For Huddersfield Town, this was proof that football has a tendency to reward the teams who never give up. They had gone 738 minutes without a goal in all competitions on the road, but they are no longer weighed down by that unfortunate statistic.
David Wagner’s side followed a drought with a deluge, never looking back after Elias Kachunga’s early strike allowed them to feast on Watford’s vulnerabilities on an afternoon of chaos and controversy.
Huddersfield, who scored four in a top-flight game for the first time since 1956, have not had this much fun on their travels since ruthlessly taking Crystal Palace apart on the opening day of the season. Kachunga’s first goal in the Premier League was followed by two for Aaron Mooy and one for the excellent Laurent Depoitre.
The harsh reality for Watford is that they were fortunate to lose only by three. Marco Silva’s team were appalling, their fate sealed by Troy Deeney’s brainless red card in the first half, and are without a win in five matches.
Silva refused to talk about refereeing decisions once the game had finished, even though Deeney was insistent that he touched the ball when he fouled Collin Quaner in the 33rd minute, and Watford’s manager also chose not to focus on Kachunga and Quaner both appearing to be offside when the former put Huddersfield in front after just six minutes.
“I don’t want people to say: ‘Marco Silva talks about the referee,’” the Portuguese said. “We made mistakes at this level that you cannot make.”
Huddersfield, who are six points above the bottom three, capitalised on those errors. Watford have the worst defensive record in the top half, with 33 goals conceded, and the visitors were bold. Indeed, it spoke volumes for Huddersfield’s dominance when Silva was forced into a tactical alteration in the 29th minute, replacing Adrian Mariappa with Roberto Pereyra and switching from a 3-4-3 system to 4-2-3-1.
“We pressed them very high and were on the front foot and went in their faces,” Wagner said. “We were a threat and it was a deserved result.”
Watford, who struggled in midfield without the suspended Tom Cleverley, were dozing when Kachunga won an early corner. Huddersfield pinned them back, Mooy stabbed a deep ball to the far post from the left and Quaner muscled himself into a shooting position. Heurelho Gomes diverted the forward’s shot into Kachunga’s path and he was a yard out when he ended his team’s long wait for an away goal. The two attackers both looked offside, but the flag stayed down despite Watford’s appeals.
Huddersfield continued to impress after Kachunga went off with a potentially serious knee injury. They defended well, allowing Watford few clear opportunities, and doubled their lead in the 23rd minute. Nobody in yellow tracked Quaner and his cross from the right found Mooy, who bundled the ball past Gomes from close range.
Silva responded by introducing Pereyra, but the Argentinian had been on the pitch for only a couple of minutes when Deeney ended his team’s hopes of a revival with a reckless tackle from behind on Quaner. Michael Oliver sprinted across to show red to Watford’s undisciplined captain, who has already served one suspension this season, and Depoitre scored a third early in the second half, lashing an angled drive past Gomes as José Holebas lay on the turf with a facial injury.
The mood changed when Jonathan Hogg caught Richarlison and received a second yellow, with Abdoulaye Doucouré belatedly making a game of it when he left Huddersfield’s goalkeeper, Jonas Lossl, rooted to the spot with a magnificent shot from 25 yards.
However, Huddersfield made it clear that they are a team with designs on making their stay in the top division a long one when Mooy scored his fourth goal of the season, converting a penalty to make it 4-1 to the visitors after Doucouré fouled Depoitre inside the box. “That we had such a difficult away run, this was extraordinary,” Wagner said.
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