Benni McCarthy claimed his 20th goal of the season with a diving header as Blackburn pushed Watford to the brink of relegation with a 3-1 win at Ewood Park on Wednesday.
Centre back Christopher Samba and McCarthy’s strike partner Jason Roberts were also on the mark as Rovers cruised to a comfortable win, which means that Watford’s drop back to the Championship could be confirmed as early as this weekend.
Blackburn needed just under six minutes to take the lead, Samba heading in a David Bentley corner at the back post.
Four minutes later, Roberts doubled the lead with a shot that beat Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster with pure power.
The visitors managed to pull a goal back mid-way through the opening period, Douglas Rinaldi getting his head to a cross from Hameur Bouazza at the back post.
But any chance of a fightback was snuffed out when McCarthy threw himself full length to get on the end of another Bentley cross in the 32nd minute.
That was to prove the final significant moment of the match as Blackburn comfortably held on to their lead against demoralised opponents. — Sapa-AFP