Crystal Palace (1-3) 11-10-18 43 pts.

A six point swing leaves Watford a mere point from relegation.

The match opened to the roar of visiting Eagles fans and the knowledge that neither side has lost this year when they were first to score. Watford rose to the challenge pressuring Palace in the first half, especially after Paul Hart’s squad moved to a 4-3-3 following Shaun Derry’s injury in the 20th minute.

The Hornets hammered the Eagles for the next ten minutes – a Tom Cleverley shot hit the underside of the post, an attack off a corner kick nearly netted Watford a goal, but an Adrian Marriappa error opened the door for Stern John to head in the first goal (assist Johannes Ertl).

A different Crystal Palace left the dressing room after the half and proceeded to dominate the remainder of the match. Neil Danns caught two rebounds and converted them into goals in the 52nd & 65th minutes. By contrast, both Jay DeMerit & Tom Cleverley knocked shots off the post, but the rebounds went clear of any Hornet players.

A late (some felt too late) substitution after the third goal brought Danny Graham into the match and Graham salvaged a little bit of pride for Watford, right-footing a Will Buckley pass into the upper right corner of the goal for Watford’s only score.

As has been our form of late, defensive errors and poor luck on the other end of the pitch have left us without points.

The next match is Saturday, April 3rd at Preston North End. The Brits have sprung ahead as well so we are back on a six hour difference. Kickoff is 9:00 am St. Louis time.

Oops - Crystal Palace @ Vicarage Road Today

Sorry. I did not get the rescheduled match on my calender. The Hornets play host to Crystal Palace today in a battle for survival. Maybe not 'must win' but certainly 'must draw' at the very least.

Kickoff is 1:45 pm St. Louis time.

Middlesbrough (1-1) 11-10-17 43 pts

Two points evaporated in the second half as Middlesbrough sub Leroy Lita beat Lloyd Doyley to equalize an otherwise Hornet-dominated match.

John Eustace scored at 24 yard volley out of the blue in the 22nd minute to put Watford up 1-0, a score they maintained through the half, but Lita's equalizer let the air out of the home squad nine minutes into the second half.

Save for a Tom Cleverley shot about ten minutes later, there were really no opportunities to regain the lead.

The draw did gain a point on struggling Crystal Palace, leaving the Hornets four clear of the relegation zone with one match in hand.

The next match is at Deepdale against mid-table loungers Preston North End on Saturday, April 3. Kickoff is 10:00 am.

A Reminder: The KC Wizards friendly against AC St. Louis is also on the 3rd at Soccer Park.

Sheffield Wednesday (1-2) 11-9-17 42 pts.

Sweet Jesus! We blow a 6 pt swing in the last minute of play?!?

Watford held the Owls scoreless until the 56th minute when Eddie Nolan blasted a shot past Scott Loach from 12 yards out. The equalizer came a mere 10 minutes later when a Tom Cleverley free kick found the back of the net.

All hopes of at least one point came crashing down when a Luke Varney goal gave Wednesday the lead for good in the 89th minute of play.

Lucky for us Nottingham Forest downed Crystal Palace yesterday to leave us hovering just above relegation by three points.

The next stab at survival is Saturday, March 27 when Middlesbrough comes to Vicarage Road. Kickoff is 10:00 am St. Louis time.

Cardiff City (1-3) 11-9-16 42 pts.

I had prior commitments, thus the BBC match report above, but no surprise at the result. Watford were without the services of Henri Lansbury & Jay DeMerit, John Eustace wearing the captain's armband in place of the latter.

The loss leaves the Hornets three points above the relegation zone, but the top spot there belongs to the docked Crystal Palace so I'd call it more like two points.

The next match is Wednesday, March 24 at Vicarage Road when Sheffield Wednesday & the 'Orns vie to see who can hold the other guy on the bottom of the pool. Kickoff is 2:45 pm St. Louis time.

Coca-Cola Football League Podcast feat. Football League Awards

Including Watford's Community Club award. Again, good job!

DeMerit Interview in March FourFourTwo

Jay discusses his recent eye injury in a brief interveiw in this month's issue of FourFourTwo. World News carries it.

Watford Co-Winners of Football League Community Club of the Year

If only I could have stopped the headline after the word 'League'. Watford FC shared the award with Southend United at last weekend's award ceremony.

Ipswich Town (2-1) 11-9-15 42 pts.

For some reason Three Counties Radio was not working today, but Suffolk Radio gave me the visiting broadcasters’ view of the match.

A series of free kicks for the Hornets early on paid off in the eighth minute as Henri Lansbury converted the opportunity from 30 yards out to put Roy Keane’s side down a goal early in the match.

The Hornets came close to a second goal 25 minutes later when an excellent Lloyd Doyley cross lead to a Heidar Hulguson header off the crossbar.

A chastened Ipswich came out firing in the second half, enticing a foul & yellow card from John Eustace.

Watford continued to control the match until just past the hour mark when a rebound off a Scott Loach save was left-footed into the net by Jack Colback from six yards out to even the match.

Fresh legs in the form of Danny Graham contributed an assist to Will Hoskins who found the net to put the Hornets back in the lead with twelve minutes left. Hoskins gamely carried on after injuring himself on the goal, but was replaced a few minutes later by Ross Jenkins.

Keane swapped out his strikers for fresh legs and Malkey Mackay did the same to bolster his defense as Ipswich hurled themselves at the Hornets in an effort to equalize, but Watford came away with a much-needed three points.

Baffled by Daylight Savings Time once again, I joined the match an hour early, but now that I have it sussed, I can say the next match is at Cardiff City next Sunday, March 21, kickoff is at 10 am St. Louis time.

Peterborough United (0-1) 10-9-15 39 pts.

This is getting ridiculous! Cellar-dweller Peterborough claims their only away victory of the season leaving Watford one point (one point!) off of the relegation zone, slightly ahead of the docked Crystal Palace and Sheffield Wednesday.

I didn't follow this as close as I'd like (but I was screaming at the Blackberry as I hurtled down I-70 by the time it was over), so I've attached the BBC analysis.

Looking ahead we have Ipswich Town tomorrow (kickoff 1:45 St. Louis time) at home (best odds - 1.5 points), Cardiff City away (0 pts), Sheffield Wednesday away (1 pt), Preston away (0.5 pt), WBA at home (0.5 pts), Plymouth at home (1.5 pts), Leicester away (0.25 pt), QPR away (.5 pt), Reading home (1.25), Coventry City away (0.5 pts) for a total of 7.5 points or 46 - 47 on the season.

Last season's drop zone started at 46 points - the year before, 52. It could easily be League One next year for the Hornets.

McGinty Named Billikens Coach

Mike McGinty, former assistant coach at Virginia, was named Men's Soccer head coach for the Billikens yesterday, replacing Dan Donigan who resigned in January to join Rutgers.

Also in January (and I missed it), Tim Ream was drafted in the second round (eighteenth overall) of the MLS draft by the New York Red Bulls. Good luck Ream!

Swansea City (0-1) 10-9-14 39 pts.

Not so much a ‘must-win’ as a ‘damn-well-better-win’ given their winless streak on the road.

They didn’t.

Watford started the match back on their heels – Swansea City applying the most pressure in the first eighteen minutes. The pressure paid off when a Craig Beattie cross found the head of Shefki Kuqi (Kuqi! Kuqi! Lend me your comb! Or Coochie depending on the announcer) who delivered the ball into the net off of Scott Loach.

Watford stepped up the pace in the remaining time in the half, but ran out of steam in the second half. The Swans maintained control of the match and shut down the Hornets at Vicarage Road.

The loss puts Watford two points off the relegation zone (albeit with two games in hand). The next match is Saturday, March 13 as Peterborough visits Vicarage Road for the second of three home matches in a row. Kickoff is 9:00 am St. Louis time

Derby County (0-2) 10-9-13 39 pts.

It is a small world after all.

Tuning into the live audio stream on Three Counties Radio a bit early for today’s Derby Co. match, I caught the tail-end of local heroes Head East doing “Since You’ve Been Gone”.

On to the match:

A Michael Tonge shot from 30 yards out connected with the underside of the crossbar – no chance for Scott Loach as it bounced off him en route to the net – giving the Rams an early lead 12 minutes into the match.

A fairly staid first half with only one real chance for each side left the score at 1 – nil as the teams retired to the dressing rooms.

Watford played a strong second half until Chris Porter beat Jay DeMerit one-on-one in minute 78 to nail down the match and send the Hornets packing empty-handed from Pride Park.

The next match is Tuesday as play-off contenders Swansea City visits Vicarage Road. Kickoff is 1:45 pm St. Louis time.

Loach Signed to 3-Year Contract

The Watford keeper signs through 2013.