Watford 2 Blackburn 1:The odds are that, in the greater scheme of things, this will make no difference, but you could hardly blame the supporters of Watford FC for living for the moment. Long and loud were the celebrations after their second win of the season, and the most satisfying thing must have been how thoroughly deserved it was.
While Aidy Boothroyd would rightly point out that planning for any eventuality has been a feature of his time as Watford manager, preparation for a season in the Championship must be increasingly high on his list of priorities.
Boothroyd could, of course, point to the example of Blackburn to illustrate just how quickly things can turn around. Immediately above the relegation zone at Christmas, five wins in six games since had seen Mark Hughes' team move in to the top half. Their away form has been particularly impressive, and had Watford's captain Jordan Stewart not been switched on, they would have gone ahead within 30 seconds of the kick-off, the full back getting his foot to James McEveley's cross just before Shabani Nonda could turn it past Ben Foster.
Sure enough, a Blackburn player did open the scoring before too long. Unfortunately, Brett Emerton's neat header was into his own net, the makeshift right back, under slight pressure from Damien Francis, somehow contriving to direct his attempt to clear Tommy Smith's cross past Brad Friedel.
On such pieces of fortune matches, if not seasons, can turn, and Watford's first goal in almost six hours of Premiership football sent belief coursing through around the ground. They still looked vulnerable at the back, though, unsurprisingly given the pace of Benni McCarthy and Nonda. Morten Gamst Pedersen was having one of his infuriating days, though, while McCarthy shot wastefully wide.
Watford might have doubled their lead before half-time when Adrian Mariappa and Darius Henderson set up Francis only for the midfielder to slice wide. That miss was made to look worse when, in injury-time, Blackburn levelled. David Bentley drifted past Malky Mackay, swung in his first decent cross of the match, and McCarthy escaped the attentions of Jay DeMerit to direct a fine header past Foster and in off the underside of the bar.
After the interval Robbie Savage had to be carried off on a stretcher after Al Bangura's tackle stretched the definition of legality, and the Welshman's shin-pad, close to its limit, and when Nonda scooped a close-range shot over the bar, the sense that this might be Watford's night grew.
So it proved. A high free-kick from the right was kept in by Mackay before being crossed back into the heart of the area by Bouazza. DeMerit, up for the free-kick, beat Friedel to send Vicarage Road wild.
WATFORD:Foster, Mariappa, Mackay, Shittu (DeMerit 33), Stewart, Smith, Bangura, Francis, Bouazza, Henderson, Hoskins (Powell 85). Subs not used:Lee, Priskin, Ashikodi. Booked:Stewart, Bouazza. Goals:Emerton 12 og, DeMerit 70.
BLACKBURN ROVERS:Friedel, Emerton, Henchoz, Khizanishvili, McEveley, Bentley, Savage (Gallagher 57), Mokoena, Pedersen, Nonda, McCarthy (Derbyshire 69). Subs not used:Enckelman, Peter, Nolan. Goal:McCarthy 45.
Referee: D Gallagher(Oxfordshire).
