Sam Ricketts oversaw the Under-23s hard fought draw against the Hornets at their London Colney based training ground...
Sam Ricketts was delighted with the application and effort of the City Development side, as the ex-skipper took charge of the U23s at Watford.
In difficult conditions, Kyle Finn opened the scoring with a wonderful curling finish, before a converted penalty for the home side ensured the points were shared.
Ricketts said: “I thought their performance was really good, their attitude and work rate was really good. I gave them a game plan just before kick-off and they worked it really well.
“It was a real positive from the game that we executed that plan well, kept Watford attacking down one side and won the ball back quickly. We could have been better in possession, but overall it was a good game.
“Football is always two-fold, with the ball and without the ball. I thought we were excellent without it, as a team that did kind of get thrown together due to the first-team fixture they were very well organised.”
In the absence of Nicky Eaden, Ricketts took primary charge of the fixture, having also been involved at Ryton since announcing his retirement, and the Welshman is hoping the experience will ignite a future career in coaching and management.
“I really enjoyed it, it was the first game I’ve taken charge of fully and I enjoyed the different challenges that posed and hopefully there might be a few more in the future," the 35-year old said.
“I’m obviously helping out at the moment with the club just doing whatever I can to support the coaching staff and the younger lads here. This fell for me today, so I’ll just take it in my stride and see what happens.
“There were some very good performances today, it was a great goal by Kyle Finn and hopefully they all learnt something from the game that they can take into the next fixture.”