In our 'My Favourite Goal' series, we ask Watford supporters to tell us the story behind their favourite Hornets goal, and what makes it so special to them.
In this edition, Watford fan Kimberley Swift describes why she cherishes Daryl Janmaat's goal against Chelsea at Vicarage Road on February 5, 2018.
Kimberley's Story
It was a cold, Monday night fixture in February. I wouldn’t get home until nearly midnight. I was torn over going – was it very irresponsible to attend an evening football match with a job interview at 9.30am the next day? Or was it a cunning plan to distract from my pre-interview anxiety? If we lost (we probably would), I’d have a miserable trek home having sacrificed hours that I could have spent prepping. But if we won (you never know!) I knew I’d feel amazing the next day.
I opted for the cunning plan, a solid bit of decision-making if ever there was one. The match gave us everything we’ve come to expect from the Hornets: the tempered delight at going ahead against one of the big six, the frayed nerves that followed as Chelsea snuck back into it. That moment when worry morphs into certainty that Chelsea will equalise and go on to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, because we’re Watford and that’s what happens. The resigned disappointment when Eden Hazard’s 81st minute unstoppable strike brought the inevitable equaliser.
Eventually came the giddy, euphoric disbelief of the final result, rounded off with terrific goals from Gerard Deulofeu and Roberto Pereyra, but it was a moment of inspired play from an unassuming Dutch right-back that sparked the renaissance.
Level at 1-1 with nine minutes left, comments around me in the Rookery had backtracked from “we can win this!” to “I’ll take a draw”, so convinced were we that if either side was going to steal victory it would be them, not us. For two minutes all you could hear were triumphant chants of “Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea”.
Yet Watford kept attacking. At 83.37 on the clock, Daryl Janmaat received the ball on the right wing from Troy Deeney. He kept hold of it, perhaps thought about offloading it to a teammate, instead played a quick little one-two with Pereyra to make some space and rolled the ball in on his weaker left foot. I didn’t see it coming – and neither did the Chelsea defenders, who reacted far too late and then stood, hands on hips, disbelieving, while The Vic exploded in joy.
Together with the noise that erupted around the stadium, that moment ignited an extraordinary eight minutes for the Hornets. Janmaat’s goal had left Chelsea stunned and the Vicarage Road faithful delirious. We “cheerio’d” departing Blues fans when Deulofeu netted our third. We cheered every Watford pass – a sound normally heard in sarcastic acceptance of a bad defeat – in the run-up to Pereyra’s equally inspired fourth, sealing a 4-1 victory that will live long in the memories of the supporters who were there on that chilly February night.
Next morning, I sang Hornets victory chants in my head all the way from home to office, inspired by a triumphant confidence I’d never felt before, and nailed that interview.
Kimberley Swift picked Daryl Janmaat's strike in a 4-1 win against Chelsea in 2018 as her favourite Watford goal.
