For vast swathes of this match – the first half, in particular – any spectator would have been hard-pressed to identify the Premier League-destined team on the verge of an all-time Football League clean-sheet record. Not only did Watford score – to make it just the 14th of Burnley’s 43 Championship matches in which they have conceded – but James Trafford endured a torrid afternoon preventing the hosts from becoming the first team to put two goals against him in the Championship this season.
Alas, a collective loss of Watford heads precipitated a flurry of cards and in effect brought the game to a premature end, allowing the thoughts of Scott Parker’s side to return once again to potential top-flight football.
