An office measuring 20 yards by six yards might seem spacious to many, but in football, it’s a cramped space typically shared with others.
When Mileta Rajovic arrived at Vicarage Road just over a year ago, he referred to the six-yard box as his ‘office.’ Over the past 12 months, he’s experienced both highs and lows, but there’s no denying that when the ball reaches him in that rectangle in front of the goal, he knows exactly what to do.
In yesterday’s match against Millwall, Tom Dele-Bashiru’s attempted curling shot deflected off a defender, and the big Dane anticipated well, getting beyond the last defender to head the ball inside the back post.
Millwall hoped for an offside call, but post-game analysis showed Rajovic was clearly onside by a couple of yards. Lions manager Neil Harris acknowledged that there was little complaint about the goal in his dressing room afterward.
“In the box, he’s different class. Around the place, he’s different class,” said Tom Cleverley, who praised Rajovic’s 12th goal for the club, noting that he scores, on average, every 162 minutes for the Hornets.
“He thoroughly deserved that goal today because he can sense when an opportunity is coming.
“That was exactly what he was brought on to do, and I’m really happy for him because he’s someone who always tries to prove me wrong when he’s left out.
“That’s the kind of competitive environment I like.
“Mileta works hard every day. It’s no secret that Bayo’s all-around game leading up to the box is why he’s in the team right now.
“But inside the box, Mileta has proven to be the most effective.
“It’s up to those guys to improve, learn from each other, and there will be different games requiring different approaches.
“But I was really pleased with how both of them performed today.
“All I ask of Mileta is to keep pushing and making my team selections as tough as possible.”
When Rajovic’s late goal went in, and after the final whistle, the Watford boss was fully involved in the celebrations.
“We had a couple of late ones go against us last season, didn’t we?” he reflected.
“You work so hard every day for these moments of luck, which come from things we practice.
“It’s my first last-minute winner as a coach, and I’ve definitely aged in the last 90 minutes!
“It’s satisfying that the referee made the right call on the winning goal in a game where he had several tough decisions to make.
“Mileta sensed the chance, took the risk to make the run, and positioned himself perfectly while staying onside.”
