Watford Head Coach Slaven Bilić was left to rue the Hornets’ missed chances after Reading fought back to secure a 2-2 draw in the Sky Bet Championship.
After taking the game to the Royals with Ismaïla Sarr and debutant Ryan Porteous ensuring Watford had an impressive 2-0 lead, Reading clawed their way back into the match as Tom Ince and Jeff Hendrick equalised at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
The Croatian felt it was two points dropped, with the Hornets seemingly cruising to all three before Reading fired back.
“The game is never buried at 2-0, but it should be enough,” Bilić began. “We had so many situations where we should’ve scored the third goal and then it’s game over.
“There were so many wrong decisions and balls that we lost in great positions. Then out of nothing, we gave a penalty away. After that, fear creeps in a little bit. It was a great goal [from Hendrick], although nobody marked him, but it was a great finish. It was a big waste for us. We can’t drop points like this.
“It definitely feels like a defeat. Instead of bagging three points with a good performance, we have to blame ourselves. It was 2-0, and it wasn’t the 2-0 when sometimes you are winning because you are lucky, it wasn’t that type of game. We were the ones on top. We had so many chances.”
At 2-1, Watford found the back of the net once again, but this time the goal was disallowed. The referee adjudged Britt Assombalonga to have strayed into an offside position, blocking the Reading goalkeeper’s view as Matheus Martins slid the ball into the net.
Bilić felt the decision was an important moment in the game, with the Royals equalising minutes later.
“I spoke to the referee and he said that Britt was in the view of the goalkeeper,” he explained. “The officials communicated, and it was clear from the main referee that Britt was in front of the goalkeeper and in-line with the ball.
“Then it’s offside, whether he touches the ball or not. I can’t argue with it. It was a key moment in the game, that moment and the Reading penalty, because we were so dominant.
“After it went 2-1, we should’ve brought the ball down. At 2-1, you are still leading and there is always going to be space. The ball was in the air all the time without a reason.
“They are key moments of the game. The game was there for us. I told [the squad] in the first-half to not be happy with just one. Don’t wait for the 12th round, don’t win it on points – knock them out. They are there and their guard was down. Although 2-0 should be enough.”
Focusing on the positives, Henrique Araújo and Ryan Porteous made their full debuts for the Hornets, with the centre-half scoring the second of the match, while João Pedro returned to the side following an absence due to injury.
Bilić was impressed with their contributions and is looking forward to reinforcing his squad over the coming weeks with the return of other injured players.
He continued: “[Araújo and Porteous] were very good. With Araújo, we have to save him a bit and he played 70 minutes which is enough on his first start for the club. With Ryan, he was very dominant without the ball. On the ball, Ryan was very composed and he is looking for progressive passes. They were very good performances and it’s a shame we didn’t win.
“That is our plan with the players coming back, but they have to hit the form. We can’t expect João Pedro, who has been out for a couple of months, to play like he played before his injury. It takes a couple of weeks in training and a couple of games.”
Assistant Coach Danilo Butorović echoed the boss' thoughts and felt the Hornets should’ve concluded the encounter after taking a two-goal lead.
“We should’ve finished the game earlier on,” he said. “We had the chances and we were good, especially during the first-half and the beginning of the second-half. We started really well and scored the goal.
“We were always a pass too late, or a second too late or we didn’t finish our chances. In any league, but especially this one, once you concede one, you know it becomes hard. We tried to keep the momentum going.
“For most of the game we were the better team and the only reason we didn’t win was because we didn’t finish it ourselves. We just have to pick ourselves up. Hopefully now when we start to get players back, we will get a bit more consistent.”
