Ben Hamer and Jake Livermore gave their verdict on the emphatic 5-0 win over Rotherham United that saw Watford head into the international break boasting a six-match unbeaten run.
A first-half Mileta Rajović brace put the Hornets in control at Vicarage Road, before Edo Kayembe notched his first for the club and subs Tom Ince and Matheus Martins added gloss to the scoreline late on.
Goalkeeper Hamer made his first league appearance of the season in between the sticks, in place of injured skipper Daniel Bachmann, while Livermore was again a solid presence in midfield on his sixth consecutive start.
Read what the pair had to say below…
Hamer
We took control of the game early on. [Ken] Sema caused loads of problems down the left-hand side, and put some good crosses in, and obviously Rajo [Mileta Rajović] was there in the right place at the right time to tap home his two goals. It was great to see that, as we’ve been struggling to get crosses in and create chances recently.
As soon as we went 2-0 up that brought us a bit of calmness, and we played with confidence which continued to increase as the game went on. At half-time the gaffer made a big point of keeping our concentration and looking for a third to make it a comfortable afternoon. That was proved right - Edo [Kayembe] got the third and from then on we saw out the win and it was a good afternoon. They only had one or two chances throughout the entire game, so we have to be pleased.
It's always nice to be back playing. It was a pleasure to be out there - the pitch is where you want to be as a footballer - and to help the boys get a good result. Obviously it’s unfortunate for Dan [Bachmann], though. He’s been amazing for us this season, and hopefully he’s back in training soon and able to return for the Leicester game.
It’s good to go into the break on a high - you don’t want to go into two weeks off after a defeat because you’ve got a long time to think about it. There’s a good feeling in the dressing room and around the camp after today’s win, we’ll have a couple of days off now and then we’ll go back into training looking to kick on.
Livermore
I think that result has been coming - the performances have been good, we’ve just been struggling to break teams down. We faced another tough challenge today against a team sitting in and making things difficult, but credit to the lads, I thought they were brilliant.
I think it was important to do it at home, and before the international break. We’ve been working on breaking teams down in training, and when it all comes together it’s what football’s all about. We’ve all wanted to give the fans something to cheer about, so we’re really pleased.
When teams do sit in, the early goal does settle the nerves a bit because it means they then have to come out. It becomes a different game, and the longer it goes on the more difficult it is for them. We were fantastic defensively today - we had a really solid base - and I think that helped us really push on in attack and get the five goals.
I’m really pleased for Edo [Kayembe], to see him get his first goal. He had to wait for his chance in the team, but he’s been fantastic over recent weeks and I’m really proud of him. I thought he was excellent today, and he deserved his goal.
