‘We needed to get at Norwich City’ – Troost-Ekong relieved to see Watford recover from Luton Town loss

William Troost-Ekong was relieved to see Watford bounce back from their defeat against Luton Town to silence Norwich City.

The Hornets bowed to a 1-0 defeat against the Hatters – a result which was a setback to their Premier League ambition.

Against Daniel Farke’s team at Carrow Road, they ran out 1-0 winners courtesy of Dan Gosling’s 57th-minute strike courtesy of an assist from Joao Pedro.

The Nigeria international described the atmosphere in the dressing room after the hard-fought result, explaining what motivated them against the Canaries.

“There was a lot of shouts and a lot of dancing – general happiness, I think. Everyone was just relieved because it was a massive game and we tried to keep our heads cool and the pressure we had,” Troost-Ekong told Hive Live Extra.

“That was the message after Saturday’s defeat to [Luton Town]. In that game, we didn’t start well, were on the back foot throughout the whole game really.

“Everyone was upset, and we had to use moments like that to motivate ourselves for the [Norwich] game. So, we did that.

“We also knew that they were going to be playing under pressure. So, we needed to get at them from the start because we don’t want it to become a showcase game for them.

“From the first whistle, they knew we were here to get something. Yeah! We did that throughout the game.”

Occupying the second position in the English Championship having accrued 85 points from 43 fixtures, they have conceded the least goals too (28) – keeping a clean sheet in 21 games.

When asked what makes the team solid defensively, the former Udinese and Gent man said: “I think it’s a team effort. Since the manager [Xisco Munoz] came in, the main thing that he changed was that he wanted us to play further away from the goal.

“So, we tried to stay higher as much as we can and [on Wednesday], we played in Norwich’s half as much as we could.

“And I think if you stay away from your own goal, then it’s really harder for them to try and score. I can’t remember when teams break clear through [our backline] and get a one-on-one chance, and that’s a credit to the whole team.”