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Watford beat Wrexham to boost their play-off hopes and inflict a first away defeat of 2026 on Phil Parkinson's side. Marc Bola's strike gives Watford a deserved lead after a really bright start for the Hornets. Watford double their lead before half-time, as Edo Kayembe beat Arthur Okonkwo to finish off a devastating counter attack. Max Cleworth's header pulls one back for Wrexham earlier in the second half to give the visitors hope. Edoardo Bove seals victory for Watford in added time, as they close the gap on sixth-place Wrexham to five points. Chris Wathan FT: Watford 3-1 Wrexham That's it from the division that just keeps on giving. Wrexham will rue a poor first-half and hope they can get themselves up for the clash with the Blades at the weekend before taking a breather during the international break. And Watford might just start looking at what could be possible over the remaining eight games if they can repeat the fast break football they showed tonight. A lovely moment too for match-winner Edoardo Bove, scoring his first EFL goal after his move from Serie A. His career there was disrupted when he collapsed while playing for Fiorentina and has had a cardiac defibrillator fitted. Little wonder he could enjoy the moments at the final whistle. Keep an eye out for reaction on your club's pages and on BBC Sounds, but it's a goodnight from us. FT: Watford 3-1 Wrexham Ben Tozer Former Wrexham captain on BBC Radio Wales What Phil Parkinson does really well is make sure that the team always bounces back with a positive performance, and a hardworking performance that usually ends up being a win. FT: Watford 3-1 Wrexham Wrexham are still in sixth but Southampton will have the chance to jump above them on goal difference if they beat Norwich City tomorrow night. And if Norwich win, they won't be far off the top six either. It's typically tight in the Championship. Watford welcome Leicester to Vicarage Road on Saturday with the chance of back-to-back wins for the first time since the turn of the year. Wrexham head to Sheffield United. FT: Watford 3-1 Wrexham FT: Watford 3-1 Wrexham Ben Tozer Former Wrexham captain on BBC Radio Wales Watford made four changes from the weekend, and Wrexham didn't make any. Sometimes you don't know what output you're going to get from your body. FT: Watford 3-1 Wrexham Watford are enjoying this one and they have every right to. They were clinical on the counter in the first half with Irankunda causing problems with Bola and Kayembe putting the hosts in control. Max Cleworth's early goal did make you wonder if Wrexham were going to really push for a result, but in truth they didn't do enough to break down Watford's superb defensive effort led by Mattie Pollock. And Bove sealed it in the final minutes when Wrexham ran out of ideas. Use the 'Send us your views' box Why don’t Wrexham turn up in the first half? Total waste of 45 minutes, so too much to do in the second half. Julia, Holywell FT: Watford 3-1 Wrexham Ben Tozer Former Wrexham captain on BBC Radio Wales James Abankwah was fantastic in those one versus one situations especially in the first-half. It was a fantastic defensive effort from Watford tonight. Wrexham miss the chance to jump ahead of Hull City - and the eyes of the chasing pack light up. Including Watford who won't be ruling themselves out of a crack at the top six after moving to within five points of Phil Parkinson's side with eight games to go. Watford 3-1 Wrexham Ben Tozer Former Wrexham captain on BBC Radio Wales Bola hit it so well, and it falls to the only person Wrexham wouldn't want it to fall to and that's Boze. He's the coolest man on the pitch. Edoardo Bove Just as Wrexham pushed, Watford pounced. It's great work down the right from Mendy who gets to the by line, the balls comes to Bola who smashes it from the edge of the area, hits the crossbar and Bove is first to the rebound. It's the 23-year-old's first goal since joining from Roma in the recent window. Watford 2-1 Wrexham It's one way stuff as Wrexham try and claw something from this game. Kabore again gets some space on the right and it's aimed for Rodriguez but it was asking a lot to find the target from there. Watford 2-1 Wrexham The 90 is up - and so is the fourth official's board. SIX added minutes. Kevin Keben is on for James Abankwah Use the 'Send us your views' box Mattie Pollock keeping us in this at the moment. Watford have missed him recently through injury. James, Watford Watford 2-1 Wrexham A bit of relief for Watford as they win a free-kick on the half-way line as Lewis O'Brien fouls Louza. Wrexham, though, eat it up and head straight back down the other end. And they've just thrown Jay Rodriguez on for Zak Vyner. The 36-year-old hasn't scored this season. Yet. Watford 2-1 Wrexham We're into the final five here and it feels like Watford aren't leaving their box. This time it's a long throw from Zak Vyner that asks questions, but Still's side are coming up with the answers so far. Watford 2-1 Wrexham Ben Tozer Former Wrexham captain on BBC Radio Wales Brilliant again from Mattie Pollock, he's defended superbly tonight. Watford 2-1 Wrexham Pollock leading Watford's resistance as he again clears the lines. This time he's in the right place at the right time as Callum Doyle threatens with a header. Wrexham aren't giving up and Kabore is causing chaos on the right. Watford 2-1 Wrexham Ironic cheers - and a bit of relief - from the home fans as Cadamarteri mis-controls a lovely through ball from Josh Windass. Wrexham throwing themselves forward to rescue a point. Watford in the book for the night's first caution as Kabore gets up-ended by Giorgi Chakvetadze. He now makes way along with the scorer of Watford's second tonight, Edo Kayembe who's just been receiving treatment. Edoardo Bove and Formose Mendy are on. Watford 2-1 Wrexham Ben Tozer Former Wrexham captain on BBC Radio Wales That all came from a long ball up to Cadamarteri. Goglichidze is happy fouling other players, but he goes down far too easily for me. It's funny the way he gets straight back up when he doesn't get his free-kick. Wrexham have won only one of their previous 11 Football League trips to Watford Watford kept their Championship play-off hopes alive while denting those of Wrexham by beating the Red Dragons at Vicarage Road. The Hornets deservedly went ahead through Marc Bola's deflected strike in the 18th minute - his second goal of the campaign. They doubled their lead before half-time as Edo Kaymebe's curling shot beat Arthur Okonkwo. Having been lacklustre in the opening half, Wrexham gave themselves a lifeline in the 49th minute as Max Cleworth's header - his third goal of the season - cut the home side's lead. But, despite a significant improvement, they were unable to find a late leveller, with Edoardo Bove bagging a third for Watford in added time as Wrexham's six-game unbeaten run away from home ended. Victory lifts Ed Still's side up to ninth, five points adrift of Wrexham who remain sixth with eight games remaining. The Hornets were on the front foot from the word go and twice came close to taking an early lead, with Giorgi Chakvetadze curling against the crossbar after Luca Kjerrumgaard had headed wide from close range. But after Ollie Rathbone appealed in vain for a penalty, Watford broke in lethal fashion. A clever back heel from Chakvetadze - the man who challenged Rathbone in his own box - rolled into the path of Bola whose drilled strike clipped Cleworth and flew beyond the helpless Okonkwo. Chances kept coming for Watford as captain Imran Louza and Kjerrumgaard both had efforts. And just as Wrexham started to find their feet in the contest, the hosts doubled their lead as Kayembe curled beyond Okonkwo from the edge of the 18-yard box. Time and time again, the Welsh side looked vulnerable from counter attacks, and they were relieved to see Nestory Irankunda lash an effort just over from an acute angle in first-half added time. But Wrexham needed just four minutes after the restart to claw themselves back into the game as Rathbone's corner was met by Cleworth who nodded beyond Egil Selvik - his side's first effort on target. They went close to equalising from another corner as Dom Hyam flicked Lewis O'Brien's delivery goalwards, only for Mattie Pollock to clear the danger. Both sides got into threatening positions as the game became stretched in the latter stages. And after Bola rattled the crossbar with a thumping hit, Bove had the simple task of prodding into an empty to seal victory in added time as Still's men earned just a second win in six home games. Wrexham AFC Watford FC Wrexham have been formidable on the road this season, with no side losing fewer away Championship matches than the Red Dragons prior to this contest. Parkinson's men had also collected 16 of the past 18 away points on offer. But the Hornets - who themselves came into the match on the back of three successive away outings - swiftly made a mockery of those statistics as they created Wrexham heaps of problems from the word go. Irankunda ran riot on the right flank while Louza's class showed throughout, as did that of Chakvetadze. Momentum shifted in the second-half, but sufficient damage had been done. It may well be a case of too little, too late for Watford as far as their top six hopes are concerned, but they have crucially kept themselves in the hunt. Wrexham were way off the pace in the opening half, and, as was the case in their 2-1 loss to Hull City earlier this month, they left themselves with too much work to do late on. They will welcome back George Dobson for Saturday's trip to Sheffield United (15: 00 GMT) in what will be a welcome boost to their midfield department. However, Parkinson and his coaching staff could be forgiven for eagerly awaiting the upcoming international break as they look to regroup and go again for one last push as they go in search of a secure a fourth consecutive promotion. Rate players out of 10 for this game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle. You must be signed in to a BBC account to play. After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 17th March 2026 at 21: 43 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Edward Still Formation: 4 - 4 - 2 Manager: Phil Parkinson Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 Manager: Edward Still Formation: 4 - 4 - 2 Manager: Phil Parkinson Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 Championship All competitions All competitions All competitions Three of the last five Football League meetings between Watford (W1) and Wrexham (W1) have been drawn, including the reverse fixture in December (2-2), with Oliver Rathbone netting a 92nd minute equaliser for the Welsh side. Wrexham have won only one of their previous 10 Football League trips to Watford (D2 L7); a 2-1 victory in March 1975. Watford have lost three of their last five league games at Vicarage Road (W1 D1), as many defeats as in their previous 20 matches (W11 D6). After failing to win their final eight away league matches in 2025 (D5 L3), Wrexham have won five of their six away league games so far in 2026 (D1). Wrexham’s Josh Windass has scored in each of his last two league games against Watford, netting at Vicarage Road for Sheffield Wednesday in May last season and in December in the reverse fixture. Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.