It feels like we say the same every week, but Watford are still in the hunt for a play-off spot.
With our unbeaten run extended to four games, the 1-0 victory against Stoke City may have been one of the Hornets’ more forgettable matches of the season, but it is results like this that move you up the Championship table.
If you had offered Watford supporters the chance to be three points outside the play-off places going into Christmas, almost all would have accepted that offer – myself included.
The game was scrappy, but most importantly, it was another three points – and just a second clean sheet of the season.
Goalkeeper Egil Selvik was only forced into a single save in the match, with Mattie Pollock deservedly picking up the player of the match award for his defensive display.
The central defender often sets the tone, and lifts the atmosphere at Vicarage Road, with his aggressive nature and eagerness to put his body on the line – a trait which goes a long way, and one that may well end up with him named Watford’s player of the season.
Also making a somewhat unexpected surge for that crown is Othmane Maamma.
While his presence in the starting XI was delayed this season, he has more than stepped up since his arrival. The young Moroccan brings the flair and excitement that fans adore, and that the squad often misses in the absence of Kwadwo Baah.
And in the week where Mamadou Doumbia left for the Africa Cup of Nations, Luca Kjerrumgaard stepped up to net his eighth goal of the season.
The giant Danish striker may not often make the headlines, but he deserves his props as he continues to go under the radar with his goal tally.
With two more matches before the turn of the year, Watford have done enough to keep supporters hopeful of what 2026 may bring.
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