Programme images courtesy of Matt Hall
LIVE – West Ham United vs Watford: Marko Arnautovic stars as Hornets suffer Premier League defeat
Watford disappoint as West Ham United win 2-0 through Javier Hernandez and Marko Arnautovic goals
Javi Gracia felt West Ham United showed greater aggression in Watford win
Marvin Zeegelaar: Watford’s West Ham loss serves reminder Premier League survival battle is still on
On the last day of the season, the result itself is more often than not largely irrelevant. The last time that the last game of the regular season might have been remotely important was during the game against Grimsby in 1999. We won and made the play-offs… as it turned out, had we lost we’d have made them anyway. In 1998, famously, Jason Lee’s scuffed shot won us the title, but we were already promoted some time earlier. The last time that the final game of the regular season had a direct bearing upon which division we operated in during the following campaign was 1994, when we’d have needed to have lost by two goals to Palace at Selhurst Park to have been relegated.
The week before this game was played Watford player Paolo Vernazza was stabbed at his home by a burglar as reported here by The Guardian.
 BSAD report:The word “ravishing” was suggested to describe our fourth goal, and that’ll do nicely.
Marko Arnautovic scored on his return from injury as West Ham boosted their survival hopes with a 2-0 win over Watford on Saturday.
Watford were uninspired. They displayed none of the brio that allowed them to crush Chelsea last week, with Gerard Deulofeu and Richarlison failing to find space on the flanks, and were fortunate when the lively Hernández had a goal ruled out by a tight offside decision in the 31st minute.
Watford had played considerably better in the second half but, while it could be said that the score was a little flattering to the hosts, some poor defending and equally poor finishing meant that it felt as though the Hornets didn’t deserve anything from the game.
BSAD report: Micah Hyde and Richard Johnson ran this game. When that’s allowed to happen, the Hornets become an altogether more effective outfit – the difference is in the quantity of supply to the flanks and the quality of supply to the forwards. It’s obvious that Ronny Rosenthal and Gifton Noel-Williams ought to profit from such circumstances but, perhaps more than anyone, it also brings the best out of Jason Lee.
