'H' double as Watford win

Jay DeMerit was also on target as Watford bossed the opening hour of this match to move into a comfortable lead before slipping into cruise control and allowing Luke Varney to grab a consolation for the visitors.

Ray Lewington made no changes from the team which performed so well at Liverpool but there was a surprise on bench with the omission of Alec Chamberlain, although that was probably to accommodate Johnnie Jackson.

Crewe made two changes to the side which was beaten 3-0 by Coventry City in the FA Cup with Chris McCready and Paul Bignot coming in for Steve Jones, who was on the bench, and Stephen Foster. But of course there was no Dean Ashton after his recent move to Premiership Norwich City.

Watford could have been ahead with only three minutes on the clock. After Brynjar Gunnarsson's wayward shot drifted right, Paul Devlin collected the loose ball, beat his man and lofted a cross towards the back post. Helguson's header back across the goal looked to be looping in at the far post but Adie Moses did well to get back and head the ball across his own bar before it was cleared to safety.

Five minutes later, the Hornets did take the lead in glorious fashion. Gavin Mahon, from inside his own half, found Helguson with a wonderful 50-yard cross-field ball and the Icelandic international, just inside the penalty box left of centre, controlled with his chest and buried a powerful right-footed volley just inside Clayon Ince's right-hand post.

The home side continued to dominate and had the ball broken kindly in the box after Helguson flick-ons from respective Devlin and Jermaine Darlington crosses, the advantage could easily have been doubled.

However, Crewe almost levelled out of the blue; from a hopeful long ball forward, Varney got on the end of a Mark Rivers flick-on and, on the edge of the area with his back to goal, cleverly controlled and turned in one movement before flashing a volley just wide of Paul Jones' right-hand post.

At the other end, James Chambers picked out Gunnarsson with a clever chip into the box but he was unable to keep his shot down.

Watford almost contributed to their own downfall on 23 minutes. David Vaughan's cross looked harmless enough but DeMerit miscued his header and it rattled off the face of his own bar.

Crewe were certainly starting to create chances though and after more hesitancy in the Watford defence, Vaughan picked up the scraps on the edge of the box but skewed his effort wide.

Watford were soon back in the ascendancy though when Helguson scored his second of the match and 16th of the season on 28 minutes to make it 2-0. Neal Ardley played the ball down the right and Richard Walker, in trying to make the tackle, only succeeded in releasing Chambers. The former West Brom man showed great composure to cut in from the flank and pick out Helguson with a pull-back. Helguson feinted to shoot, slipped the ball past Bignot and fired powerfully past Ince, high to the keeper's right.

Crewe should have halved the deficit nine minutes from the break. Kenny Lunt drilled over a low cross from the right and Jones produced a fine left-handed stop to deny Vaughan's close-range effort before the ball rebounded to the same player but he blazed over.

The second-half was only 35 seconds old when DeMerit scored his first goal for the club to put Watford on easy street. Ardley broke down the left from kick-off and his cross was partially cleared to the American defender 30 yards out and he charged forward before unleashing a right-foot drive from the edge of the box past Ince's despairing dive to the right.

Varney curled the ball over after being played through as Crewe attempted to give their sparse travelling support a crumb of comfort.

However, Watford could have added a fourth on 54 minutes after a fine flowing move. Darlington won the ball near this own touchline deep in his own half, broke and the play was eventually moved wide to Chambers on the right. Chambers strode forward, released Helguson and carried on his run, receiving the return pass and stinging Ince's palms with a good effort which was turned away for a corner.

Darlington was the next to test Ince but although he connected well with a volley just inside the area after Devlin's cross was half-cleared, the ball was too close to the Crewe stopper who gathered comfortably.

The visitors did pull one back on 68 minutes. After a period of incessant Watford pressure, Devlin lost possession and Vaughan broke, slipped Varney through a square defence and he slid the pall past Jones from 15 yards.

Watford looked in danger of going stale towards the latter stages but the introduction of Anthony McNamee certainly livened proceedings up and he almost carved out an opportunity after some clever trickery in the Crewe box before being crowded out.

As the game ambled towards a conclusion, Lunt tried his luck from 20 yards but the ball raced past the wrong side of Jones' right-hand post while Helguson let fly with an audacious 30-yard half-volley but his effort flew well over Ince's bar.

There was still time for a late scare for the Hornets though when the ball broke to Michael Higdon down the right and his low cross was deflected by Chambers towards his own goal but a combination of Chambers himself and Jones cleared the ball off the line and to safety.

Watford: Jones; Chambers, Cox, DeMerit, Darlington; Devlin, Gunnarsson, Mahon, Ardley, Bouazza; Helguson. Substitutes: Blizzard for Gunnarsson after 68 mins; McNamee for Bouazza after 75 mins; Jackson for Mahon after 83 mins; Dyer and Webber not used.

Crewe Alexandra: Ince; Bignot, Walker. Moses, McCready; Lunt, Sorvel, Bell, Vaughan; Varney, Rivers. Substitutes: Higdon for Rivers after 77 mins; Cochrane, Jones, Rix and Williams not used.

Bookings: none.

Attendance: 11,223 (445)

Referee: Carl Boyeson (Hull).