The Hornets came from 2-0 down at the London Stadium to beat the Hammers 4-2 on Saturday.
Watford captain Troy Deeney has told talkSPORT that he felt that West Ham were disrespectful to his side in the first half of the Hornets’ eventual 4-2 win at the London Stadium.
The Hammers raced into a two-goal lead in front of their own fans thanks to Michail Antonio’s brace and began to play freely after Dimitri Payet set up the second with an extravagant rabona cross.
The home players began to show off an array of skills before the Hornets stunned them and the crowd with four goals in 22 minutes either side of half time.
Deeney, who scored a fine equaliser moments before the break after capitalising on a terrible mix-up between James Collins and Adrian, had a strong message for his opponents after the match.
The 28-year-old said that he felt as though West Ham were disrespecting his side by showboating in the first half, but thanked them for providing his side with the motivation they needed to turn the game on its head.
Deeney told talkSPORT: “You know, they started doing the flicks and the tricks. I just thought after 30 minutes doing that was a bit lively. So we need to thank them really, because they stoked the fire and everyone started laying a glove on people.
“I could appreciate them [the tricks] when you’re five goals up and there’s 10 minutes left of the game. Not when it’s 2-0, still in the first half. I just felt it was a little disrespectful to us. I don’t think they were doing it for that reason, don’t get me wrong. I need to thank them, really. They got the boys up and running.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, he added: “As a player I though they were trying to mug us off a little bit. You can appreciate good skill and that was great skill for the second goal but as a professional you cannot allow someone to do that to you.
“You see that in the playground with six and seven year olds and we are grown men. There were some harsh words said to each other and everyone had that fire in their belly again.”
Whether or not Deeney is right to suggest that is a matter of opinion, but the fact of the matter is that West Ham got far too complacent far too early on Saturday, and ultimately paid the price.
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