Watford should have had 'clear' penalty, Silva claims
Watford manager Marco Silva felt his team were denied a "clear" penalty which could have proved decisive in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham on Saturday.
The referee waved away appeals for a possible handball by Eric Dier deep into stoppage time at Vicarage Road.
It was the second time the hosts were denied a spot-kick after Richarlison went down in the area moments prior to Spurs' first-half equaliser.
And after failing to capitalise on Davinson Sanchez's 52nd-minute sending off, Silva believes the Hornets should have been awarded a late shot at grabbing three points.
"The last-minute decision is a clear penalty. [The first appeal] is a difficult decision but it could be a penalty as well," Silva told BBC Sport.
"We did our best to win the game and we had a chance to win the game, like Tottenham did.
"It is our way to try to do everything to win but, when we cannot win, we cannot lose as well."
| Marco Silva reflects on a point gained for #watfordfc against @SpursOfficial this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/fC0vGnkoTK— Watford FC (@WatfordFC) December 2, 2017
Despite missing out on victory for the sixth time in eight home league fixtures, the draw was enough to keep Watford within touch of the top six.
Silva insists his ambitions have not shifted from the beginning of the season.
"We do not change anything. We need to keep working hard to improve, to develop our players and to develop our team," he said.
"We started the season well but we have a lot of work to do and we need to keep going."
The referee waved away appeals for a possible handball by Eric Dier deep into stoppage time at Vicarage Road.
It was the second time the hosts were denied a spot-kick after Richarlison went down in the area moments prior to Spurs' first-half equaliser.
And after failing to capitalise on Davinson Sanchez's 52nd-minute sending off, Silva believes the Hornets should have been awarded a late shot at grabbing three points.
"The last-minute decision is a clear penalty. [The first appeal] is a difficult decision but it could be a penalty as well," Silva told BBC Sport.
"We did our best to win the game and we had a chance to win the game, like Tottenham did.
"It is our way to try to do everything to win but, when we cannot win, we cannot lose as well."
| Marco Silva reflects on a point gained for #watfordfc against @SpursOfficial this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/fC0vGnkoTK— Watford FC (@WatfordFC) December 2, 2017
Despite missing out on victory for the sixth time in eight home league fixtures, the draw was enough to keep Watford within touch of the top six.
Silva insists his ambitions have not shifted from the beginning of the season.
"We do not change anything. We need to keep working hard to improve, to develop our players and to develop our team," he said.
"We started the season well but we have a lot of work to do and we need to keep going."