Tom Cleverley celebrated his first match in interim charge of Watford with three points thanks to a hard-fought 1-0 win against strugglers Birmingham.
Emmanuel Dennis’ 44th-minute strike, following an error from the home side, proved enough for Watford to leave St Andrew’s with maximum points.
The Hornets steer further clear of the relegation zone and leave Birmingham embedded in the battle to stay up.
Blues made a bright start to the match, applying early pressure on the Watford defence, and Koji Miyoshi dragged wide the hosts’ first chance of the match.
Ethan Laird then narrowly flicked over Juninho Bacuna’s near-post corner before Bacuna found space in the penalty area and had a goal-bound shot blocked.
An energised Birmingham side continued to press for the breakthrough and Bacuna again had a shot blocked inside the penalty area when well placed.
Watford managed to momentarily threaten the Blues goal when Tom Dele-Bashiru curled a left-footed effort over the crossbar.
A second corner fashioned another chance for the hosts as Daniel Bachmann was forced to dive across his goal line and claim an Emanuel Aiwu header.
Birmingham were the masters of their own downfall as they gifted Watford the opening goal.
Aiwu could not control Cody Drameh’s throw-in across his own penalty area and Dennis got the better of the defender before finishing ruthlessly past John Ruddy.
The goal lifted the visitors and Dennis forced Ruddy into a smart low save to deny the striker a quick second goal before half-time.
Watford started the second half the brighter of the two sides and Lee Buchanan had to clear a Mattie Pollock effort off the line before Yaser Asprilla’s shot was cleared over the crossbar.
Birmingham managed to get back into the ascendency and Ivan Sunjic had a good chance to draw the hosts level.
Jay Stansfield drove forward and Sunjic picked up the loose ball in the penalty area but sliced a shot wide from close range.
Blues continued to search for an equaliser and Bachmann made an excellent save to beat away Miyoshi’s drive at goal after an initial effort from Aiwu was blocked.
Substitute Vakoun Bayo nearly made an instant impact for the visitors as his stretching shot flashed across Ruddy’s goal and wide.
Miyoshi spurned another opportunity for the hosts as they continued to apply the pressure on the Watford defence.
Tyler Roberts had a late chance on goal, but Bachmann got down well to save and preserve the points for the visitors.
Gen Sec Dennis Chung defends JFF’s decision to rehire Busby; labels media allegations as “witch hunt”
Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) General Secretary Dennis Chung has defended the decision to rehire Hubert Busby Jr as the senior Reggae Girlz Head coach, as he pointed out that the country’s governing football body conducted due diligence before moving forward.
Chung’s declaration is in response to an article published by British daily newspaper The Guardian, alleging that the JFF misrepresented Busby’s reinstatement, stating that he was cleared of sexual misconduct allegations by Fifa’s Ethics Committee.
He dismissed the article published on Friday and headlined “Jamaica FA falsely claims women’s team coach was cleared of alleged sexual misconduct” as a “witch hunt” and accused the outlet of distorting facts and overlooking critical details.
This, as the article cast doubt on Busby’s “clearance,” noting that Fifa’s Ethics Committee had closed the preliminary investigation due to a statute of limitations without formally exonerating him.
SportsMax.Tv obtained a copy of the correspondent from the Investigatory Chamber of Fifa's Ethics Committee stating that the investigation against Busby was closed based on information available. An email titled 'Fifa Clearance Letter' was also obtained, the content of which clarified that Busby is clear to seek employment.
Busby was reappointed Reggae Girlz Head coach earlier this year, after he was initially suspended by the JFF in 2021, when the allegation of sexual misconduct was brought against him by former player Malloree Enoch.
Enoch alleged that Busby made sexual advances towards her during his time in charge at the Vancouver Whitecaps women’s outfit between 2010 and 2011. Busby denied the allegations.
“Do you think that the JFF, which is the organisation that dismissed Busby when the allegation was made, wouldn’t have done our due diligence? The technical committee received information to say that the investigation has closed and there was nothing based on the information that they had; there was nothing to support what was alleged,” Chung told SportsMax.Tv.
“The letter had stated that Fifa closed the investigation based on the information available. They never referred to any statute of limitations, as the article said. In addition to that, there was an email that Busby forwarded from Fifa stating that he could share it with us for employment purposes,” he added.
SportsMax.Tv obtained a copy of the correspondent from the Investigatory Chamber of Fifa's Ethics Committee stating that the investigation against Busby was closed due to information available, and could be shared
Chung clarified that contrary to the statement that he declined multiple requests for interviews and comments, he only received one call from a Guardian journalist, whom he directed to Busby or his legal representatives.
“They said that they reached out to me multiple times; that is not true. They called me once, and I told them, just like any organisation would, that Busby is a staff member and I am not at liberty to discuss his situation or give out any information on him. I told them they should call Busby, as it is he they need to get that information from,” Chung shared.
Since the article surfaced, SportsMax.Tv has been reliably informed that Busby is in the process of filing a defamation lawsuit against someone in the UK. It is not clear if the individual is an employee at the British newspaper.
SportsMax.Tv obtained a copy of the correspondent from the Investigatory Chamber of Fifa's Ethics Committee stating that the investigation against Busby was closed due to information available, and could be shared
Chung also rubbished the claim in The Guardian article that several witnesses—including Enoch—were not interviewed by Fifa’s Ethics Committee.
“Does that make sense? If she is the one that made the allegations, do you think Fifa wouldn’t interview her? So what it is, it’s a witch hunt that they are on; it is almost as if they are saying he is still guilty even though the investigation is closed, and that is totally ridiculous,” Chung opined.
Finally, Chung said he is deeply disappointed by the article, which he believes unfairly targets Busby. He also expressed the view that the report adds unnecessary scrutiny to an issue that the JFF and Fifa have already addressed through established protocols.
“I don’t understand what it is about, but there is obviously something behind it. Because the letter never said the investigation was closed based on the statute of limitation, it said the investigation was closed based on the information that they had,” he noted.
“Not because an allegation is made means you’re going to hold it against a man for the rest of his life. Allegations are made against politicians all over, and they are still in positions of authority. You can’t because an allegation is made against a man; hold it against him, and there is nothing to prove that it happened,” Chung ended.
Leeds cut gap at the top of the Championship, while Watford hammer Wednesday
Leeds climbed to second in the Championship, three points behind leaders Sunderland, following a 3-0 victory at home to Plymouth.
Daniel Farke's side dominated the opening 30 minutes of the match before three goals in eight minutes put the game to bed inside the first half.
Dan James opened the scoring on the half-hour mark, firing into the top corner from the edge of the area, before Joel Piroe and Brenden Aaronson made it comfortable.
The result marked Plymouth's fourth game without a victory and they dropped into the bottom three on goal difference due to results elsewhere.
Sunderland were held to a goalless draw away to second-bottom QPR, which opened the door for those below to reduce their lead at the top of the table.
While Dan Neil hit the post for the Black Cats in the first half, it was the hosts who were the better team for long periods.
The game turned in the second half when Jobe Bellingham was sent off after 58 minutes for a poor challenge on Zan Celar, but neither side was able to find a winner.
Elsewhere, Watford moved above West Brom into fifth after they hammered Sheffield Wednesday 6-2 at Hillsborough for their second away win of the season.
The result ended a six-game losing run on the road for the Hornets, who were drawing 1-1 at half-time and saw Vakoun Bayo score four goals inside 30 second-half minutes.
Coventry also made it back-to-back league wins for the first time this season with a 3-0 victory away to Middlesbrough that moved them up to 13th.
The hosts had Hayden Hackney sent off after 22 minutes for two yellow cards, which allowed the Sky Blues to ease to three points. As a result, Michael Carrick's side are three points off the play-off positions in 10th.
Bournemouth 2-1 Manchester City: Cherries end worst record in English football with shock victory
Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson helped give Bournemouth their first-ever league win against Manchester City as they beat the defending champions 2-1 at the Vitality Stadium.
The hosts boosted their giant-killing credentials as they secured a third home victory on the bounce, having beaten Arsenal last time out.
Semenyo got Bournemouth off the mark inside 10 minutes as he turned to fire in at the far post from the centre of the box, before Evanilson doubled the lead after the restart.
Josko Gvardiol gave the visitors a consolation goal with a brilliant header at the back post on 82 minutes but it was too little too late.
While Erling Haaland hit the post and Phil Foden fired just wide in a frantic stoppage time, Bournemouth secured all three points and left Pep Guardiola's man to travel back north empty-handed.
City drop down to second and fail to take advantage of Arsenal’s earlier falter, while Bournemouth move up to eighth.
Data Debrief: Historic victory for Bournemouth ends City's winning streak
This is the host's first-ever win against City in all competitions (D2 L19 before today), while it’s their first league win over the reigning Premier League champions since a 3-0 win over Chelsea in January 2018.
The defeat brings City's 32-game Premier League unbeaten run to an end. They’ve lost successive matches in all competitions for the first time since September 2023.
This is their first defeat when going at least two goals behind in a Premier League game since October 2021 against Crystal Palace, having avoided defeat on their last five previous occasions before today (W3 D2).
Conversely, Bournemouth's fortunes are looking up. They are unbeaten in their last three Premier League games, with those results coming against three of last season's top four (W2 D1).
This is just the fourth time they’ve won three successive home games in the Premier League after October 2016, February 2018 and April 2024.
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