Category Archives: May

4th May 2013- Championship, Watford 1 Leeds United 2

http://watford.fcdb.info?id=5064

Watford missed out on automatic promotion after losing to Leeds in a game delayed by serious injury to keeper Jonathan Bond. Dominic Poleon put Leeds in front, but Almen Abdi levelled shortly after. Watford’s Troy Deeney then saw red for two bookable offences before news of a late Cardiff equaliser at Hull left the Hornets needing a goal to go up. But Ross McCormack scored Leeds’ winner with the help of a blunder by replacement keeper Jack Bonham.

Bond, who was taken to hospital in the first half after Poleon’s shove to Anya, was only on the pitch after regular keeper Manuel Almunia injured himself during the warm-up.

The blood on the pitch told its own story, as did 16 minutes of stoppage time at the end of the first half, and it was a dereliction of duty on the part of the referee, Graham Salisbury, that he did not send Poleon off. Overall Salisbury did not cover himself in glory, having earlier missed Michael Brown denying Jonathan Hogg a clear goalscoring opportunity when he tripped the Watford midfielder in the area.

“I thought at the end that we were going to make it,” admitted Zola, now compelled to lift his men ahead of the first leg of their play-off semi-final against Leicester on Thursday night. “There were 10 minutes to go and, although we had one player fewer, I believed we had the quality. I was taking a big gamble but we had to try.”

This ought to hurt. When you turn away and distract yourself with other things, it ought to be staring you straight in the face whenever you look back. It ought to make you want to punch the wall and throw things and find some really destructive gardening to do. If I take solace in anything – and I’m struggling – then it’s in the reaction of Jonathan Hogg, whose post-match lap of honour was so reluctant and desultory that it barely took him beyond the centre circle and never, not for a moment, involved looking at anything other than his own feet. Lap of honour? Bollocks to that.

7th May 2011- Championship, Preston North End 3 Watford 1

The last Watford appearances for Danny Graham, Don Cowie and Will Buckley.

BBC: Relegated Preston came from behind in their Championship farewell to finish one place off the bottom of the table. Mid-table Watford went ahead after Danny Graham crossed for on-loan striker Andreas Weimann, and the 19-year-old found the bottom corner.

Observer, 8 May 2011

Independent, 8 May 2011

29th May 2010- Elton John’s Playing For Players Concert

2nd May 2010- Championship, Coventry City 0 Watford 4

http://watford.fcdb.info?id=4916

Two goals in as many minutes helped Watford finish their season in style with a thumping victory over Coventry.

https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=2010-05-02

https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-championship/02-may-2010/

3rd May 2009- Championship, Watford 3 Derby County 1

Brendan Rodgers last programme notes. This was the game where John Eustace, a Watford player but on loan to Derby, played against us and scored.

http://watford.fcdb.info?id=4867

Two goals from Grzegorz Rasiak helped Watford to a victory that was not quite as emphatic as the scoreline suggests.

OK, so final day of the season, not much to play for (save finishing above Palace, always nice…). But given that… what a very fine way to end the campaign. Nigel Clough’s assertion that the first goal was pivotal was probably fair enough – the game was wide open from the start – but the implication that the Rams were worth something woefully optimistic.

https://oldwatford.com/2019/01/19/19th-january-2019-premier-league-watford-0-burnley-0/

14th May 2008- Championship Playoff Semi-Final Second Leg, Hull City 4 Watford 1 (Hull City won 6-1 on aggregate)

http://watford.fcdb.info?id=4813

Hull City are to make their first ever appearance at Wembley after a 6-1 aggregate win over Watford in the Championship play-offs.

Darius Henderson scored from close range after 12 minutes to give Watford hope of retrieving a two-goal deficit.

We were closer to pulling this off than the final scoreline ultimately suggests, and the half-hour during which we lead the game and the hosts were increasingly bricking it was the most enjoyable of the season. Unfortunately, we haven’t done “keep it tight” convincingly for a while.