Watford F.C. in European football

Watford Football Club is an English football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. The club was founded in 1881 and has competed in the English football league system since 1920. Their first[1] and so far only season in UEFA-sanctioned cup competition came when they reached the third round of the UEFA Cup in the 1983–84 season.

History

1983–84 UEFA Cup

Under Graham Taylor, The Hornets enjoyed their highest ever league finish in the 1982–83 season when they finished second behind Liverpool, securing qualification to the UEFA Cup the following season, alongside compatriots Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur; the latter would go on to win the competition. Watford's first opponents were 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Watford lost the first leg 3–1, however a 3–0 win at Vicarage Road saw them safely through to the second round, where they faced Levski Spartak, a Bulgarian side. A 1–1 draw in Hertfordshire was followed up with a 3–1 win after extra time in the Vasil Levski National Stadium, ensuring Watford's progress to the third round.

The draw matched Watford with Czechoslovakian club AC Sparta Prague.[2] At home, Watford went 2–0 down in the first half however recovered to 2–2 with goals from Wilf Rostron and Jimmy Gilligan but a late winner from substitute Zdeněk Ščasný sunk the Yellows.[3] A 4–0 away defeat sealed Watford's exit as a 7–2 aggregate loss ended their European campaign.

Season Competition Round Opposition Score
1983–84 UEFA Cup First round West Germany 1. FC Kaiserslautern 3–1 (A), 3–0 (H)
Second round Bulgaria Levski Spartak 1–1 (H), 1–3 (A, aet)
Third round Czechoslovakia AC Sparta Prague 2–3 (H), 4–0 (A)

1992–93 Anglo-Italian Cup

The revival of the Anglo-Italian Cup for the 1992–93 campaign saw Watford return to European cup competition for the first time since 1984, however it would only be a brief return, as Watford finished bottom of their group in the Preliminary Round having been beaten by Bristol City and drawing with local rivals Luton Town.

Season Competition Round Opposition Score
1992–93 Anglo-Italian Cup Preliminary Round England Bristol City 1–0 (A)
Preliminary Round England Luton Town 1–1 (H)

1993–94 Anglo-Italian Cup

The next season Watford tried again, with another entry. Again, they fell at the Preliminary Round, as Southend United topped the group, although they did manage to beat their rivals Luton. They didn't take part in the Anglo-Italian Cup again, and the tournament itself was scrapped after the 1995–96 tournament because the two leagues could not agree on dates for fixtures,[4] and due to increasing violence at matches.[5]

Season Competition Round Opposition Score
1993–94 Anglo-Italian Cup Preliminary Round England Luton Town 2–1 (H)
Preliminary Round England Southend United 3–0 (A)

Overall record

Competition Pld W D L GF GA GD
UEFA Cup 6 2 1 3 10 12 -2
Anglo-Italian Cup 4 1 1 2 3 6 -3
Total 10 3 2 5 13 18 -5

References

General

Specific

  1. ↑ "Graham Taylor factfile". guardian.co.uk (Guardian Media Group). 29 March 2001. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  2. ↑ "Celtic drawn to meet Forest in money-spinner". The Herald (Glasgow). 5 November 1983. p. 16. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "GERMANS HIT LATE GOAL TO STUN SPURS". Evening Times (Glasgow). 24 November 1983. p. 46. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Anglo-Italian Cup has been scrapped". The Independent (London: Independent News & Media). 12 September 1996. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  5. ↑ Lawford, Mark (18 December 2008). "United prepare to join the list of football's most worthless medal winners along with Spurs, Liverpool, Villa, Derby, Forest, Chelsea, Chesterfield, Stoke, Blackburn and Everton". Daily Mail. London. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
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