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BURNLEY, England (Reuters) – Roy Hodgson’s reign as Watford supervisor acquired off to a lacklustre begin as his aspect had been held to a 0-0 draw by backside membership Burnley in their Premier League conflict at a blustery Turf Moor on Saturday.
Burnley dominated the early exchanges however neither aspect may carve out any clear openings, with Maxwel Cornet and Dale Stephens each spurning half-chances.
Watford, nonetheless, grew into the game and virtually scored when Ben Mee diverted the ball into the route of his personal web from an opposition nook, however hazard was averted after Aaron Lennon cleared off the road.
The guests continued to push ahead and had a penalty attraction turned down in first-half stoppage time after a volley from Ken Sema caught the outstretched arm of Burnley’s Connor Roberts.
In a game devoid of real high quality, Burnley got here closest by Wout Weghorst when the Dutchman’s deflected shot hit the bar early in the second half earlier than the Watford frontline compelled Nick Pope into a variety of respectable saves late in the game.
“It was a nervy game. The high quality simply wasn’t there as we speak as all people was on tender hooks. The situations had been onerous as we speak,” mentioned Watford keeper Ben Foster, who stored the membership’s first clear sheet this season.
The consequence meant that each groups keep in the relegation zone, with Watford in 18th place on 15 factors from 21 video games, and Burnley two factors behind in twentieth however with a few video games in hand.
Hodgson, who changed Claudio Ranieri final month, added that the defensive enchancment was “vital” given their long-standing woes at the again.
“We know except we defend in the way in which we did as we speak — being compact and aggressive in our urgent — you then will not get clear sheets in the Premier League. I assumed this was a stern take a look at… and I assumed they handled it very properly,” mentioned the previous England supervisor.
Burnley boss Sean Dyche felt his aspect ended the game strongly however didn’t do sufficient to earn the three factors.
“I assumed we began brightly, misplaced our means somewhat at the top of the first half then regained it once more in the second half. Maxwel Cornet has not performed a lot for weeks and clearly Wout Weghorst is new so they’re connections which is able to hopefully develop,” he mentioned.
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(Reporting by Dhruv Munjal in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
