Ben Foster says Watford knew exactly what to expect going into last night’s game but still struggled to impose themselves against a Wycombe side who made life very tough for the Hornets.
The Chairboys were without a single point from their seven games prior to yesterday’s 1-1 draw, but they will be disappointed to have not taken all three against Watford.
“It was a very difficult night,” said Foster, speaking to Hive Live Extra. “We knew they were very physical and that was going to be their style of play. We were well versed in what they were going to do, we’ve seen plenty of videos, but we just didn’t cope with it.
“We knew what to expect. That’s how they’re going to get out of the relegation zone, they’ve got to rely on players working hard for them and direct football, and tonight it showed. They’re going to be a serious handful for a lot of teams.
“The big man up front [Adebayo Akinfenwa] was absolutely brilliant for them, he’s so efficient in what he does and we struggled to cope.”
Wycombe were ultimately denied their first ever Championship win by another fine performance in goal from Foster, who earned the Man of the Match award and made an array of saves, including some up high, some down low, some with his hands and some with his feet.
“It just shows how well they’ve done, to be honest,” said the goalkeeper.
“They were probably the better team, they had a lot of chances and we put our only chance away, thank God, so it’s something to look at and reflect on and take into the game on Saturday [at Barnsley].”
Vladimir Ivić’s side are still third in the table, with just one defeat from eight games, but Foster believes Watford need to perform better than they did last night if they are to sustain a promotion push this campaign.
“I think you can expect a bit more [than the Wycombe performance],” he said. “We’re still a very young team and it’s a bit of a baptism of fire into this league when you come up against teams like this, but we need to grow up fast.
“It’s a very, very tough league, you can’t take anything for granted. We were third going into this game and they were near the bottom of the league without a point, but we’re the ones happier with a point than them.”
