Watford 2-1 Middlesbrough 16-16-14 64 pts.

I drug my sorry self out of bed for the final match of the season yesterday in time to sit down for the 6:30 am kickoff. Middlesbrough was fighting for a playoff spot, but the Hornets denied them the slot.

Boro played the sloppy pitch the better of the two with Scott Loach, back in goal for the final match, a one-man defense for most of the first half.

Chris Iwelumo broke the match open in the 69th minute, crushing Boro's chances of a playoff run as they needed as out-and-out win. Marvin Emnes drew the match even with five minutes of regulation but Troy Deeney put it away three minutes later to secure Watford a tie for 11th place in the table.

All-in-all, a surprisingly high finish for the Hornets on the season. Euro 2012 will have to carry us through the off-season. When I get schedule information, I will post it here.

Well Done You 'Orns!!

Peterborough United 2-2 Watford 15-16-14 61 pts

Duty called and I was unable to listen to the match. The BBC has the coverage here.

Watford has equaled last year's point total with a match to go. With the season crawling to a close, all eyes will be on the money-go-round this summer to see who gets bought (seems unlikely), who gets sold (Mariappa? Murray?), and who is manager at the start of the season. Stay tuned.

The final match is this Saturday at Vicarage Road against Middlesbrough. Kickoff is the charming hour of 6:30 am St. Louis time. See ya there!

Brighton & Hove Albion 2-2 Watford 15-15-14 60 pts

Watford managed to hack up a two-point hairball while still denying B&HA a chance at the playoffs.

A 25-yard free kick in minute six by Sean Murray that wrong-footed the Seagulls' keeper and a Troy Deeney penalty kick at half time saw the Hornets into the locker room with a comfortable 2-0 lead.

A little too comfortable as they spent the better part of the second half crowded into their own end running out the clock. Alas, a team needs quality, not quantity of defense and a give-away to Inigo Calderon who rebounded his own blocked shot drew Brighton within one after just nine minutes in the second half.

The equalizer came from ex-Hornet Will Buckley who left-footed the shot in with just twelve minutes left.

Despite dust-ups and the do-or-die (spoiler alert: they died) nature of the match for B&HA, both squads managed to end with eleven players still on the field.

The penultimate match of the season is this Saturday, April 21 at Peterborough United. Kickoff is 9:00 am St. Louis time.

Watford 1-1 Hull City 15-14-14 59 pts

Troy Deeney (John Eustace assist) equalized an early Tiger goal in minute 12 to salvage a point for Watford.

Adrian Mariappa, booked twice early in the second half, left the Hornets down a man, but an aggressive 4-3-2 formation held and Watford grabbed their 59th point of the soon-to-close season.

The next match is tomorrow at Brighton & Hove Albion, a squad fighting poor form in an attempt to reach the playoff zone. Kickoff is 1:45 pm St. Louis time.

Cardiff City 1-1 Watford 15-13-14 58 pts.

A late goal from Nyron Nosworthy salvaged a point in the standings against ex-Hornet skipper Malky MacKay and his Cardiff City Bluebirds.

A goal in added time at the end of the first half had Watford playing from behind for the next 37 minutes, but the squad played hard, attacking football that culminated in Nosworthy's equalizer in the 83rd minute.

The single point over the holiday fixtures leave the Hornets well-ensconced mid-table for the season with four matches left.

The next of these is Saturday, April 14 at Vicarage Road. Watford hosts Hull City. Kickoff is at 9:00 am St. Louis time.

Watford 0-2 Blackpool 15-12-14 57 pts

A lovely Good Friday off with the dog and an internet connection to Watford Player eased the pain of a mediocre showing and poor result from the Hornets today.

Stephen Dobbie, goal elf, scored a brace for Blackpool, the last on a penalty by Tomasz Kuszczak after a controversially on-side run. It didn't matter. Watford mounted no serious challenge to the goal.

The loss leaves them at six points off playoffs with five matches left; pretty long odds. The next match comes Monday (apparently still a holiday in the UK) at Cardiff City. Kickoff is 9:00 am St. Louis time.

Leeds United 0-2 Watford 15-12-13 57 pts

A pair of goals from Chris Iwelumo bookended a well-needed Watford away win to put the Hornets within 6 points of the playoff zone with 6 matches left.

I was occupied winning an area Toastmasters speech contest and did not catch the match, but some organization called the "BBC" scrabbled together a summary of some sort which I've attached the link to above.

The next match sees Blackpool at Vicarage Road on Good Friday. This, like the two matches that follow, will be against teams ahead of us in the standings and thus crucial to any playoff hopes. Kickoff is 10:00 am St. Louis time.