Dyche lauds squad mentality

Troy Deeney gave the hosts the lead at Vicarage Road before midfielder Scott Arfield salvaged a point in the 86th minute and punish the failures of promotion rivals QPR and Derby County, who lost respective Championship fixtures to Bournemouth and Middlesbrough.

“It was a hard fought point,” said Dyche. “They’ve been in good form at home - they’d won five and drawn one. We never expected it to be a walk in the park. We have a few challenges with players missing, who have played a big part in what we’ve been doing so far this season, but I thought the lads’ mentality to look beyond that and deliver a performance was excellent.

“I was pleased yet again with the changes because people came on and affected the game. And it was a moment of real quality that ensured we got a point out of the game after their deflected goal, which sometimes happens.”

Dyche added: “We’re disappointed with the goal but there’s nothing you can do because it takes a wicked deflection. To respond how we did, which we’ve done many times this season, was terrific and down to the mentality and quality of the players.

“I’d be interested to see the domination of the stats with the ball. We had a lot of the ball today and we used it wisely. They seemed to pack their box with bodies - and that can be difficult to break down - but we always have that moment of quality that proves to be a decisive factor and I’m pleased with that moment today which ensured we came away with a point.”

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