Defender Christian Kabasele insists Watford will give everything they’ve got to retain their Premier League status, after Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at home to Leeds United left them six points adrift of safety with seven games to go.
The Hornets went into the break at The Vic with a one-goal deficit after Brazil international Raphinha notched his 10th goal of the season with a curled finish from the edge of the box, but then enjoyed a good spell of pressure themselves.
Ismaïla Sarr looked among the likeliest candidates to grab an equaliser for the Golden Boys before away forward Rodrigo profited from a defensive mix-up between Hassane Kamara and Samir to make it 2-0 and swing the momentum firmly in Leeds’ favour.
Jack Harrison put gloss on the scoreline with a third for the Whites in the game’s closing stages, and while Kabasele indeed believes the second goal was a turning point he feels there needs to be improvement at both ends of the pitch in the coming weeks.
A home clash against west-Londoners Brentford lies in store next for Roy Hodgson’s charges (Saturday April 16, 3pm KO), and 31-year-old Kabasele acknowledged the importance of curtailing a run of nine successive home defeats with a result against the Bees.
“It’s a big defeat today,” said Kabasele, who was denied at point-blank range by Leeds stopper Illan Meslier in the first half. “We knew before today that we had to do well in all five of our remaining home games; we lost this one, but until it’s over mathematically we will keep pushing and fighting.
“All the goals today came from us not being ruthless enough in defence. At 1-0 down we wanted to start the second half strongly, and I think we did. We were still in the game and had big chances to score but couldn’t make the most of them.
“But while we were pushing we had a lapse in concentration and they scored the second goal. We need to work hard on being consistent for the whole 90 minutes.
“It’s a little bit cliched but we need to keep working and stay strong. Next week is another big game – you can be sure that we won’t drop, and we’ll do everything we can to claim the three points against Brentford.”
