Wednesday, November 23, 1983

Watford entertained Sparta Prague at Vicarage Road in the first leg of a UEFA Cup third round tie.

In icy conditions, the Hornets had an early goal disallowed after Ian Richardson's effort was adjudged by the West German officials not to have crossed the line.

Sparta then raced into a two-goal lead, and although the Hornets fought back through a diving header from Wilf Rostron and a second from Jimmy Gilligan the Czech side secured a 3-2 victory.

As had been the case throughout the UEFA Cup campaign, injuries and player eligibility restrictions meant that Watford fielded a very young side, this time with an average age of 22.

Amongst the youngsters, significantly, was 17-year-old debutant Nigel Gibbs who was to go on to make well over 400 appearances for the club over the next 19 years. The game also saw winger David Johnson's final appearance for the club.

Reproduced by kind permission of Matt Rowson from his book, Watford FC On This Day