EPL: Watford beats Burnley, West Brom edges Stoke City

It was another fruitless away outing for Sean Dyche's side, which has now taken just one point from its 11 fixtures on the road — in stark comparison to its form at Turf Moor, where they have won seven straight matches in all competitions.

Published : Feb 05, 2017 00:37 IST

M'Baye Niang celebrates his first Watford goal.
M'Baye Niang celebrates his first Watford goal.
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M'Baye Niang celebrates his first Watford goal.

M'Baye Niang marked his home Watford debut with a fine headed goal as Walter Mazzarri's side hung on for a 2-1 Premier League win over 10-man Burnley.

It was another fruitless away outing for Sean Dyche's side, which has now taken just one point from their 11 fixtures on the road — in stark comparison to their form at Turf Moor, where they have won seven straight matches in all competitions.

The Clarets may take some heart from a battling display following the sixth-minute dismissal of Jeff Hendrick at Vicarage Road, the midfielder sent off for a studs-up challenge on Jose Holebas.

Troy Deeney wasted little time in making Burnley pay for their indiscipline, the Watford captain rising highest at the far post to head home Niang's cross.

And in first-half stoppage time Niang, who joined on loan from AC Milan last month, got on the scoresheet himself with a superb header from Holebas' delivery.

Burnley toiled hard in the second period and pulled one back in the 78th minute via Ashley Barnes' penalty, but it was unable to muster an equaliser as Watford held on to move above its opponent into 10th.

Mazzarri's side was buoyed by a shock 2-1 win at Arsenal in midweek and it was a dream start for the host here as it took just four minutes to capitalise on its man advantage.

Niang had plenty of time and space to swing a right-wing cross to the back post where Deeney got the better of Matt Lowton and headed beyond Tom Heaton.

The Milan loanee was involved again midway through the half, bringing a fine save out of Heaton with a rasping left-footed drive from 25 yards.

Burnley's first effort arrived in the 33rd minute as Joey Barton's free-kick was tipped over by Heurelho Gomes before Watford debutant Mauro Zarate cut in from the left and flashed an effort narrowly wide.

But Watford did manage a second before the break as Holebas curled in a delivery from the left and Niang glanced home a fine header from 12 yards.

The visitor began the second half with purpose and almost halved the deficit in the 54th minute as Michael Keane's header took a flick off Stephen Ward with Gomes getting down smartly at his near post.

Watford seemed content to contain their opponents for long periods, but from a rare foray forward Niang and Deeney combined to great effect again, this time the skipper denied by a superb save from Heaton as the keeper scrambled across his line.

Barnes' hooked effort was cleared off the line by Craig Cathcart, but Sebastian Prodl handled Barton's rebound and Barnes made no mistake from 12 yards.

Deep into stoppage time, Cathcart's poor control let in Barnes, but the striker could only shoot straight at Gomes as Burnley's last chance of salvaging an unlikely point evaporated.

Morrison maintains Pulis' fine record

Tony Pulis preserved his fine record against former club Stoke City as West Brom edged to a 1-0 Premier League win at The Hawthorns on Saturday.

The Baggies manager is unbeaten against Stoke since leaving the club for a second time in May 2013 and secured a tight victory through James Morrison's early strike.

Morrison netted his second goal of the week in the sixth minute, having struck at the same stage of a 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough on Tuesday.

While West Brom's momentum had been interrupted by a swift equaliser on that occasion, Stoke could make nothing of its first-half possession as the host instead created a number of chances.

Pulis' men were not quite so dominant after the interval, but Stoke's struggles continued and Saido Berahino, emerging from the bench against his former employers, made little impact.

With West Brom able to see out the result with relative ease, it extended the gap between the two sides to seven points and consolidated eighth place in the table.

With the game's first attack, Nacer Chadli led a break on the left and, when his measured pass picked out Morrison's run, the Scotland international steered a smart finish across Lee Grant and into the far corner.

Morrison should have added a second when he failed to prod Chris Brunt's inviting cross on target, while Grant held from Darren Fletcher's low shot.

As the host continued to counter at pace, Grant had to be at his best to keep out Salomon Rondon's powerful strike, before Matt Phillips saw an effort deflected narrowly over.

Stoke's maiden opening finally arrived in the final minute of the first half, but Joe Allen directed Marko Arnautovic's delivery straight at Ben Foster.

Charlie Adam and Phil Bardsley both fired over after the break, while the latter also tested Foster, and Mark Hughes then introduced Berahino and Mame Biram Diouf to add further attacking impetus.

However, it was James McClean, another substitute, who almost made a telling contribution at the other end as he forced Grant into a fine save with a drive from distance.

Erik Pieters missed a golden opportunity to level the scores, screwing a header across the face of goal as he met a cross unopposed, and West Brom was able to see out the closing stages to claim maximum points.

Bilic's men bounce back from City thrashing

Goals from Andy Carroll, Pedro Obiang and Mark Noble inspired West Ham to a comeback 3-1 win at Southampton as Slaven Bilic's men climbed into ninth in the Premier League. 

A debut goal for Manolo Gabbiadini had Southampton fans in raptures, but celebrations were short-lived as West Ham responded with a trio of goals to bounce back in style from the 4-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City on Wednesday. 

Gabbiadini struck a 12th-minute opener, thundering the ball beyond West Ham goalkeeper Darren Randolph after he was found by a lofted Jay Rodriguez pass.

The former Napoli forward had little time to enjoy his moment, though, as Carroll levelled just two minutes later with a tidy finish under a despairing Fraser Forster.

West Ham put themselves into the lead on the stroke of half-time, Obiang netting his first goal for the club with an emphatic low strike from 25 yards to complete a first-half turnaround.

A deflected Noble free-kick settled the game early in the second half to send Claude Puel's men slumping to a sixth loss in seven league games. 

West Ham started brightly and a Sofiane Feghouli cross was headed just over by Carroll before referee Graham Scott awarded a free-kick for a push on Cedric Soares.

Gabbiadini opened the scoring for Southampton in emphatic style after just 12 minutes. The Italian beat West Ham's offside trap to latch on to Rodriguez's chipped pass before smashing the ball above Randolph.

West Ham responded almost instantly, as Carroll netted his fourth goal in as many games. The big striker evaded young Southampton defender Jack Stephens and was found expertly by Obiang before slotting past Forster.

Aaron Creswell tested Forster with a well-struck half-volley, as Cheikhou Kouyate's cross evaded the majority of the players in the box before reaching the former Ipswich Town full-back.

Rodriguez played a neat one-two with Sofiane Boufal before driving into the West Ham penalty area, though he saw his cross cleared comfortably by the returning former Southampton captain Jose Fonte.

It was 2-1 when Obiang struck from distance just before the half-time whistle, Southampton's clearance from a corner landing at the feet of the Spaniard, who struck decisively. 

Half-time replacement Nathan Redmond won a free-kick in an inviting position for James Ward-Prowse, who whipped the ball over the West Ham wall to draw an agile save from Randolph.

West Ham extended their lead after 52 minutes as Noble took charge of free-kick duty. The Hammers captain drilled the ball towards the Southampton goal and a Steven Davis deflection left Forster helpless. 

Prior to the hour mark Gabbiadini had a golden opportunity to get Southampton back into the game. A clumsy Kouyate header fell at the feet of the Italian, who lost his cool and blasted over.

The fingertips of Randolph were required to tip a Ward-Prowse header over after the midfielder was picked out by Cedric's searching cross.

Looking to atone for his part in West Ham's third goal, Davis struck ferociously from range, but was unable to beat the superb Randolph.

Michail Antonio almost added another goal for the Hammers in injury time, his driven strike flashing narrowly wide of Forster's far post.

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