Stephy Mavididi’s first Watford goal produced after Alessio Dionisi pep-talk
The goal was considered controversial by Lincoln’s joint managers.
Stephy Mavididi’s first goal for Watford sealed a gritty 1-0 win against Lincoln City after a pep-talk from head coach Alessio Dionisi.
On-loan winger Mavididi’s deflected strike less than a minute into the second half was controversial but it clinched only the Hornets’ second win in eight games and just their second clean sheet since March.
Under-pressure Watford boss Dionisi revealed that his matchwinner had complained about not getting enough game time, saying: “I’ve spoken to Steph over the past few weeks. That’s normal when a player hasn’t been playing and is not happy.
“Now I’m happy for him – Stephy was unhappy that he wasn’t getting enough minutes – like every player, he wants to play.
“It’s not easy for Steph when we change shape. It’s hard for him to play wing back, but now we’ve won and he scored the only goal, and he’ll be happy.
“I’m happy for my players, the fans and my club. This was only one match but it was important.
“The win was important because in our next match we play at home to a big team in Middlesbrough. It is better to prepare when we have won and I believe in my players.”
On the night when they christened the Graham Taylor Cup, which will be contested every time Watford and Lincoln meet competitively in memory of the former England manager, who led both clubs to the Fourth Division title in the 1970s, the quality was poor.
Lincoln, with joint head coaches Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw both banned from the dugout after picking up three yellow cards, were solid but offered little threat apart from Deji Elerewe’s header which clipped the bar.
The winner, just 38 seconds after the restart, came when Mavididi cut in off the left flank and whipped a deflected curling shot beyond Imps goalkeeper George Wickens.
Although criticism of owner Gino Pozzo and executive chairman Scott Duxbury has been gathering momentum on social media, a planned protest against Watford’s leadership at an appointed hour outside the ground before kick-off attracted just 11 people.
Imps joint head coach Shaw said: “We’re gutted and feel a little bit hard done-by. The players’ effort and endeavours were incredible – this is a massive football club full of internationals and the result has been defined by a big error from the referee.
“It’s a real tough one to take because it was our throw-in – people can get that wrong, I get that – but it’s been taken before it was awarded either way.
“We can’t complain about switching off because no-one knows which way it was going. It was a disaster for us to lose a game on those grounds, a big mistake has cost us what would have been a massive point.
“Chris and I have had words with the fourth official in previous games and that’s why we’ve ended up in the stands tonight, but we can’t fault the players’ effort and commitment.
“Yes, we could have been a bit better around the box but the performance was full of heart and desire and we deserved a point.”