Hornets safe at last
It has been a rocky few months at Vicarage Road, but Watford finally secured their Championship safety with a fine 3-0 victory over Reading.
Defeat, or even a draw would have potentially left the club fighting for their life on the final day of the season, but that thought was put to rest on Saturday as the Hornets comprehensively took apart the Royals in a performance reminiscent of the team's excellent form earlier in the campaign.
It was clear that the visitors were not playing with the same vigour that had seen them only just miss out on the play-offs after a late season run, and Watford took full advantage thanks to a double from Danny Graham either side of a Heidar Helguson strike.
Going into the match the Hornets still had a backdoor escape should their relegation rivals fail to win, but it was clear from the outset that Malky Mackay and his men had different intentions.
Players' Player of the Season John Eustace got things going as his early header sailed just wide of Adam Federici's goal, before the ex-Stoke man was booked for fouling former Hornet Jobi McAnuff.
Martin Taylor saw his effort cleared off the line by Gylfi Sigurdsson before a Henri Lansbury free-kick went just wide.
This set the trend for the match as the hosts fashioned all the chances,
Mackay's troops were perhaps lucky not to concede a penalty as Taylor seemed to haul down Shane Long only for the referee to wave away any wrongdoing.
That was as good as it got for the Royals though and Watford opened the scoring soon after.
The two front men combined as Danny Graham met Helguson's flick-on to head beyond Federici.
The Hornets were good value for their half time lead but needed to be wary of complacency setting in, a recent issue in the club's 2010 slump.
Player of the Season Tom Cleverley was deservedly presented with his award during the interval, and the Man Utd loanee was met with a great deal of appreciation amongst the fans, with his return to his parent club imminent.
In somewhat uncharacteristic fashion, Watford made a furious start to the second half by grabbing a second within two minutes of the restart.
Don Cowie's cross found Helguson with his back to goal, but the striker expertly turned and drove a left footed shot low into the net.
Even at 2-0 there was still a job to complete as the Hornets continued to press.
A third arrived with 35 minutes remaining as the tireless Graham stole the ball away from full back Andy Griffin and slid the ball beyond Federici.
With the visiting threat limited, the finish line was well in sight for the jubilant Watford fans who began to create a party atmosphere inside Vicarage Road.
Amidst the Mexican wave circling the ground, Graham had a fantastic chance for a hat-trick on 66 minutes, but criminally cleared the crossbar from inside the box.
Another wild volley signalled that it was not meant to be for the forward, but his contribution was huge as the Hornets sealed the win and claimed the three points they required.
Manager Mackay indicated his satisfaction after the match:
"This season has been a bit of a rollercoaster and I think we thoroughly deserve to be in this division next season - that was the objective all along," he said.
"We were dogged and determined and we could have scored another two or three.
"I thought the tempo of the game from the first whistle was great, we never gave them a minute on the ball and their two centre forwards were outstanding, the amount of work they put onto our back four - but our defence and goalkeeper worked together as a team."
The Hornets travel to Coventry City for their final game of the season on Sunday looking to end the season in style with a long-awaited away victory.
After battling relegation for some time the club could feasibly finish as high as 16th should they claim a win at the Ricoh Arena.
Another wild volley signalled that it was not meant to be for the forward, but his contribution was huge as the Hornets sealed the win and claimed the three points they required.
Manager Mackay indicated his satisfaction after the match:
"This season has been a bit of a rollercoaster and I think we thoroughly deserve to be in this division next season - that was the objective all along," said the Scotsman.
"We were dogged and determined and we could have scored another two or three.
"I thought the tempo of the game from the first whistle was great, we never gave them a minute on the ball and their two centre forwards were outstanding, the amount of work they put onto our back four - but our defence and goalkeeper worked together as a team."
The Hornets travel to Coventry City for their final game of the season on Sunday looking to end the season in style with a long-awaited away victory.
After battling relegation for some time the club could feasibly finish as high as 16th should they claim a win at the Ricoh Arena.
Scorer Heidar Helguson and John Eustace celebrate Watford's first goal and inset, Danny Graham is frustrated at missing out on a hat-trick . Pictures by Malcolm Armstrong.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Tring
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
