clash between two out-of-form teams.
“It’s one of those games that just happens every now and then,” said Kennedy. “It was a day when everything went right for us and nothing went right for them. We were a good team and we got promoted that year. We were better than them and we knew it. Everything just clicked for us that day, it just fell into place. We were 4-0 up at half-time and it turned out to be easy. I think they were just shellshocked by the start we made.”
Born in Northern Ireland, Kennedy had been around the block before he joined the Hornets that summer and seen plenty, but even he was surprised at the intensity of the fixture and what he encountered that day.
“I didn't know the history to the game, but I knew it was a big rivalry and there had been some trouble before,” said Kennedy. “It wasn't until we got into the ground that I could feel the atmosphere and the tension. As soon as we came out to warm-up, there were a few things said and it was quite intense. You could feel the atmosphere building. There was a bit of argy-bargy in the tunnel as we went back in after the warm-up, a bit of spitting and a few things said and that really opened my eyes. They were really up for it, so were their fans and I knew then this was a big game.”
Manager Graham Taylor was the coolest man in the place and told his players to “forget about the crowd and go and do your job,” said Kennedy. His players carried out his instructions to the letter. “Richard Johnson hit one from distance after five minutes and then I had just sneaked back on after being injured and crossed one into the box. I think Dai Thomas shouted “keeper’s!” so the defender left it and he scored from the rebound at the second attempt. It was great to have Dai that day playing up front. I think he came in for Jason Lee, who was injured. He ruffled a few feathers.
“I don't know what I was doing there in a striker’s role for my first goal but it just dropped, I hit it and it went in. For the fourth goal, I intercepted a bad pass and got a good connection. I ran down the pitch to celebrate with the supporters and I don't normally do that. It was just one of those days. We had an amazing half-an-hour and everybody played their part.”
It could and probably should have been more, especially when kicking towards their own jubilant fans in the second half, but it was probably just as well the scoring stopped there as the atmosphere turned toxic.
“Graham sort of half joked at half-time about not scoring another goal as you could feel the tension building and it turning ugly,” said Kennedy. “Their fans were going mad. We just saw the game out in the second half and that was probably for the best.”
