William Troost-Ekong was pleased to be back in front of supporters at the weekend, but was disappointed Watford could not reward the fans with a goal.

Just over 3,500 people were present at Vicarage Road on Saturday to see the Hornets drawing 0-0 with West Bromwich Albion, as the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions permits stadiums to once again grant entry to the general public.

While the experience of playing in front of people was a good one, the Nigerian defender hopes there will be greater cause for noise and celebration once the season begins.

“It’s a bit of a shame we couldn’t give them a goal. I think we were quite close a few times, I would’ve loved to hear the roar and cheers again,” Troost-Ekong told the club website.

“When we came out and when they named us on the teamsheet, it’s nice to hear all the fans here and we’re going to need that support this year.

“I think all of us really enjoyed the game today. It was important just to get the minutes in but playing in front of the fans is something we’ve been waiting to do for a long time.”

The game itself was not the most thrilling, with clear cut chances for either side few and far between.

A number of younger players from the Under 23s and Under 18s were given their chance to shine throughout the match and Troost-Ekong felt they all took their chances to impress.

“West Brom came out with quite a good team and tried to press us high, but these are the kind of games that you have to play out [from the back] still and the manager asked us to do our job," he said.

"Credit also to all the young boys who played today; some made their debut and were fantastic.

“I think they all slotted in very well. It’s great to see that there are so many young lads pushing on and trying to be a part of the squad. In the last 15 minutes it was just Joshua King, Rob Elliot and Dapo [Mebude] from the first-team squad and they managed to hold their own.”