Goals from Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo catapulted Watford to the top of the Championship table at the expense of their visitors 2.23pm BST Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeeeep! It’s all over and Watford replace their visitors at the top of the table courtesy of goals from Troy Deeney and Odion Max Meyer 2.21pm BST 90+3 min: Watford have Boro penned in their own half in these closing stages. Miguel Layun and Grant Leadbitter both get booked, the former for a foul on the latter, who was carded for retaliation. 2.18pm BST 90+2 min: Watford substitution: Miguel Layun on for Adlene Guedioura, who’s had a fine game. 2.17pm BST 90 min: Kike is put through on the Watford goal when he latches on to an Adam Forshaw ball over the top. He gets the ball caught under his feet a little and when he finally gets a shot away, Gomes gets down to save smartly. 2.16pm BST 89 min: Alkbert Adomah curls a cross into the Watford penalty area, but his outswinger is too high for Kike at the far post. 2.15pm BST 88 min: Apologies, that defeat at the hands of Bournemouth was the previous weekend. Boro have beaten Wigan since. 2.14pm BST 85 min: Middlesbrough have had well over 60% of the possession in this match, but failed to muster a single shot on target. By all accounts, their defeat at the hands of Bournemouth over the weekend was spookily similar. 2.11pm BST 84 min: Boro substitution: Adam Forshaw on, Adam Clayton off. 2.11pm BST 83 min: George Friend cuts in from the left flank and drags a low right-footed cross-come-shot across the Watford penalty area. 2.09pm BST 80 min: Standing on the edge of a penalty area for a Watford corner, Adlene Guedioura goes close to scoring a goal straight from the top drawer. The ball drops for him and with the outside of his foot, he steers it towards the top right-hand corner. It takes a fine save to deny him, goalkeeper Dimi The Greek stretching every sinew to claw the ball clear. 2.05pm BST 77 min: Adomah and Kallas link uop well down the right flank and the Chelsea loan-signing (it was he who likened his role at the Premier League club to that of a training cone) whips in a cross that’s a mite too high for its intended target, Kike. The Spaniard gets his head to it but can’t do anything more than send it high and wide. 2.04pm BST 75 min: Guedioura crosses from the right touchline for Watford, but his delivery is too close to Dimitrios Konstantopolous, who grabs it under no pressure whatsoever. 2.02pm BST 74 min: Moments previously, George Friend was forced to pass up what might have been a decent shooting opportunity through the intercession of Irish under-age international Tommie Hoban. 2.01pm BST 73 min: With Watford on the attack, Ben Watson tries to play Guedioura down the inside left channel, but makes a dog’s breakfast of his pass and any chance goes begging. 1.59pm BST 71 min: As the ball is crossed into the Watford penalty area by Albert Adomah, Kike takes a tumble and claims a penalty on the grounds that Matthew Connollly had an arm around his neck. He’s not wrong. 1.57pm BST 70 min: Adlene Guedioura gets booked for a foul on George Friend. 1.56pm BST 68 min: Watford substitution: Matej Vydra on, goalscoring’s Odion Ighalo off after scoring his 16th goal in 14 league matches. 1.55pm BST 66 min: Another goal for Watford on the back of more comedy defending from Middlesbrough, who gave the ball away cheaply on the edge of their own penalty area. Ben Watson picked out Ighalo just to the left of the D on the edge of the area and the in-form striker shifted the ball on to his left foot and rifled the ball goalwards. In the Boro goal, Konstantantopolous got his hand to it, but couldn’t keep it out. 1.52pm BST Odion Ighalo doubles Watford’s lead with a fine strike into the top right-hand corner from the edge of the penalty area. 1.51pm BST 64 min: A Ben Watson shot from distance takes two deflections for fizzing wide of the Boro goal. 1.50pm BST 63 min: Middlesbrough substitutions: Tomas Kallas on for Dwight Tiendalli. Kike on for Lee Tomlin. 1.49pm BST 61 min: Just before that free-kick, Watford made a substitution: Craig Cathcart off, Matthew Connolly on. Daniel Tozser’s inswinger for the corner is vicious, but George Friend does well to head the ball clear under extreme pressure from Troy Deeney. 1.47pm BST 59 min: A shove in Troy Deeney’s back earns Watford a free-kick on the inside right flank, in line with the right side of the penalty area. Daniel Tozser puts his foot through the ball, which is deflected wide for a corner. 1.46pm BST 58 min: Ikechi Anya attempts to scurry down the left wing for Watford, but is tracked and stopped by Albert Adomah. 1.45pm BST 57 min: Huerelho Gomes is forced to dash out of his penalty area to head a Lee Tomlin through-ball clear under pressure from Patrick Bamford. The pair clatter into each other as the Boro striker catches Gomes with a high foot in the face. The Brazilian doesn’t make a big deal of it and Bamford escapes serious censure for his enthusiasm. 1.42pm BST 55 min: Albert Adomah fails to get a cross in due to the diligence of Ikechi Anya, but wins a corner. Grant Leadbitter takes it, but Watford clear. 1.41pm BST 54 min: Interesting Opta stat: Middlesbrough have had just four touches of the ball in the Watford penalty area in little under an hour. Small wonder Patrick Bamford is cutting such a forlorn figure - he reminds us he’s still in the game by conceding a free-kick for a petulant foul that looks borne out of frustration. 1.40pm BST 53 min: Another fine pass from Adlene Guedioura, who picks out a Odion Ighalo run across the edge of the Boro penalty area. Woodgate shepherds the player wide, forcing him to shoot first-time and his weak effort fails to trouble Konstantopolous. 1.38pm BST 50 min: George Friend gets on the ball again and plays it inside to Adam Clayton in the centre of Boro’s midfield. He plays it wide to the right, where Watford clear their lines courtesy of Parades. 1.37pm BST 49 min: George Friend curls a cross in towards Watford’s near post, where Albert Adomah gets a touch on the ball but is unable to steer it goalwards. Goal-kick for Watford. 1.36pm BST 48 min: Boro are enjoying plenty of possession, but struggling to get the ball to Patrick Bamford up front. Grant Leadbitter is looking frustrated and roars encouragement at his team-mates. 1.34pm BST 46 min: Lee Tomlin and Grant Leadbitter combine in midfield as Boro try to get the ball into the final third. Tomlin picks out George Friend on the left flank, but his pass fails to reach Adam Reach. 1.33pm BST Watford kick off, with no changes to either side at the break. Jonathan Woodgate gets on the ball and plays it forward out of the Middlesbrough defence towards the goal behind which his team’s travelling fans are assembled. Gabriele Angella concedes a throw-in. 1.20pm BST It’s been a decent 45 minutes of football and Watford go in for their half-time brew a goal to the good. Troy Deeney scored his 20th league goal of the season after capitalising on a Jonathan Woodgate error and as things stand, his team will go top of the Championship table unless Middlesbrough score in the second half. 1.18pm BST 44 min: Having been camped inside their own half for about two minutes, Boro finally get on the ball, only to concede a throw-in on the back of some sloppy play. George Friend finally hoofs the ball out of Boro’s half, as the crowd pays tribute to their fallen comrade Nic Cruwys, who was attackled after his team’s match at Wolves several weeks ago. The 44-year-old remains in a specialist care unit as a result of head injuries sustained in the attack. 1.14pm BST 40 min: Middlesbrough look a little rattled by that setback, having dominated possession for long spells of the first half without ever taking control of the game. Now Watford are looking comfortable on the ball as they pass and probe in a bid to turn the screw. Guediora plays another good pass up the inside right to Odion Ighalo, but George Friend dispossesses him. 1.11pm BST 38 min: Jonathan Woodgate will be feeling rather glum about that goal, as he was largely responsible for gifting the opportunity to Deeney. With Adlene Guedioura sending in a splendid cross from the right, he misjudged the flight of the ball and completely missed his header. Lurking behind him in acres of space, Deeney was waiting to capitalise and made no mistake, shooting left-footed through the legs of Dimitrios Konstantopolous from a tight angle. 1.08pm BST The home side take the lead, with an opportunist strike from Troy Deeney, who scores his 20th goal of the season for the third consecutive season. 1.07pm BST 35 min: Boro win a free-kick wide on the right, which Leadbitter curls into the penalty area. Watford clear and embark on one of their lightning fast counter-attacks and almost get a lucky break when the nervy looking Tiendalli makes a mistake. Adomah bales out his team-mate. 1.05pm BST 32 min: Chance for Middlesbrough. An unmarked Lee Tomlin ghosts into the Watford penalty area to stick out a leg and get his toe on the end of a cross from George Friend on the left flank. His poked effort is well saved by Huerelho Gomes 1.03pm BST 31 min: Boro win a corner and Leadbitter arrows the ball towards the back post. Watford clear. 1.02pm BST 29 min: George Friend performs heroics to keep the ball in play as Middlesbrough go on the attack and his forced to hurdle an advertising hoarding in the process and land sprawling on the ground on the other side. In any other ground, he might have seriously hurt himself and an unfortunate spectator or two, but there’s a gap between the hoarding and the crowd on the sideline at Vicarage Road. 12.59pm BST 28 min: Ikechi Anya gallops down the left flank and tries to take on Dwight Tiendalli, but the Dutch debutant is equal to the task and doesn’t let him past. 12.58pm BST 27 min: Troy Deeney tries a shot from distance after having the ball played back to him from the edge of the penalty area by Odion Ighalo. He drags his effort wide. 12.57pm BST 26 min: Lee Tomlin wins the ball just outside his own penalty area but misdirects his pass to Adam Reach, who gets booked in his efforts to win it back. 12.55pm BST 24 min: Gabriele Angella goes close for Watford, leaping highest to win the ball in the Boro penalty area at a corner, only to steer his downward header wide of the left upright. 12.53pm BST 22 min: Watford have a shot on goal, with Anya taking advantage of a slip by Dwight Tiendalli to get on the ball, gallop towards goal and bring a good save out of Konstantopolous with his low drive. Great positioning by the goalkeeper. 12.52pm BST 20 min: Adam Clayton fouls Ighalo needlessly, with the striker heading back towards his own goal. 12.51pm BST 19 min: Speaking of weighty matters, Sky Sports commentator Daniel Mann reveals that Tomlin has lost a stone-and-a-half since joining Middlesbrough from Peterborough in a state of affairs “that probably raises more questions than it answers”. Nice. 12.49pm BST 17 min: Middlesbrough win a free-kick wide on the left courtesy of a Gabriele Angelia tug on Patrick Bamford. Rather than swing the ball into the penalty area, they play it across the field to Lee Tomlin, whose delivery into the box is too weighty. The ball rolls wide. 12.47pm BST 15 min: Amorebieta concedes a free-kick for a shove on Ighalo, who was struggling to control a bullet-pass from Parades. 12.45pm BST 13 min: Boro win a free-kick about 40 yards from the Watford goal, well right of centre. Despite the distance, Grant Leadbitter decides he fancies his chances and does enough to get Heurelho Gomes scampering across his line to save his sterling effort, which looked like it was going to go wide of the left upright, but not by much. 12.43pm BST 11 min: From midfield, Troy Deeney sends a long ball down the inside left channel for Ighalo to chase. Goalkeeper Konstantopolous is quick off his line to win the ball and avert the danger. 12.42pm BST 9 min: Guidioura sends a cross into the Middlesbrough penalty area from the right flank, but Amorebieta heads it clear. The ball is returned to the penalty area from the left, courtesy of Ikechi Anya, and Troy Deeney attempts to head it goalwards. Over the bar. 12.39pm BST 8 min: Troy Deeney wins a bouncing ball halfway inside the Boro half and hares towards goal, but Jonathan Woodgate is quickly out to dispossess him. 12.38pm BST 6 min: It’s a lively, entertaining start. Watson plays a long ball forward for Watford striker Odion Ighalo to chase, but Albert Adomah closes him down. Middlesbrough are looking pretty comfortable on the ball thus far. 12.36pm BST 5 min: Adomah picks up the ball in the centre and runs up a blind alley, but wins a corner for Boro. Grant Leadbitter sends the ball towards the edge of the penalty area and Watford clear their lines. The ball finds its way back to Leadbitter, who is flagged for offside. 12.35pm BST 3 min: George Friend picks out Bamford in midfield as Middlesbrough play the ball out from the back. With play swtiched to the right, Adomah gets in behind Parades, who was ball-watching and darts towards goal. Ikechi Anya slides in to rob him off the ball and spare his left-back’s blushes. 12.33pm BST 2 min: From a Dimitrios Konstantopolous hoof out of the Middlesbrough penalty area, Bamford wins the header in midfield and sends the ball skidding towards the Watford penalty area. After some minor dithering in the defensive ranks, it’s cleared before Adam Reach can pounce. 12.31pm BST 1 min: Middlesbrough get the ball rolling on what could be one of the most significant days in the season of both teams. Patrick Bamford and Lee Tomlin do the honours, with the former rolling the ball back to George Friend, who lumps the ball forward. Craig Cathcart wins the header for Watford. 12.28pm BST Not long now: The sun is shining and Vicarage Road is rocking as Troy Deeney and Jonathan Woodgate lead their teams out to the theme tune of Z Cars. Kick-off is imminent. 12.23pm BST Watford have scored 44 goals at home this season, a feat that hasn’t been bettered by any team in the English league. Odion Ighalo has been responsible for many of them and is currently on a scoring streak of 15 in his past 13 league games. He starts alongside Troy Deeney in a two-pronged attack. 12.14pm BST Dwight Tiendalli and Fernando Amorebieta start at right back and centre-back respectively for Middlesbrough this afternoon, in what one could argue might constitute a gamble for Aitor Karanka at this stage of the seasons. Amorebieta will play alongside Jonathan Woodgate, who makes back-to-back starts after returning from a toe injury. 11.58am BST Watford:Gomes, Cathcart, Angella. Hoban, Paredes, Tozser, Watson, Guedioura, Anya, Deeney, Ighalo.Subs: Connolly, Munari, Layun, Pudil, Vydra, Abdi, Bond. 11.50am BST Things could scarcely be tighter at the summit of the Championship table, where the top four sides are separated by just two points and the gap between Middlesbrough in first place and Wolves in eighth is just seven. With just six games each left, Fourth place Watford entertain Middlesbrough today and a home win would catapult the Hornets to the top of the table for a couple of hours at least ahead of this afternoon’s fixtures. Continue reading...
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