Troost-Ekong: Why Bournemouth draw felt like a loss to Watford

BetOdds African All Stars Watford Championship AFC Bournemouth William Troost-Ekong Watford v AFC Bournemouth

The Nigeria international is frustrated the Hornets failed to secure three points against Jason Tindall’s men at Vicarage Road

William Troost-Ekong has expressed his disappointment with Watford’s 1-1 draw against Bournemouth in Saturday’s Championship game.

The centre-back made his second league appearance for the Hornets in the encounter, having teamed up with the side from Udinese in September.

The Nigeria international delivered solid defensive performances, making a number of timely clearances as he aimed to help his side keep a clean sheet.

Stipe Perica opened the scoring for Watford as early as the 12th minute after he was set up by Senegal international Ismaila Sarr.

The Hornets were on the verge of securing all three points in the game before conceding a late goal through Chris Mepham to share the spoils at home.

Troost-Ekong has aired his frustration following his side’s failure to beat Bournemouth, given the effort they put into the match.

“We are a little bit disappointed to only get a point, but if you'd have said before the game we'd get a point, we'd have probably taken it,” Troost-Ekong told the club website.

“Of course it's disappointing when you concede so late in the game and it felt a bit like a loss, but if you look back at the game, without a biased view, they had the ball a lot so a draw was probably a fair result.

“We should have perhaps tried to defend a bit higher, especially in the second half, but it's quite difficult as we didn't have the right pressure on the ball.

“They tried to play behind us quite a lot, so they pinned us back a bit with the ball in behind. They moved the ball well and as soon as we tried to get up the pitch, they tried to get behind us. They had quick players, so we had to cover the space.”

The Super Eagles vice-captain played for 70 minutes on his debut for the Hornets after suffering a problem in his hamstring.

The defender, however, featured for the duration of the game against Bournemouth and was named the man of the match.

“I managed to hang on. I felt my hamstring a bit. I'm still adjusting to the speed of the game as my last game with my [former] club was the third of August,” he continued.

“I'm still working on my match fitness so I'm happy to get 90 minutes in my legs. The Championship is a different type of football.

“It's more direct and you don't have so much time with the ball. It's good quality, from what I've seen, and I'm looking forward to the next game.”

Troost-Ekong will hope to impress again when Watford take on Wycombe Wanderers in their next league game at Adams Park on October 27.

2020-10-25 18:00:05

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