Watford manager Valerien Ismael praised the impact of his substitutes after two of them combined to earn his side a 1-1 injury-time draw against Southampton at Vicarage Road.
With his side trailing to a Che Adams goal, Ismael sent on Vakoun Bayo and Rhys Healey and the pair combined to maintain Watford’s recent improved form.
Ismael said: “The bench had a massive impact today. I’m pleased that the players came on the pitch to make a difference.
“Everyone is a part of the process. We are working with all the players. I tell them: ‘Your minute will come. You will get your chance’.
“Rhys surprised the keeper with the position he shot from. It’s important for him as a striker to score goals.
“It’s great for him to get that reward. It has been a difficult period when he wants to play more. But he contributed to get us a point. This will give him a great feeling and give him the confidence to know that he can do it.”
Ismael also believes that Watford are beginning to assume the mentality of a side that can push for promotion from their current mid-table position. Their next challenge will come against second-placed Ipswich at Vicarage Road on Tuesday evening.
Ismael added: “There is no doubt that we deserved a point. I am incredibly proud of the players and the evolution of the team against a team that was relegated from the Premier League. There was a big desire and the way that we reacted to conceding the goal.
“You can see how the team is evolving. To attack the top of the table we have to become more ruthless. That is the last step in our evolution. Then we will be ready to get more rewards in these games.”
“So we will take this as a learning step because our opponents today were very strong in possession but we had our moments in transition.”
Southampton manager Russell Martin couldn’t disguise his feeling that his promotion-chasing side had let two points slip away.
With Leicester, Ipswich and Leeds all picking up victories, Southampton now sit 10 points off the automatic promotion places.
Martin said: “I didn’t speak very long with the lads afterwards because I felt so disappointed when we came off the pitch.
“Ultimately it is a point against a team that is in really good form themselves and I really liked the second-half performance. The energy was much better. We had a lot of control still and limited them to one really good moment.
“The first half was OK. We had a lot of control but made too many mistakes in the final third, so we changed the shape a bit at half-time to try to help us.
“But with the amount of moments we had of four v three or three v two in the second half, they needed to come to more. We needed to get the second goal and then it’s game over.
“Sometimes you feel like you’re hanging on in games, but I felt that we were going to get the second goal today. We didn’t and then we conceded a rubbish goal, a really bad goal.
“They smash it forward. We should head it. Instead, we try and get under it and Bayo was athletic and heads it and then Rhys hits one of the worst volleys I’ve seen him hit having worked with him.
“I wanted nine points from the three games this week, especially when the teams above us keep winning.
“I also watched stuff that I’m proud of and that I have enjoyed, but we just can’t have too many slip-ups.
“If we win the next two games, of course I’ll be happy. A point here is a positive one but because of the way it happens, it’s a real disappointment.”
Soca Warriors whip Cuba 3-1 to preserve League A status in Concacaf Nations League
Trinidad and Tobago’s Soca Warriors gifted interim Head coach Derek King his first win in charge as they defeated Cuba 3-1 in a crucial Concacaf Nations League encounter at Dwight Yorke Stadium in Scarborough on Monday night.
The Soca Warriors, who entered their final Group B contest in danger of being relegated, literally saved their best for last with a dominant performance that saw them preserve their League A status. They
Trinidad and Tobago’s fourth place finish on five points, also secured them a spot in the preliminaries of the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup. Jamaica (eight points) and Honduras (seven points) took the quarterfinal spots as well as automatic berths into the Gold Cup, while Nicaragua placed third on seven points by virtue of an inferior goal difference.
Cuba (three points) and French Guiana (one point) have been relegated to League B for the next edition of the tournament.
Knowing what is at stake, Trinidad and Tobago, who let a two-goal lead slip away to Cuba on last, wasted little time to declare their intentions. They broke the deadlock in the 13th minute thanks to Dantaye Gilbert, who fired home from close range.
Joevin Jones repaid King’s confidence in him on return to the programme, as he doubled the Soca Warriors lead with a tidy right-footed finish in the 38th minute. Interestingly, that goal took his tally to five to extend his lead as the Twin Island Republic’s all-time top scorer in the Nations League.
Andre Rampersad and Nathaniel James had grand opportunities to push Trinidad and Tobago further ahead, but both were denied by Cuba’s custodian Raiko Arozarena two minutes apart in the 41st and 43rd minutes, respectively.
Cuba threatened to make things interesting after the interval as Yasnier Matos pulled one back in the 62nd minute.
However, Real Gil ensured nothing of the sort transpired when he restored the Soca Warriors’ two-goal cushion with a decent solo effort in the 65th.
Cuba’s problems and, by extension, their chances of avoiding relegation were compounded when Karel Perez Mendoza was shown a red card in the 70th. From there, Trinidad and Tobago did what was required to see off the remaining minutes.
It runs in the blood - Maldini's joy after Italy debut
Daniel Maldini, son of Italy great Paolo, made his international debut in their 4-1 win over Israel, becoming the third generation of his family to play for the Azzurri.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Mateo Retegui and Davide Frattesi scored the goals, ensuring they remained top of their Nations League group after four games.
Maldini came on as a 74th-minute substitute to replace Giacomo Raspadori on Monday, with his father, who earned 126 caps for the national team, watching from the stands.
It is the first time three generations of a family have played for Italy's national team, with Paolo Maldini's final match coming 22 years and 118 days ago, while Cesare Maldini, Daniel's grandfather, played for the last time 61 years and one day ago.
"I'm happy that my parents came here, we'll talk when I get home," Daniel Maldini, who also played for Milan like his father and grandfather, said after the match.
"It was a strong, positive emotion, I am very happy to have played and that the match went well.
"I hope to bring some quality, even if there is already too much. I try to help as much as I can."
Chelsea defeat spells end of Eidevall's Arsenal tenure
Jonas Eidevall has called time on his spell as Arsenal head coach after an underwhelming start to the campaign.
The Gunners have been tipped as title contenders in the Women's Super League this season, yet they have won just one of their opening four matches.
They also went down 5-2 to Bayern Munich in their first Women's Champions League group stage match last week, before losing 2-1 to Chelsea to suffer their first loss of the WSL season.
A bad week that started with a draw against struggling Everton and ended with that loss to Chelsea at Emirates Stadium has ultimately signalled the end of Eidevall's tenure.
Arsenal confirmed on Tuesday that the Swede, who was appointed in June 2021 and has overseen 120 matches in all competitions, had resigned.
Renee Slegers, the first team assistant coach, will take over in the interim until Arsenal, who face Valerenga on Wednesday before taking on West Ham on Sunday, confirm their next permanent appointment.
Gunners sporting director Edu said: "We thank Jonas for his commitment to the club and achievements here since joining us in 2021. We have great respect for the dedication and commitment he showed to our women’s first team and recognise the role he has played in the growth and development of Arsenal Women.
"We all wish him the very best for the future. Our focus will now turn to the process of appointing a new head coach, and in the meantime, supporting Renee, as she takes interim charge of the team starting with two important fixtures this week."
Eidevall led Arsenal to back-to-back Women's League Cup titles in 2022-23 and 2023-24, as well as finishing second in the WSL in his first season, and third in each of the past two campaigns.
The 41-year-old won 80 matches in all competitions, for a win ratio of 66.67%.
In the WSL, he picked up an average of 2.24 points per game from 70 matches. Of the five Arsenal bosses to oversee at least 10 fixtures in the competition, that points per game average is the fourth-lowest, ahead of only Pedro Martinez Losa (1.94).
On Saturday, in the defeat to Chelsea, Eidevall matched his predecessor Joe Montemurro as the Arsenal manager with the most games in the WSL.
Eidevall's team scored 171 goals, winning 49 games (70%). Since he took over at Arsenal, only Man City (178) and Chelsea (209) have scored more goals than the Gunners.
Meanwhile, of ever-present WSL teams in that time, only Chelsea (45) have conceded fewer goals than Arsenal (50), and the Blues are also the only side to lose fewer matches (seven, compared to the Gunners' 11 defeats).
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