Watford 2 Middlesbrough 1: Mowbray quick to praise rivals after Boro come up just short

The Bluebirds’ victory at Crystal Palace rendered the outcome of the game at Vicarage Road irrelevant in terms of the play-off picture.

Mowbray said: “I congratulate Cardiff on achieving the result they required.

“I think to lose (at Watford) is a little bit harsh. When you’re in a position where you’ve got to win you gamble from a position of being 1-1 to try and get the three points.

“We lost trying to win but it didn’t really matter, Cardiff got the job done. Ultimately over the course of the season we fell just short.”

Boro could have been comfortably in front by half-time were it not for some excellent saves from Scott Loach.

The former England Under-21 keeper returned after a 13-game absence from the starting XI in place of on-loan Tomasz Kuszczak after his partner gave birth earlier in the day and Mowbray said: “We were quite surprised to see Loach on the team sheet to be honest. Kuszczak’s been playing but the kid comes in and makes some very good saves, some important saves.

“I think there’s some stat that when we go in front we very rarely lose a football match and the opportunity was there first half to do just that.

“Credit to them (Watford). They’re a very resilient team. You can see they’re a team that work extremely hard for each other, they have a certain way of playing and they believe in it and they keep going at it.”

The Hornets took just 10 points from their first 13 games.

But the win ensured they finished the season on 64 points and 11th in the table.

Hornets boss Sean Dyche said: “It’s a fantastic way to end the season for all concerned, especially having been written off heavily before the season even started.”

After Loach had made at least three top quality saves to prevent Boro going in front before half-time, the Hornets took the lead when Chris Iwelumo flicked home Troy Deeney’s near-post cross to score his first goal at Vicarage Road since moving to the club last summer.

Although Marvin Emnes equalised with six minutes to go, Boro paid the price for pushing men forward in search of the winner when Deeney started and finished a counter attack late on.

Watford: Loach, Doyley, Taylor, Nosworthy, Dickinson, Eustace, Buaben, Murray, Hogg (Forsyth 48), Deeney, Iwelumo (Mariappa 89). Unused substitutes: Gilmartin, Whichelow, Garner.

Middlesbrough: Steele, Hoyte, McManus, Hines, Bennett, Bailey, Rhys Williams, Robson, Haroun (McDonald 58), Emnes, Jutkiewicz (Main 58). Unused substitutes: Thomson, Arca, McMahon.

Referee: Simon Hooper (Wiltshire).