Rob Edwards bemoans Middlesbrough’s profligacy in Watford defeat

Rob Edwards suffered a dismal return to Vicarage Road as Watford shocked high-flying Middlesbrough with a clinical 3-0 victory.

Sacked by the Hornets after just 10 league games, of which he lost only two, Edwards returned to a frosty reception.

His side dominated for long spells, but Edwards finished being taunted by the home fans after losing to a goal from Watford captain Imran Louza and Luca Kjerrumgaard’s brace.

Edwards complained that Kjerrumgaard’s inadvertent deflection to make it 3-0 should not have stood and “killed” Boro’s chances of a fightback.

But he admitted his side were not “ruthless” enough, saying: “It was frustrating, disappointing and all of that.

“Congratulations to Watford – they were clinical. There wasn’t loads in the game, but the biggest message for us going into the match was to manage their counter-attacks and their fast moments.

“Their first two goals were frustrating, but we didn’t do a lot wrong, and at half-time we felt that if we could get a goal we would be back in the game.

“But the third goal killed it. It obviously hit their lad – you could see him rubbing his head, which gave the game away, and he was in an offside position.

“The officials have got to get that right because the third goal was a killer. I’m not making excuses, but that was the end of it.

“We’ve have more shots today, but Watford scored three of theirs and we haven’t scored any. We need to be more ruthless at the top end. It’s a work in progress and we’ll get there.

“Late on we chucked the kitchen sink at but it wasn’t our day. We’ve done a lot of things right over the first 13 games, we’ve been very solid and there’s been a lot to like.

“We all know how hard it is to win in the Championship and this is a really difficult place to come.”

Watford, on their sixth head coach since Edwards departed three years ago and walked into a job at arch-rivals Luton, had not kept a clean sheet since April 8.

Hornets chief Javi Gracia, whose next target is to end Watford’s nine-month wait for an away win at Ipswich on Tuesday, admitted Kjerrumgaard’s goal may have been fortuitous, saying: “To be honest, I was celebrating the goal and I didn’t know what had happened.

“When I saw their players around the referee, I supposed they were complaining about one player crossing the line in front of the keeper.

“But I’m very happy because that is the response we were looking for after our defeat at Coventry.

“Today we have to recognise that the opponent had more control of the ball at times but at some moments we were able to create our own chances and score some fantastic goals.

“We have many games in a short period of time, and you have to be prepared to enjoy the moment, but tomorrow we need to think about Ipswich and we have to be ready to compete well in that game.

“Now we have kept a clean sheet, the day must come when we win away. I don’t know if it will come in the next game, but we will try.”