Match ends, Watford 1, Sheffield Wednesday 0.
WatfordWatford1Sheff WedSheffield Wednesday0
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."
Line-ups
Watford
Formation 4-3-3
- 26Bachmann
- 21Femenía
- 5Troost-Ekong
- 31SierraltaBooked at 30mins
- 11Masina
- 14ChalobahSubstituted forC Sánchezat 84'minutes
- 19HughesBooked at 64mins
- 7ZinckernagelSubstituted forGoslingat 60'minutes
- 23Sarr
- 22SuccessSubstituted forGrayat 61'minutes
- 10João PedroSubstituted forSemaat 71'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Foster
- 3Ngakia
- 12Sema
- 16Gosling
- 17Lazaar
- 18Gray
- 27Kabasele
- 28C Sánchez
- 44Hungbo
Sheff Wed
Formation 3-4-1-2
- 28WildsmithBooked at 78mins
- 19UrhoghideBooked at 38mins
- 15LeesSubstituted forShawat 85'minutes
- 13BörnerBooked at 2mins
- 5PatersonSubstituted forGreenat 82'minutes
- 8PelupessySubstituted forPalmerat 77'minutes
- 6Hutchinson
- 11ReachBooked at 41mins
- 10Bannan
- 20Rhodes
- 18Windass
Substitutes
- 2Palmer
- 7K Harris
- 14Penney
- 16Green
- 24Brown
- 26Shaw
- 29Hunt
- 44Jackson
- 45Kachunga
- Referee:
- Chris Kavanagh
Match Stats
Home TeamWatfordAway TeamSheff Wed
- Possession
- Home48%
- Away52%
- Shots
- Home11
- Away8
- Shots on Target
- Home2
- Away1
- Corners
- Home6
- Away3
- Fouls
- Home19
- Away14
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Watford 1, Sheffield Wednesday 0.
Post update
Corner, Watford. Conceded by Julian Börner.
Post update
Foul by Barry Bannan (Sheffield Wednesday).
Post update
Kiko Femenía (Watford) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Post update
Attempt missed. Carlos Sánchez (Watford) right footed shot from outside the box is too high.
Post update
Foul by Liam Shaw (Sheffield Wednesday).
Post update
Dan Gosling (Watford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Attempt missed. Ismaila Sarr (Watford) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top right corner following a corner.
Post update
Corner, Watford. Conceded by Osaze Urhoghide.
Substitution
Substitution, Sheffield Wednesday. Liam Shaw replaces Tom Lees because of an injury.
Substitution
Substitution, Watford. Carlos Sánchez replaces Nathaniel Chalobah.
Post update
Tom Lees (Sheffield Wednesday) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Andre Gray (Watford).
Substitution
Substitution, Sheffield Wednesday. Andre Green replaces Callum Paterson because of an injury.
Post update
Callum Paterson (Sheffield Wednesday) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Francisco Sierralta (Watford).
Booking
Joe Wildsmith (Sheffield Wednesday) is shown the yellow card.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Ken Sema (Watford) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Ismaila Sarr.
Substitution
Substitution, Sheffield Wednesday. Liam Palmer replaces Joey Pelupessy.
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