England Tops US 2-0 at Wembley

Why now? After botching the penalty kick against Man. U, John Terry managed to head in a Beckham cross to put England ahead in the first half. Steve Gerrard doubled up in the 59th minute (asst Barry) to hand the US their first loss in 2008.

DeMerit did not suit up for this match, but Freddie Adu saw action last in the game.

Manchester United Takes Champions League Title

It was an all-England final Wednesday as Manchester United downed Chelsea.

Calling Mr. Lee

Mart Poom was supposed to be the savior that made up for the loss of Ben Foster this season. Instead he spent most of the campaign on the bench and Richard Lee did yeoman's work at in the net for the Hornets.

The May issue of FourFourTwo has a full page article on the Watford goalie. "I've raised my game up a level from last season" says Lee.

Agreed.

Simpson on Boothroyd - Blah, Blah, Blah

Despite the late-season collapse of the club, Aidy has "the Board's total support." Methinks the Chairman doth protest too little. I predict Aidy starts next season, but if there is no improvement we'll be looking for someone cut loose early from another club.

Portsmouth Keeps FA Cup in England

In a hard-fought match, Portsmouth downed Cardiff City 1-0 at Wembley to bring the Cup back to Portsmouth for the first time since 1939. Kanu's goal in minute 37 went unanswered and the Nigerian's point proved to be the whole story.

Playoff - Hull City Leg 2 - (1-4)

In precise Watford fashion, the Hornets not only failed to come back, but dropped three more goals in the process to end their season. Caleb Folan, in for Dean Windass, slammed the door shut in minute 70 with a header from 18 yards. Richard Garcia and Nathan Doyle added two goals in the closing minutes.

A disappointing but not unexpected end to the season. Let's hope for some better acquisitions over the off-season than we saw in the last.

1-1 at the half

Twelve goal attempts between the two clubs and a raucous first half sees Watford even with Hull City - still needing three goals to prolong the season. The Hornets have dominated possession and got off to a good start with a right-footer from Darius Henderson (assist Jobi McAnuff) from 18 yards outs. Nick Barmby, carrying a yellow card, equalized in the 43rd minute, leaving Watford with an uphill climb.

Playoff - Hull City Leg 1 - (0-2)

A tentatively optimistic Aidy Bothroyd laid the blame at the feet of the officials Sunday - a Danny Shittu goal was disallowed early and John Eustace was sent off - but Watford will need a three goal margin to continue.

Kickoff is 1:45 pm (St. Louis time) Wednesday, May 14. Should Watford pull this off they will know who their opponents in the playoffs will be as Bristol City/Crystal Palace game will be played tomorrow afternoon (Bristol up 2-1 after the first leg).

Blackpool (1-1) 18-16-12 70 pt. (Season Final)

Watford showed a tiny spark of desire in the person of Tommy Smith to battle back from a quick one goal deficit and score the equalizer that has put them into the playoffs for promotion to the Premier League.

Their opponents will be Hull City. The last encounter saw the Hornets trounced 3-0 at Hull. The first leg will be Sunday, May 11 - kicking off at 6:00 am St. Louis time (I'll be celebrating Mother's Day and will not be able to mark the proceedings). The second leg will be Wednesday, May 14 - this at a more reasonable 1:45 pm.

The Blackpool match had all the makings of a disaster two minutes in when Burgess stunned the visiting crowd with a goal. Blackpool, fighting to avoid relegation, and Watford, fighting to retain their play-off chances played it up-and-down, the only other excitement in the first half being Darius Henderson's yellow card in the sixth minute. Trying the ref's patience on a couple of occasions and getting away with it, Hendo's luck ran out in the sixtieth minute and he was sent off for his second yellow, leaving the Hornets a man down. Undeterred, Tommy Smith found the back of the net two minutes later.

By the final minutes, both clubs realized a draw would accomplish their goals and the end was anticlimactic as Wolverhampton needed a 3 goal win to unseat Watford. The whistle blew, the players stayed on the touchline to await the Wolves result and the Hornets were on their way to the playoffs.

Watford Named Community Club of the Year

Just got the May issue of FourFourTwo to find Watford was named Community Club of the Year in the Football League Awards. To quote:

The Hornets have been busy buzzing around the local community trying to make a difference. As part of the Community Sports & Education Trust, the club have been involved in a Community Sports Project, a Safer Neighbourhoods scheme, a Healthy Schools Initiative, & a Positive Futures project. Award-winning do-goodery

Hats off.