HULL City's hopes of clinching promotion to the Premier League will have to wait for at least another week after Watford thumped Blackburn Rovers 4-0 this afternoon.
A frustrating 0-0 draw with Bristol City last night left Steve Bruce's men needing Blackburn to win at Vicarage Road if they were to stand any chance of returning to the top-flight today.
Despite being held at the break, the Hornets eventually held their nerve with a brilliant second half response to demolish relegation-threatened Blackburn.
A Troy Deeney brace was followed up by goals from Almen Abdi and Matthew Briggs as Watford reduced City's seven-point lead to just four points with two games of the season remaining.
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace's faint hopes of chasing down the Tigers were ended when twice pegged back to draw 2-2 with Leicester City at Selhurst Park.
Today's results, which included Cardiff clinching the title with a 1-1 draw at Burnley, mean it is now a straight fight between City and Watford for second spot.
Gianfranco Zola's men can close the gap to just one point when they travel to Leicester on Friday night, yet defeat at the King Power Stadium would see the Tigers handed second spot before they travel to Barnsley a week today.
Although City will hope for a favour from former boss Nigel Pearson, Bruce can still draw ample comfort from the knowledge a win at Oakwell will book automatic promotion.
A frustrating 0-0 draw with Bristol City last night left Steve Bruce's men needing Blackburn to win at Vicarage Road if they were to stand any chance of returning to the top-flight today.
Despite being held at the break, the Hornets eventually held their nerve with a brilliant second half response to demolish relegation-threatened Blackburn.
A Troy Deeney brace was followed up by goals from Almen Abdi and Matthew Briggs as Watford reduced City's seven-point lead to just four points with two games of the season remaining.
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace's faint hopes of chasing down the Tigers were ended when twice pegged back to draw 2-2 with Leicester City at Selhurst Park.
Today's results, which included Cardiff clinching the title with a 1-1 draw at Burnley, mean it is now a straight fight between City and Watford for second spot.
Gianfranco Zola's men can close the gap to just one point when they travel to Leicester on Friday night, yet defeat at the King Power Stadium would see the Tigers handed second spot before they travel to Barnsley a week today.
Although City will hope for a favour from former boss Nigel Pearson, Bruce can still draw ample comfort from the knowledge a win at Oakwell will book automatic promotion.
