Southampton’s return to the Sky Bet Championship turned into a hostile affair as they were relentlessy taunted over the ‘Spygate’ scandal during a 2-1 defeat at Watford. Tonda Eckert’s side struggled to handle the atmosphere at Vicarage Road in their first league outing since the espionage controversy that derailed their previous campaign.
Former Watford midfielder Pierre Dwomoh has been hit with an 11-match suspension by the Football Association following a series of racist incidents involving an Under-21 team-mate. The governing body described the player’s actions as "completely unacceptable" after he targeted a fellow professional with heritage-based slurs during training ground warm-ups.
Former England international Conor Coady has been discharged from hospital after a frightening head injury left him unconscious during Charlton Athletic’s 1-1 draw with Watford. The 33-year-old, currently on loan from Wrexham, required nine minutes of on-field treatment after blocking a powerful shot with his face in the closing stages at Vicarage Road, before he was stretchered off and taken to hospital.