Watford 1-0 Sheffield Wednesday: Hosts secure sixth successive win
- Published
Ismaila Sarr (right) took the congratulations after his cross forced Tom Lees to score an own goal
Promotion-hopefuls Watford beat struggling Sheffield Wednesday, who were without boss Darren Moore after he tested positive for Covid-19, to record a sixth successive victory.
The hosts took an early lead when Tom Lees slid Ismaila Sarr's low cross into his own goal.
Jordan Rhodes had a great chance to level for the Owls when a deep ball fell to him at the back post but he could not keep his effort down.
That was as good as it got for Wednesday and they remain second from bottom, six points adrift of safety.
Watford look like they could well be going in the opposite direction to the Owls after they moved nine points clear of third-placed Swansea.
The Welsh side, who face Birmingham City later on Friday, do have two games in hand on the Hornets but have lost their past two matches.
In a game of few chances it was a moment of quality that brought about the game's only goal, Sarr bringing down a well-hit pass before firing a teasing centre across the face of goal that Lees could only put past his own goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith.
Wednesday only revealed an hour before kick-off that boss Moore would be absent for the game and that cannot have helped their preparations for what had already looked like an arduous task.
They battled well but, Rhodes' chance aside, they never really threatened to get back into the match.
The Owls host play-off hopefuls Cardiff on Monday and Watford will look to continue their excellent run when they visit Middlesbrough on the same day.
Watford boss Xisco Munoz:
"We have seven games more and we will see how many we need for our goal.
"I promise you we are very ambitious. Everyone wants the best. We will see, but we are working hard to cut out the mistakes. We try to give the best for our club.
"The first objective is to try to get in the play-offs, the second objective is to try to take second position.
"And if it is possible, because we are working very hard, we will try to arrive at the top."
Sheffield Wednesday assistant manager Jamie Smith:
(On Moore) "He's OK. He was watching the game and was in contact with the analysts over the phone. I don't know how long I'll be in charge. We'll know more in the next couple of days.
"I'm disappointed for the players. I felt we had done enough to get something but it's good that we created opportunities.
"There were positives to take from the game and we will continue fighting for every single point. We'll learn from it and move on."
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