Tag: Martin Patching

20th April 2013- Championship, Watford 4 Blackburn Rovers 0

Watford kept their slim automatic promotion hopes alive with a comprehensive demolition of 10-man Blackburn at Vicarage Road.

Hull remain favourites for second place, but Watford’s much superior goal difference means the Tigers will need to win at least one of their remaining fixtures to prevent a late charge from the Vicarage Road club, who have now mathematically secured at least a play-off spot.

Troy Deeney scored twice for the Championship’s third-placed team and if their hopes of hauling in Hull’s four-point cushion with two matches remaining seem far-fetched, the form of the club’s strikeforce bodes well with playoffs on the agenda. Zola left the Championship player of the year, Matej Vydra, on the bench and the 20-goal striker was hardly missed as his replacement, Fernando Forestieri, set up the first three goals.

The scoreline tells one story.  The narrative of the match itself, however,  is not (merely) one of us putting inadequate opponents to the sword.  In fact it followed the template of several of our big wins this season;  against Huddersfield in the snow in January we laboured for a bit against a side hellbent on stopping us from playing – and once we had gotten that first goal we were gone, galloping off into the sunset with the points and never looking back.

More games from 20th April at https://oldwatford.com/tag/apr20

https://oldwatford.com/2013/05/04/4th-may-2013-championship-watford-1-leeds-united-2/

28th April 2001- New Division One, Watford 1 Tranmere Rovers 1

GT’s last home game in charge.

BBC Sport Allan Nielsen, Graham Taylor’s most expensive signing at £2.3m, spared the former England manager’s blushes at his Vicarage Road farewell.  The Danish international popped up in the last minute to head an equaliser but the point salvaged is not enough to keep Watford’s play-off hopes alive.

BSAD image Long ago, the script was written for Graham Taylor’s last match at Vicarage Road. One final wave of galloping attacks to see off already-relegated opponents. One last thumping victory, in the thrilling style of so many before it. Hat-tricks for Tommys Mooney and Smith to celebrate their end-of-season awards for best player and young player respectively. And, in the final minute of injury time, the seventh goal to crown it all, an astonishing, crashing-off-the-crossbar blast from thirty yards by the returning Richard Johnson.

BSAD image He was more what we came to see than a relegated bunch of fighters, and an unquantifiable bunch of mid- to upper-table wanderers who represent what, if not why, he’s leaving behind by retiring. His direction was where we were looking, as a game that barely registers in the mind even this soon after its conclusion played itself into oblivion. When he showed up in the dugout, we asked for a wave, since chanting something along the lines of “Graham, give us a year or two more, we’re worthy, and by the way, thanks for making us all stand apart from whatever crowd we’ve found ourselves in from the age of [your age in 1977] to now” is just unfeasible.

English Division One Table »
Barnsley 0-1 Bolton Wanderers  
Birmingham City 1-0 Grimsby Town  
Crewe Alexandra 1-3 Preston North End  
Crystal Palace 0-2 Wolverhampton Wndrs  
Fulham 1-1 Wimbledon  
Norwich City 1-0 Sheffield Wednesday  
Nottingham Forest 0-1 Gillingham  
Queens Park Rangers 0-3 Stockport County  
Sheffield United 2-0 Burnley  
Watford 1-1 Tranmere Rovers  
West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Huddersfield Town

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More games from 28th April at https://oldwatford.com/tag/apr28