Neil-y but not quite for Alex
PRESTON blew a huge opportunity to boost their hopes of making the Premier League but they did edge closer to the top six.
There were several chances passed up by the Lilywhites and they also hit the bar.
A point moves Alex Neil’s side to within two points of the play-offs with two games left – away at Sheffield United and home to Burton.
They cut Norwich open after nine minutes when Alan Browne slipped Callum Robinson clean through but the forward was unable to sort his feet out.
Daniel Farke’s side, winless in their previous six away games, threatened again four minutes later but Josh Murphy’s 25-yard strike went harmlessly over the bar.
Neil said: “We are all a bit frustrated because we did enough to win the game.
“You just need that little bit of luck at times.”
Opposite number Farke said: “I’m proud but we would only be 100 per cent content if we won the game.”
RELIEVED Roy Hodgson watched his Crystal Palace side move six points clear of trouble – and then defended Wilfried Zaha after another diving storm.
The winger was booked for simulation after taking a tumble inside the box – one of eight yellow cards in a spicy game.
The Ivory Coast ace had already angered Watford for falling theatrically following Abdoulaye Doucoure’s first-half challenge.
But Hodgson believes Zaha’s reputation is going against him.
The former England manager said: “He’s given attention he doesn’t deserve. When the rumours spread that he’s a cheat and not the honest player he is, the crowd are led by that.
“Hopefully I am not being one-eyed but I think he would have got the penalty in another game.
“I try hard not to be the person who bellyaches about, ‘We should have had this and we should have had that’.
“But having seen it again it was a pretty clear penalty decision.
“He’s anything other than a cheat and a diver. He’s someone who sometimes is far too desperate to stay on his feet because he wants to score a goal himself.”
The one point at least moved Palace closer to their ambition of preserving their top-flight status.
They climbed to 15th with three games remaining.
“We thought it might go down to the last game and it might still,” said Hodgson. “We’re as many as six points clear so we’ve got to be satisfied with that. It’s up to us to take this opportunity.”
Both teams struck the woodwork
but it was 12th-placed
Watford who will feel that they deserved all three points.
The hosts, without a victory from their past five, threatened as early as the fourth minute when the recalled Stefano Okaka beat James Tomkins to Troy Deeney’s right-wing cross and headed against the angle.
When James McArthur struggled to clear a corner, Craig Cathcart was gifted a close-range shot but his connection was unconvincing and left Wayne Hennessey with little more than a routine save.
Zaha was clumsily brought down in the area by Doucoure without being awarded a penalty in what appeared to be the correct call by referee Chris Kavanagh.
Doucoure shoved the forward in response.
Palace improved during the second half but without creating the clear goalscoring chances.
Luka Milivojevic curled a fine free-kick against the same angle as Okaka from the edge of the area after a foul on Zaha by his former team-mate Adrian Mariappa.
From another attack, Zaha then went down in the area and was rightly booked.
Despite minimal contact from Mariappa he was already on his way down when Will Hughes also clumsily caught him and Kavanagh then punished the forward with a yellow card.
Zaha has been something of a hate figure among Watford fans since winning a controversial penalty in the Championship play-off final in 2015.
But the hosts’ head coach Javi Gracia refused to condemn him.
He said: “I knew Zaha, there are always many situations about him because he is the player with the most amount of dribbles in the Premier League.
“He got four penalties this season for Palace. I’m very proud of my players and for us.
“Always there are many situations about Zaha because he has that style of play.
“He makes a lot of dribbles and you never know.
It was hard for the ref.
There were difficult decisions.”
Gracia said he did not see the penalty incident.