Roy Hodgson boosted by Watford’s resilience with ‘killer games’ to come

Roy Hodgson hailed Watford’s resilience after they recorded a 2-1 win at Southampton to lift their survival hopes ahead of “killer games” in the final two months of the season.

Cucho Hernandez struck a first-half brace at St Mary’s to help the Hornets secure only a second Premier League victory in 17 attempts.

Mohamed Elyounoussi pulled one back for Saints but Watford held on. They remain in the bottom three but only on goal difference after they were able to draw level on points with Everton – one of four bottom-half sides still set to visit Vicarage Road.

Hodgson said: “I thought the attitude of the players and their obvious desire to play well and win this game was there for all to see.

“What pleased me was the fact that after conceding that goal at the end of the first half and not having the cushion of a two-goal lead at half-time, it could have really dented our confidence and belief but it didn’t.

“In the second half we continued where we left off and resilience is such an important factor in top Premier League football. It doesn’t matter if you are fighting at the bottom or trying to qualify for the Champions League, you have to have the resilience to stay in the game, deal with corners and free-kicks, all the things that can happen and we had that resilience.”

After a 4-0 defeat at Wolves on Thursday had dented the Hertfordshire side’s hopes of beating the drop, Hernandez helped provide the perfect response on the south coast.

The Colombia attacker grabbed the opener in the 14th minute when he fired home after rounding Fraser Forster following Mohammed Salisu’s poor back-pass, and made it 2-0 in the 34th minute with a fine volley.

Watford host relegation rivals Leeds and Burnley in April and also face Brentford