Watford 3-1 Wrexham: Bove Nets First Goal in Crucial Win
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- Watford beat Wrexham 3-1 at Vicarage Road in front of 16,378 fans, maintaining their Sky Bet Championship play-off push and inflicting Wrexham's first away defeat of the calendar year.
- Marc Bola opened the scoring in the 18th minute, finishing from a Giorgi Chakvetadze backheel after a break from deep, with the goal carrying controversy as Ollie Rathbone went down in the Watford area but referee Adam Herczeg waved play on.
- Edo Kayembe doubled Watford's lead in the 37th minute, given too much room by the Wrexham defence to drive home from just outside the area after Nestory Irankunda burst down the right.
- Max Cleworth gave Wrexham a lifeline four minutes into the second half, turning in a Rathbone corner, and Mattie Pollock had to clear a Cleworth header and a Dominic Hyam effort off the line as Wrexham pushed for an equaliser.
- Edoardo Bove netted his first Watford goal in stoppage time, reacting quickest to turn in the rebound after Bola's shot ricocheted off the crossbar to wrap up the win.
- Watford boss Ed Still made four changes from the defeat at Stoke — including Pierre Ekwah's full debut — and said he was "delighted" the team had taken on board the lessons, adding that Bove "is going to keep growing."
- Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson said his side were "brilliant in the second half" and had "pinned Watford in," but acknowledged that "the ball didn't drop for us" in their search for a second goal.
Why it matters: The win keeps Watford in the Championship play-off picture and ends Wrexham's unbeaten 2026 away run, a streak that had anchored their promotion push. Bove's stoppage-time maiden Watford goal capped a night where Wrexham's second-half pressure — a Cleworth strike and two efforts cleared off the line — still couldn't deliver an equaliser.
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