ANY lingering hopes Watford had of reaching the Championship play-offs were finally extinguished at Vicarage Road earlier today after Coventry City secured a crucial three points with a 3-2 win.

Even though the score-line suggests a thriller, the final ten minutes apart this was far from it, although that will matter little to the Sky Blues, who simply could not afford to lose, especially with Nottingham Forest, Gillingham and Cardiff City also winning.

A comfortable seven-point gap still exists between Watford and the drop zone, although had Watford been as lack-lustre as this earlier in the season, you suspect it would have been the Hornets scrambling for points to secure safety.

There were positives to take from the afternoon; both strikers Danny Webber and Bruce Dyer were on target while Bryn Gunnarsson made his return to first-team action after a spell on the side-lines with injury. But ultimately, Watford struggled to create clear-cut chances until they adapted the kitchen sink' approach late in the game.

Even though Heidar Helguson wasn't fit to return, Ray Lewington opted to return to a 4-4-2 formation, with captain for the day Dyer brought in to accompany Webber in attack. And the reason Dyer was skipper was because Gavin Mahon was ruled out with a late injury, so Ashley Young came in on the left side of midfield with Hameur Bouazza dropping to a bench which also featured Gunnarsson and Anthony McNamee.

Coventry also made two changes from the team that drew 0-0 at Stoke, with new signing Marcus Hall replacing Andrew Whing and Scott Shearer, recalled from a loan spell at Rushden & Diamonds, coming in for the suspended Ian Bennett in goal.

Chris Eagles was the first to threaten in four minutes for the Hornets, collecting the ball on the right and cutting inside Marcus Hall before dragging a low left-footed shot wide before Webber's delicate throughball just failed to release Dyer moments later.

Back came Coventry forcing two corners, the second of which saw Richard Lee come for the ball but fail to collect before Jay DeMerit cleared the danger.

And another set-piece on 14 minutes saw City take the lead. Trevor Benjamin was fouled by Johnnie Jackson some 40 yards out and Stephen Hughes floated the free-kick in for Benjamin to nick in front of Lee - caught in no-man's land - and head the ball into an empty net.

Watford were struggling to get any sort of a foothold in the game and continued to look shaky defensively, although the visitors were unable to seriously test Lee themselves in a dour opening half-hour.

But, out of nothing Watford levelled on 31 minutes with a wonderfully worked goal. Darlington slipped the ball to Webber in the left-hand side of the Coventy box; he turned Ady Williams, made for the by-line and crossed low for Dyer to smash home his ninth Championship goal of the season from four yards.

Ashley Young got his first chance to run at the City defence on 41 minutes and did well to beat two defenders and get to the by-line before his cross was blocked for a corner which came to nothing.

Again, Watford were slow out of the traps at the start of the second-half but Coventry failed to create anything of note with their possession until Claus Jorgensen fired the Sky Blues ahead with a spectacular strike on 53 minutes. Hughes' corner from the right was half-cleared to Jorgensen on the edge of the box and he unleashed a powerful half-volley into Lee's top right-hand corner. Controversy followed after the assistant referee called referee Mike Thorpe across but, after a lengthy consultation about a possible off-side, the goal was awarded.

Stern could have doubled the lead minutes later when he wriggled down the right-hand side but shot straight at Lee, who gathered at the second attempt.

The introduction of McNamee and Gunnarsson on the hour brought some much-needed spark to Watford's play although the Hornets were still struggling to create opportunities.

However, the Hornets came desperately close to levelling on 71 minutes when Chambers crossed from the right and Dyer rose well but struck the face of the bar with the header.

Lewington sacrificed Darlington for Bouazza in a desperate attempt to rescue something from the game and Watford came close again when Jackson's corner was not properly cleared on 77 minutes and DeMerit looked certain to score from four yards out but Staunton somehow cleared off the line.

From the corner, City broke with devastating effect to score the third; Jorgensen carried the ball forward and released Michael Doyle on the left and he ran into the box and drove low across Lee into the bottom corner of the net.

The Hornets were not finished yet though and Webber brought the home side back into contention seven minutes from time when a long ball forward from Lee broke off a City head and Webber found space in the box, bundled past two defenders and although he scuffed his effort from the penalty spot, it beat Shearer low to the keeper's left.

And Watford had the chance to level in the first of four added minutes when a Jackson free-kick from the edge of the box was deflected and Dyer's header struck the back of on-rushing keeper Shearer and just over.

Watford: Lee; Chambers, Cox, DeMerit, Darlington; Eagles, Blizzard, Jackson, Young; Webber, Dyer. Substitutes: Gunnarsson for Blizzard and McNamee for Young after 60 mins. Bouazza for Darlington after 73 mins. Chamberlain, Ardley not used.

Coventry City: Shearer; Duffy, Williams, Staunton, Hall; Jorgensen, Doyle, Hughes, McSheffrey; Benjamin, John. Substitutes: Osbourne for McSheffrey after 81 mins; Johnson for John after 86 mins; Whing, Adebola and Morrell not used.

Bookings: Jorgensen for kicking the ball away after 89 minutes.

Attendance: 13,794 Referee: Mike Thorpe (Ipswich, Suffolk).