Adie’s Golden Boys strike Premiership gold
Watford win £40million Play-Off Final
Win for Wales but defeat for Northern Ireland
—- Adie Boothroyd’s first season in charge at Watford sees the Golden Boys return to the Premiership after a six year absence.
In a frantic Championship Play-Off Final at the Millennium Stadium, Watford are worthy 3-0 winners against Leeds United.
American centre-back Jay DeMerit rewarded their early pressure with a 24th minute header.
Watford’s supremacy deserved a slice of luck and they got it on 56 minutes when James Chambers deflected shot hit a post then bounced in off the back of United’s stranded keeper Neil Sullivan.
Promotion was assured after 83 minutes when Darius Henderson calmly converted a blatant penalty.
Having started the season as relegation candidates, the Hornets have confounded the critics who questioned the wisdom of appointing the virtually unknown Boothroyd, who was recruited from the Leeds coaching staff 14 months ago.
The 35 year-old Yorkshireman will be the youngest boss in the Premiership next season but, with the self belief that he has imposed on his team, Adie will not feel out of place: “This is just the end of the beginning. We will come again. We will start as relegation favourites next season, like this season. This is not the end, this is the beginning.”
His confidence is reflected by chairman Graham Simpson: “We have a wage bill here of £3.5million, probably the fourth lowest in the Championship. That shows you what an achievement going up is, it is incredible.
“Now, like Adie, I believe it is possible we can get into Europe. I am not saying we will do it straight away but if we continue to develop our academy and to work with our youngsters - and there were a few of them out there in Cardiff - anything is possible.”
While Watford head for Old Trafford and the Emirates Stadium, Leeds United contemplate trips to Southend and Colchester.
The financially-troubled Whites will now face a third season in the Championship so losing the parachute payments from the Premier League.
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—- Playing his first-ever friendly away from home, a goal from Ryan Giggs gives Wales a 1-0 victory over an impressive Basque National XI in Bilbao.
The Manchester United star instigated a length of the field counter-attack in the 75th minute before hitting the winner.
The Basque team have lost only one of their previous 13 games over 13 years, and select homegrown players from Bilbao, Alaves, Sociedad and Osasuna.
The game is not recognised as a full international.
—- A largely inexperienced Northern Ireland side open their two-match United States tour by losing 0-1 against Uruguay in New Jersey.
A super 33rd minute strike from Fabian Estoyanoff is the big difference in front of a crowd of 4,152 at the Giants Stadium.
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