ANTHONY Barness revealed today how he was stunned into silence by the shock of conceding the penalty that cost Wanderers the chance of stinging Watford at Vicarage Road last month.
"I'm angry when I look back on what happened that night," the Reebok defender admits as he recalls the 87th minute handball verdict that broke the stalemate and gifted the Hornets a lucky point.
"But while I was on the pitch I was just in a state of shock that the ref had given a penalty and dffisappointed in myself for getting involved.
"I didn't think it was a penalty but, looking back, I know if I'd gone into the challenge with my hands in the air, it would never have happened. But all I did was run in to try and clear the ball and it bumped into my hand.
"What made it worse was that the same thing happened at the other end and the ref didn't give it."
The memory of that recent defeat, secured when Tommy Mooney duly converted the penalty, should be all the motivation Wanderers need for the Reebok re-match but Barness says revenge and the pursuit of justice are just two of the ingredients that make Sunday's Sky TV clash one to savour.
"We should be determined for every game," he explains, "but you don't need to add anything more to this one than the fact that it's a top of the table clash, the fact that we lost at their place when we were so close to getting a point. It's a massive fixture.
"There should be a good crowd, the game's live on TV. Everything's geared towards players being on top of their form."
Recent slips have taken the wind out of Watford's sails after they'd previously been bracketed with Fulham as odds-on favourites for the two automatic promotion places.
The slump hasn't come as a surprise to those who believe the Hornets are one-dimensional.
"Watford aren't running away with it," Barness acknowledges. "We could have been the first ones to have beaten them but they've come unstuck since and it's shown that they can't just power their way straight back up.
"Fulham are a different case altogether because they've played their way to the top. Watford seem to just have the one tactic - getting the ball forward quickly to the big man up front. They do it well but we should be confident of getting something off them on Sunday."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article