Hornets captain Troy Deeney said the Hammers motivated his side to come back to victory because of their first-half showboating.
West Ham United goalkeeper Adrian has told Sky Sports that there was nothing wrong with the way in which his side played whilst beating Watford in the first half of Saturday’s eventual defeat.
The Hammers raced into two-goal lead after around half an hour thanks to Michail Antonio’s double, the second of which was set up superbly by Dimitri Payet’s rabona cross.
Manuel Lanzini had also used the technique earlier in the game when shooting from the edge of the box as he found a way to use his stronger foot from a bad angle.
However, for all their tricks and flicks, the Hammers imploded late in the first half and conceded four goals in 22 minutes either side of half-time to collapse to a 4-2 defeat.
Speaking after the game, Watford captain Troy Deeney suggested that the home side had been disrespectful to his team in the manner in which they had played.
However, Adrian does not believe that was a fair comment and insisted that the Hornets players should not have felt angry about the home side’s play.
The Spaniard told Sky Sports: “If you can use skill on the pitch and it gives an advantage then it is great for us.
“I don’t know if the Watford players were angry but Lanzini tried his [rabona] because he has more confidence in his other foot. Nobody can say this is disrespect.”
Whether or not any disrespect was shown, the clear fact is that West Ham were too complacent once 2-0 up and threw away what looked a certain victory.
That will have infuriated Slaven Bilic and their supporters, who may well be feeling that more fight and less flair is needed next weekend.
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