Palace no match for Hornets
Aidy Boothroyd's Watford beat Crystal Palace 2-0 in Championship fixture
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Monday, 29, Oct 2007 10:57
Watford have restored their six-point lead at the summit of the Championship with a comprehensive 2-0 win at Crystal Palace.
Goals in each half from Tommy Smith and Marlon King helped the Hornets on to their fifth straight win, while Neil Warnock awaits his first victory since replacing Peter Taylor as Palace manager earlier this month.
The away team's first goal came after good linkup play between Darius Henderson, who sank without a trace in the Premier League last year, and strike partner King.
Julian Speroni in the Palace goal could only deflect King's eventual shot to Tommy Smith, who gleefully buried the rebound with just over half an hour gone.
King missed the chance to double his side's lead when a second-half chip narrowly skimmed over Speroni's bar, but manager Aidy Boothroyd did not have to wait long to see his side score their second.
And it was King who got it, latching on to Adam Johnson's fine pass to score his fifth in as many games.
Palace created little in the game's closing stages, but were able to bring on John Bostock, who at 15 becomes the club's youngest-ever player.
While Watford now enjoy a two-win cushion over Bristol City at the top of the league, Palace are still languishing in the relegation zone after claiming just two wins in their opening 13 fixtures.