Boothroyd: Johnson no diver

Watford manager Adrian Boothroyd is convinced Everton striker Andrew Johnson is no diver.

The England striker is booed across the nation for his alleged habit of going to ground too easily and the Vicarage Road faithful had given him stick even before he won, and then converted, a spot-kick in the Toffees' 3-0 win.

But Boothroyd believed the award had been a fair one, saying: "My initial view is, yes, it was a penalty. It was one of those that sometimes are given, sometimes not. And any player that gets booed should pat themselves on the back because it shows what a good player they are. (Cristiano) Ronaldo gets it and Andy Johnson gets it."

He added: "He is a very good player and 8.5million (pounds) has proved to be a snip for them.

"If you are a good player you are a threat to the opposition and you are going to get stick. But I don't think he is a cheat, not at all. That's not fair."

Boothroyd reserved his wrath for his own players for failing to perform overall as well as allowing Johnson to win the penalty, which followed closely on Manuel Fernandes' opener.

He said: "In the first 30 minutes we were inept. Questions will come about whether it was a penalty but we shouldn't have given the referee the opportunity to make the decision.

"If we had played as well as we are capable of doing then we wouldn't have been in that area of the pitch."

Everton boss David Moyes, who saw substitute Leon Osman curl in a third in stoppage time, was delighted with his side and Johnson in particular.

He said: "I thought our players went about their jobs brilliantly in the opening minutes and, but for some poor finishing, we could have wrapped it up by half-time. I do think it was a penalty. We have had about 10 (turned down) this year which were very similar and we think eight were definites."