Roy Hodgson left Selhurst Park with applause and chanting “one of ours” ringing in his ears and a hug from the winner of the match Wilfried Zaha, but also defeated and, unfortunately, dropped out of the Premier League for the first time.
After confirming this week that he will retire for the second time, this was the least suitable place for one of the final matches of Croydon-born Hodgson.
But the descent is not a way for one of football’s most respected figures to bow after a managerial career that began in 1976 and took him around the world.
Crystal Palace won 1-0 over Watford to drop them out of the Premier League
Wilfried Zaha opened the scoring for the Eagles from a penalty in the 31st minute
Watford boss Roy Hodgson left Selhurst Park to the applause and chanting of one of our
MATCH FACTS
Crystal Palace (4-1-4-1): Butland 7.5; Klein 7, Andersen 7, Guehi 7 (Mitchell 73, 6), Ward 7; Hughes 7.5; Olize 7.5, Eze 7.5, Gallagher 7 (Sloop 63, 6), Zaha 7.5 (Matthew 83); Edward 7.
Goal scorer: Zaha 31
Reserved: Hughes
Manager: Patrick Vieira 7.5
Watford 4-3-3): Foster 8; Kiko 6, Samir 5.5 (Ekong 78), Katkart 6, Kamara 4; Sissoko 6.5, Cayembe 5, Cleverley 5 (Sema 52, 6); Sar 5, Denis 5.5 (Masina 73, 6), King 5.5.
Goal scorer:
Reserved: Chamber, King
Sent: Chamber
Manager: Roy Hodgson 6
Judge: Graham Scott 7
After first announcing his plans to step down last year while at Crystal Palace, the reduced crowd due to Covid meant that Hodgson was denied a job at Selhurst Park, which he guaranteed after four seasons at the helm.
He received this on his return, applauded the dugout before the two halves and withdrew from the field full time, with Hodgson responding with a kiss to the audience in gratitude.
But he deserved a much better finish than Watford’s meek relegation from his Premier League status, his sixth straight loss, with the Hornets losing their 25th league-run of the season and 11 rebounds at home.
They had all fallen before the start and needed a miracle to stay up. As a matter of fact, this would never have happened.
And in line with most of his season, Watford put up little resistance to prevent the inevitable deployment.
The chances of Palace winning against the 10-member Hornets were slim, but don’t be fooled. It was a 1-0 cruise for Palace.
Apart from goalkeeper Ben Foster, the defeat that predetermined their fate contained few signs of struggle or challenge, qualities that a number of Hodgson teams had in the past, including Fulham and Palace, which he had previously retained in the Premier League against odds. a rescue mission he failed to repeat for the last time.
However, Hodgson is not to blame for their elimination. They were doomed before he arrived in late January as Watford’s third manager of the season.
This was their fourth relegation to the Premier League, surpassed only by Norwich and West Brom, and their problems are deeper than who’s in the dugout.
Palace Chief Patrick Vieira (left) and Hodgson (right) after his last game as manager
Thanks to a penalty in the first half by Zaha, who would have enjoyed his role in Watford’s death, given his role as a villain in the pantomime against them, Palace, meanwhile, climbed to ninth place, retaining hopes for first place in the top 10 of 2015 and beat their best Premier League score of 48.
Apart from Samir’s header, which was meekly reflected, everything was one-way in the first half.
If Watford hadn’t accepted his fate, they had a fun way to show it.
For Palace, it was only a matter of time before they scored their first goal, and once they did, it was a question of how much longer they could follow.
Michael Oliz and Zaha threatened in the first 10 minutes and it was 20 before Watford presented something, even if it looked like a threat.
The inevitable opening came shortly after half an hour, when Olise’s header back through the door hit Hassane Kamara’s outstretched hand in the penalty area.
Zaha buried the penalty, defeating Ben Foster and scoring his 13th league goal of the season
He has been appealing long and hard enough that he has been fouled, although VAR’s Kevin Friend check only backed up referee Graham Scott’s decision.
Zaha buried the penalty, sending Ben Foster outright to score his 13th league goal of the season, leveling it with Harry Kane in the league.
It was only thanks to Foster Watford that he was no longer on vacation.
His save to repel Mark Guehi’s header was excellent, and Olize’s close-range shot was just as sharp.
It was so convenient for the Palace that it was a small surprise that they took their feet off the gas after the reboot, while the gleaming Odson Edward pulled away from the three Watford defenders, fired in a shot that gripped Foster’s legs but cut one of them and hit the far post. .
Hassen Kamara took a second yellow card for a foul against Palace winger Michael Oliz
Palace’s task became even easier after Hassane Kamara, who was the second best in his battle with Olize, fouled the Palace’s wing once more and was fired.
And deputy Jean-Philippe Matteta had two chances to score a second with a header for the Palace, but was rejected by Foster from the first and then hit a header to the side.
Jeffrey Schloop also extended Foster’s injury time.
However, these rejected chances did not matter. This was a rare case where 1-0 was more than a comfortable result.
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