HORNETS FIND THEIR BUZZ IN SELCO LONDON MASTERS

Action at the Selco London Masters

BY RICHARD DEACON

Watford sprang the biggest surprise of the Selco Masters Cup so far when they marched through a star studded field to claim their place in the grand final.

Much fancied opponents Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea were left in the wake of the less fashionable Hornets, who boasted the tournaments best player in the irrepressible Tommy Mooney.

Grouped with Arsenal and Spurs, it seemed Watford would have their work cut out to even gain a point from the event, but those theories were soon out of the window as they destroyed much fancied Arsenal by 3-0.

And worse was to come for Gunners fans, as they got déjà vu from recent first team experiences when they squandered some key chances before falling to local rivals Spurs by 3-2.

It was a bitter sweet game for Arsenal ace Stephen Hughes, who went from hero to villain after finding the net early on before squandering a gilt edged opportunity that proved to be decisive.

Selco London Masters Champions Watford

That left Arsenal exiting the Selco London Masters without gaining a single point, and they were in good company – as Chelsea followed suit with two defeats out of two.

First the Blues were put to the sword by an attacking West Ham side in a 3-2 thriller, and the end to end action continued in their second match when a rampant QPR netted four times in a six goal thriller.

And it seemed like QPR were on course for an unprecedented hat-trick of wins when they saw off the Hammers to reach the final, especially when a second half equaliser allowed Watford to eliminate Spurs in the other group decider.

But if Spurs name was written on the trophy then nobody had told spirited Watford, and Craig Ramage combined brilliantly throughout the final with Tommy Mooney as Watford dominated proceedings.

There was a brief wobble for the Hornets when a 3-1 lead was pegged back to 3-2, but they hung on to collect the win and secure a place in September’s Manchester finals.

Watford fans were even calling for the sublime skills of Mooney to return to the club’s first team fold, and while he laughed off those suggestions the striker admitted it was good to be competing again.

He said: “That was great fun and we played really, really well. We were involved in some great matches full of goals and the evening has fulfilled its two objectives for me – it was entertaining stuff and we have won!”

Watford lift the Selco London Masters cup

The Selco London Masters was the highest scoring so far and Chris Lyons, operations director at leading builders merchants Selco  was still catching his breath after the presentation.

He said: “When you get 30 goals in a tournament then you know you have witnessed some good stuff – that was really fun to watch.

“All of the sides really went for it and decided it was a case of outscoring the opposition.

“There were some really fancied sides in this event but Watford have shown that its not necessarily the most fashionable names that make for the best sides in Masters football.”

For more information visit the official Masters Cup website.

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