Not even a hairdryer blast technique learned first-hand from Sir Alex Ferguson himself could fire up Watford’s strikers enough to breathe life into the club’s flickering playoff hopes.
Watford’s manager, Tom Cleverley, still recalls the time the Manchester United manager came after him all heat-settings blazing at half-time during an FA Cup quarter-final replay against Chelsea 12 years ago.
“I had it once, but if you’re a smart guy, you have it once and never again,” he said. A short remark back to the boss is not advised. It was a respectful one, but it still got the treatment.
“It probably wasn’t my character when I was a player but I have developed it. It’s a stressful job. So, yes, I gave them a rocket at half-time and there has only been two or three of those this season. I feel like the players are mentally strong enough to take that, otherwise I wouldn’t do it.”
Neither side could conjure a clearcut opening until the 28th minute and with Watford clearly below par that fell to Plymouth. Ryan Hardie turned sharply to find that in one move he had left the defence behind him. His shot was firm and accurate and would have crept inside the post had the Watford goalkeeper, Egil Selvik, not pushed it to safety with a strong left hand.
If Rocco Vata’s low drive on the half-time whistle had crept inside rather than flashing past the outside of the Plymouth goal it might have saved Watford’s players from the full force of their roasting during the break.
The same player handed Plymouth another escape two minutes after the restart when one touch too many allowed two defenders time to block his shot when it eventually arrived.
A sharp cross from Giorgi Chakvetadze failed to get the touch it needed and Plymouth continued to ride their luck when Vata’s deflected shot hit the crossbar.
By this stage Kwadwo Baah’s not inconsiderable presence had been added to the mix, but when put through one-on-one it was guile he needed rather than blasting the ball straight at Conor Hazard.
On a different day, perhaps Vakoun Bayo would have bundled the ball in at the far post or done better than find the side netting with two gilt-edged chances. In the end, the single point seemed insufficient with a tough final seven games to come and ground to be made up.
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“We have to do more,” Cleverley said. “You have to have a nasty determination to break down that back line. It’s not just going to happen, you have to make it happen. We’re striving for perfection and today we were halfway there.
“My job is to keep the team believing because we’ve reduced our margin for error. Until it’s mathematically [impossible] to make the playoffs, it’ll always be alive in my eyes.”
Plymouth could even have snatched an unlikely win at the end when the substitute Muhamed Tijani shot just wide in the closing minutes. With rivals Luton winning, a single point looks just as forlorn for Argyle in their hunt for survival.
Plymouth’s manager, Miron Muslic, said: “A point is a small step forward but we take it. We have to move on. I’m positive. If we can keep our structure like we did today, we should reward ourselves.”