After a poor first-half showing in last weekend’s home draw with Wrexham, Rob Edwards made four changes at the break — a move that paid off as Middlesbrough fought back to claim a point.
For Saturday’s trip to Vicarage Road, the head coach tweaked his starting lineup with three changes. Despite enjoying more possession and territory against Watford, Boro struggled to carve out clear chances and found themselves 2-0 down at the interval, undone by counter-attacking goals from Imran Louza and Luca Kjerrumgaard.
With a strong bench and plenty of attacking options available, many expected Edwards to again make early changes. However, he chose to keep faith with his side, only for Watford to extend their lead four minutes after the restart when Mamadou Doumbia’s shot deflected in off an offside Kjerrumgaard.
Edwards eventually turned to his substitutes on 70 minutes, introducing David Strelec, Morgan Whittaker, Kaly Sene, Sontje Hansen and Riley McGree — though by then, the contest was effectively over.
“The third goal kills it,” Edwards admitted. “I’m not going to make excuses — that’s pretty much the end and forces us into the changes.”
Explaining his decision not to act sooner, he added: “At that point, I thought we were in the ascendancy and would find a way. We did adjust a little — pushed Hayden [Hackney] higher and moved Della [Burgzorg] left — but apart from the two goals, there wasn’t much wrong.
“We just need to be sharper in that final third — take the shot earlier, be braver in those moments. We have to be better at the top end.”