Watford 3-3 Burnley 20-7-12 67 pts.

Watford once again failed to capitalize on a lead, allowing Burnley to equalize in added time and losing out on two vital points in the standings with only seven matches left.

The Good Friday match saw Sean Dyche's return to Vicarage Road, his first since his dismissal over the summer and his side took the lead before the clock ticked over to one minute on a strike by Charlie Austin.

That lead did not last long as captain Troy Deeney equalized by nailing the lower left-hand corner in minute six. Austin got this second goal on a penalty shot after Marco Cassetti fouled Alex Kacaniklic for a second short-lived lead.

Fenando Forestieri equalized five minutes later and Burnley felt pressed by the Hornets for the rest of the half as Watford could not find the net despite several opportunities.

Forestieri sunk his second in at the 72 minute mark, but Watford failed to press the Clarets and paid dearly in the five minutes of added time, garnering only one point and hovering just below automatic promotion.

They have a chance to make amends Friday when they travel to Hull to face the second place Tigers in a match that will see a potential six-point swing. Kick off is 2:45 pm St. Louis time.

Nosworthy Down

Defender Nyron Nosworthy is out for the rest of the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in international play Friday. The Jamaican national underwent surgery Monday. The usual course of events is a recovery of up to six months.

Vydra is Championship Player of the Year

Though I'm not sure how (or why) they determine these things with a month left in the season, Czech striker Matej Vydra has been named the Championship Division player of the year as voted on by the Championship managers.

The Best of All Possible Outcomes (Almost)

In November, the Watford Observer reported on financial shenanigans that ran the risk of point deductions that could torpedo the Hornets' successful season.

Yesterday the issue was resolved with the club avoiding any points deductions or fines and subject only to league pre-approval of any transfers.

The down side (kind of)? Former owner Laurence Bassini was banned from the League for three years for his role, thus depriving Watford the opportunity to have him screw up a competitor.

We'll manage.

Barnsley 1-0 Watford 20-6-12 66 pts

They can't all be exciting Watford victories.

Barnsley, in good home form as they battle to stay in the Championship, banged away at the Watford defense until they took the lead, then stayed scrappy to capture the three points.

Jason Scotland pointed the way, scooting behind the defense to force a save from Jonathan Bond at the half hour mark. Bobby Hassell, on for an injured Rory Delap, traveled the trail Scotland blazed and scored the only goal of the match.

The good news of the day came from KC stadium where Hull City fell to Nottingham Forest to stay only three points ahead of the Hornets in the battle for automatic promotion.

The league goes into a break for international competition, with the next match on Good Friday seeing Burnley coming to Vicarage Road. Kickoff is 10:00 am St. Louis time.

Quit Whining Franco

Yes. Refs blow calls. Yes, it sucks (Don Denkinger anyone?). But in the grand scheme of things, bad calls even out.

At least they should. It may be Watford is getting more than their share of uncalled fouls given the influx of Italian loanees and the stereotype of diving they bring.

In any case, missed fouls did not swing the match from a one goal lead to a loss Saturday. Professionals need to play professionally, especially if they want to play at the top levels. They cannot choke in the face of a bad call (see the aforementioned Cardinals). The Hornet's loss came from lack of aggression, not incompetent or malevolent refereeing.

The good news is, unlike the officiating, that is something Zola can fix.

Watford 1-2 Blackpool 20-6-11 66 pts.

I'm back . . .

A combination of business & ennui has had this blog on hold for the last six weeks, but I have been following the Hornets as they fight for automatic promotion. As it stands at the moment (just following the B'Pool match) they hold second place in the table by a single point over Crystal Palace and Hull City.

They hold the league lead in goals but not goal difference, a distinction that, as you can imagine, has made for some exciting matches. Today's against Blackpool has been typical of the Hornets' difficulties in sealing the deal.

Watford got in an early lead with a Cristian Battocchio goal near the 30 minute mark, but failed to press their advantage. The pattern has been clear: when attacking after a lead they win, when playing it safe, they've given back points in the table they shouldn't have.

The Hornets failed to press today and were rewarded with goals from Tom Ince & Gary MacKenzie. Though the line-up has firmed up, injuries have dictated some changes, most notably Jonathan Bond between the sticks for Manuel Almunia, that leave the squad just a little more uncertain than they would like to be in the final stretch. They cannot afford to let any point slip.

The final match before the pre-Easter International break is next Saturday, March 16 at Barnsley. We'll be in the Daylight Savings Time notch, so kickoff should be at 10:00 St. Louis time.