Seconds after missing the chances that might have kept their survival hopes alive, Watford conceded the stoppage-time winner that surely condemns them to an instant return to the Championship.
With the scores level as the match moved past 90 minutes, Hornets substitute Joshua King hit the post and Imran Louza put the loose ball wide of an open goal. To compound the agony for Watford, Pontus Jansson promptly headed in Christian Eriksen’s free-kick at the other end. Those sorts of switches in momentum tend to be the difference between staying up and going down.
There was some suggestion that had Louza converted his chance, VAR might have intervened, yet there was still no escaping the feeling of what might have been.
Christian Norgaard opened the scoring with a volley from a Ethan Pinnock’s throw-in
Emmanuel Dennis put the hosts level with an emphatic strike 10 minutes after the break
‘One has to believe and keep faith,’ said Watford boss Roy Hodgson. ‘Who knows, maybe we will pick up points where nobody expects us to do it and get back in the race.
‘But this is not the moment to start predicting we are now going to sweep the board and beat all the opposition in front of us. If I say that then people will laugh at me.’
Christian Norgaard had given the visitors an early lead and Watford – who have now lost five in six – were booed off at half-time. But Emmanuel Dennis equalised soon after the break and hit the bar with a free-kick shortly before Louza’s miss.
That made it three top-flight wins in a row for the Bees for the first time since 1946, while Watford became only the second team in the history of the top division to lose 10 home games in a row.
Watford are six points adrift of Everton, who have two games in hand, and 11 behind Leeds, who like the Hornets have six games remaining.
By contrast, Brentford reached 39 points and are surely guaranteed another season in the Premier League.
‘It has been a crazy season and to get to 39 points is remarkable for us,’ said Brentford coach Thomas Frank. ‘We have the lowest budget in the division and we only came up through the play-offs last season.
‘I don’t remember many last-minute winners during my time in charge but since we’ve been in the Premier League, we have had three of them. That shows our fitness and our character. I am happy we have reached 39 points but I want more.’
Eriksen had the first chance of the match when he guided a shot just wide from the edge of the box after finding space 20 yards out.
Then, in Watford’s only coherent move of the first half, Kiko Femenia played a one-two with Joao Pedro before crossing for Ismaila Sarr to put a free header over.
Moussa Sissoko (L) battles with Yoane Wissa (R) during Saturday’s game at Vicarage Road
It was not long before Watford were punished for that mistake. Ethan Pinnock’s long throw should have been headed clear at the near post, but Kristoffer Ajer did enough to ensure it found its way to the unmarked Norgaard, who tapped in from close range.
Just after the 20-minute mark, Brentford suffered a blow when Pinnock was forced off with injury and was replaced in the back four by Mads Bech Sorensen. Watford could not take advantage, however, as Roy Hodgson’s side showed desperately little quality going forward.
Eriksen had another strike saved by Foster in the 33rd minute and as half-time approached, Vitaly Janelt sliced a volley wide from the edge of the box.
Then Watford nearly drew level in bizarre fashion. Caught off balance by Femenia’s free-kick, Ajer tried to volley clear but instead the ball hit his knee and flew back towards goal. David Raya would have had no chance of stopping it and was relieved to see it spin wide. When the whistle went for the interval, was no surprise at all to hear the fans voice their anger.
Their mood would have been darker shortly had Ivan Toney managed to convert one of the assists of the season from Eriksen early in the second half. As the Dane lined up a free-kick, the Watford wall braced for a shot. Instead, like a golfer chipping on to the green, Eriksen lofted the ball over the wall for Toney, whose finish could not match his run as he mishit it wide.
Pontus Jansson won the game for Brentford with a header deep into injury time
That was the stroke of luck Watford needed. One minute later, Sarr flicked on Moussa Sissoko’s right-wing cross and Dennis finished impressively at the far post. Though the goal was initially ruled out for offside, VAR replays showed Sarr’s position was legal when Sissoko delivered the ball.
With the clock ticking down, Dennis nearly put Watford in front with a free-kick from a tight angle on the left that deceived David Raya but skimmed the crossbar.
And they came even closer in stoppage time when substitute King hit the post and, with the goal at his mercy, the off-balance Louza somehow guided the rebound wide.
How they were punished for it. When Brentford won a free-kick on the right, Eriksen delivered it perfectly and Jansson nodded it into the corner for the goal that will probably relegate Watford.
‘I can’t complain too bitterly,’ Hodgson added. ‘Our first-half performance wasn’t anywhere near the level we would expect. But in the second half we gave the crowd something to get excited about. One of the hardest jobs is to pick the players up after a defeat like this and that’s why a 95th-minute winner is hard to take.’
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