Watford held to goalless stalemate by West Bromwich Albion in Premier League

The Golden Boys produced some impressive passages of play at times in the first half, were dominant for large parts of it and created opportunities. But they were unable to fashion a chance that would fall into the clear-cut category; the same applying to a second half which was more even, although the home side again had some promising moments.

The Baggies offered little as an attacking force for the most part, failing to create an on-target effort in the entire 90 minutes, although they arguably had the clearest chance of the match when Saido Berahino headed wide from close range following a corner in the second period.

Quique Sanchez Flores opted to make one change in personnel to the side that begin the Premier League campaign in uplifting fashion with a 2-2 draw at Everton last weekend.

Having scored a fine second goal for Watford at Goodison Park, Odion Ighalo was back in the starting XI with Jose Holebas the player to drop down to the bench. This meant Ikechi Anya switched to left-back.

There was more positive news among the substitutes as both Steven Berghuis and Almen Abdi were available to be called upon if required.

The Baggies started their season by being well beaten 3-0 by Manchester City on Monday and boss Tony Pulis made three changes to his line-up and also looked to have switched from a 4-4-2 to a 4-5-1 formation.

Jonas Olsson and Gareth McAuley came into a reshuffled defence, while Claudio Yacob was named in midfield. James Chester, Joleon Lescott and James McClean were the trio to make way and were named on a substitutes’ bench that also included club record signing Salomon Rondon.

Following a superbly observed minute’s applause in memory of Hornets fan Chris Dyer, who was killed in the Tunisian terrorist atrocity, the visitors lined up with Berahino playing as their lone striker and Rickie Lambert dropping deeper in more of a 4-4-1-1 shape.

The Hornets started confidently though, and had the first effort of the game when Ighalo hit a well-struck effort from 25 yards but Boaz Myhill was always behind it.

Another opportunity came soon after when, following a good spell of patient possession, Miguel Layun crossed from the right and Troy Deeney flicked a header wide, taking it away from Jose Manuel Jurado, who was nicely poised behind his skipper to pounce.

The majority of the game continued to be played in the West Brom half and the Hornets’ next opening came in the 11th minute when Jurado did well to retain possession to the left of goal, close to the byline, and he lifted the ball back to Deeney, whose on-target diving header was blocked.

The skipper had his side’s next effort as well, hitting an early shot from the right side of the area at Myhill after being set away by a lovely defence-splitting 40-yard pass from Etienne Capoue.

The confidence with which the Hornets were playing was illustrated in the 20th minute when Allan Nyom won the ball back off James Morrison and knocked it down the right touchline, only to seemingly send it out of play. However, Layun kept it in play with a lovely flick that opened the game up, enabling Capoue to break forward, win one challenge when he looked second favourite, and set up Jurado for an acrobatic half-volley, which he put over.

Still the Hornets kept coming, with Jurado setting Anya clear on the left with a lovely reverse pass; the Scotland international sending in a deep cross which was headed back across goal by Deeney and Ighalo was just unable to connect as Myhill and a defender got their marginally quicker.

The Baggies had barely had a sniff but in the 28th minute from the first corner of the match, Lambert glanced an attempted goalbound across the target and Berahino put the ball over the top.

The visitors then won a second corner but from it, the hosts countered at speed with Anya’s flick setting Nyom away and the right-back ran at least 40 yards before hitting a piledriver which Myhill was unable to hold before the danger was snuffed out.

Olsson was the first player to be booked in the 31st minute and he could have few complaints after ending an Ighalo run with a scything challenge. It resulted in a free-kick 25 yards out in a central position and Jurado almost made the defender pay a heavier price as he curled the set piece narrowly wide of Myhill’s right-hand post.

Watford had further opportunities to keep the pressure on their opponents when they won two corners as the game entered the final ten minutes of the opening half. But on both occasions Jurado’s delivery was disappointing, although the first needed dealing with after Anya had helped it on with a deft header.

The match then went quiet for a short spell until the 44th minute when the ball was lifted up towards the edge of the area where Deeney chested it down to Ighalo and the Nigerian struck a rising left-footed effort over the top.

Despite being on top for much of the first half and playing very well in passages, the Hornets had to settle for going into the break all-square.

It didn’t take long after the restart for the home side’s next opening to materialise; Jurado jinking away from two opponents well but the quality of his attempted curling shot didn’t match what had come before.

Ighalo had the Hornets’ first on-target effort of the half with a left-footed strike from the edge of the area which Myhill held after Deeney had improvised to chest down a Capoue pass.

Vicarage Road rose to its feet in the 55th minute to give a rousing ovation for two players; the substituted Layun and his replacement, Abdi.

Four minutes later came another chance for the home side as Anya stood up a cross from the left, Deeney headed back across the six-yard box but Ighalo was squeezed out as he tried to get a decisive touch.

Pulis gave a debut to new arrival Rondon in the 61st minute as Craig Gardner made way, but that came after Jurado had hit a superb cross-field pass to Nyom as the Golden Boys looked to build another attack.

The former Zenit Saint Petersburg striker was quickly into the action, running Craig Cathcart before checking back on his left foot, but his attempted finish never threatened Heurelho Gomes.

Lambert was booked in the 66th minute for an agricultural challenge on Valon Behrami but play was soon back in the Albion half with Capoue seeing a shot blocked.

The Hornets continued to knock on the door as Ighalo flicked a header from Abdi’s right-sided delivery across the target and wide. The Nigerian then tried to catch the Baggies keeper out with an improvised angled strike from at least 30 yards but Myhill was alert to it. In between times, Lambert had been replaced by James McClean.

Deeney was the next Golden Boy to try his luck from distance but, like others before, his shot cleared the bar as his side remained frustrated in their quest to break the deadlock.

Like in the first half, the Baggies had offered relatively little going forward but they spurned a great opportunity to take the lead in the 79th minute when, following a corner from the left, the ball was headed into the six-yard box and the unmarked Berahino flicked a header wide when he should really have hit the target.

Berghuis made his Hornets debut as an 83rd-minute replacement for Jurado but it was the visitors who were having the better of it at this stage. Their next promising situation came when Capoue conceded a free-kick 25 yards from his goal to the left of centre but Chris Brunt was unable to keep his strike from going over the top.

Abdi hit a left-foot shot tamely through to Myhill before Callum McManaman came on for Berahino as the game entered three minutes of stoppage time.

Nyom took a yellow card for the team to prevent McClean breaking way but neither side were able to fashion one last opportunity as a Watford game ended goalless since the 0-0 draw at Yeovil Town in February 2014.

Watford: Gomes; Nyom, Cathcart, Prodl, Anya; Behrami, Capoue; Layun (Abdi 55), Ighalo, Juardo (Berghuis 83); Deeney. Not used: Gilmartin, Angella, Holebas, Watson, Vydra.

West Bromwich Albion: Myhill; Dawson, McAuley, Olsson, Brunt; Gardner (Rondon 61), Fletcher, Yacob, Morrison; Lambert (McClean 69); Berahino (McManaman 90). Not used: Rose, Chester, Lescott, Anichebe.

Bookings: Olsson for a foul on Ighalo (31); Lambert for a foul on Behrami (66); Nyom for a foul on McClean (90).

Attendance: 20,011 (2,045 away fans).

Referee: Paul Tierney.