Zola: ‘We won an incredible game of football’

Hornet’s head coach Gianfranco Zola praised his side’s performance after a Troy Deeney goal secured a priceless 1-0 win over Hull City.

The win at the KC Stadium means Watford cut the gap between themselves and second-placed Hull City from four points to just one, with only six npower Championship matches to play.

Deeney got the decisive goal four minutes before the half-time whistle, bending past Tigers ‘keeper David Stockdale from 20 yards.

Speaking afterwards to The Watford Observer, Zola praised his side’s strong showing.

‘I am very pleased. We won an incredible game in which we played very well,’ stated Zola.

‘After the first 15, 20 minutes we got control of the game and played some good stuff and scored a good goal.

‘In the second half, obviously they build up the pressure and put a lot of bodies in the box and our defenders were excellent.’

Zola also revealed that centre-half Fitz Hall – withdrawn after just 26 minutes – suffered a relapse after spending two months sidelined with a hamstring problem.

The 32 year-old was replaced by Lloyd Doyley – making his 400th first-team appearance as a Hornet – and Zola admitted afterwards that he felt for the former Queens Park Rangers man.

‘He felt his hamstring. What can I say, it is disappointing for him and it is disappointing for us as well because he is a player who we rely on a lot on,’ Zola told The Watford Observer.

Watford will look to put further pressure on the top two this Saturday evening when they host league leaders Cardiff City in the Championship’s tea-time game.