Vardy scores twice in Foxes party

WATFORD. Jamie Vardy scored twice as Leicester thrashed already relegated Watford 5-1 to consign them to a seventh defeat in eight Premier League games.

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The result boosts the Foxes hopes of a top-10 finish, with Watford, who have now lost 15 of their 19 home matches, dropping to the bottom of the table.

With Roy Hodgson’s successor Rob Edwards paraded before kick-off, the afternoon had started brightly for the Hornets.

Joao Pedro’s close-range effort deflected off Timothy Castagne to put them in front, and they had opportunities to extend their lead with Adam Masina hitting the crossbar and Brazilian forward Pedro seeing another effort well saved by Foxes goalkeeper Danny Ward.

However, a defensive mix-up between Masina and Craig Cathcart allowed Youri Tielemans to tee-up James Maddison for the equaliser, and from there the Foxes took control.

Another misjudgement, this time from goalkeeper Ben Foster, saw Vardy beat him to the ball to head in Leicester’s second before Harvey Barnes guided Marc Albrighton’s cross into the bottom left corner 22 seconds after the break.

While Pedro twice further seriously tested Ward, Watford’s dismal day saw Vardy race on to Barnes’ pass to prod the ball past Foster, before Barnes compounded their misery, sweeping a low effort past Foster into the bottom right corner late on.

This felt like an occasion for Watford to try and finish their final home match of a wretched season with a flourish.

However, they delivered a disappointing display which did anything but lay an optimistic foundation for next term’s Championship campaign, their performance only underlining the scale of the job in front of Edwards as he watched on from the stands.

Pedro’s early effort had provided the perfect start as they attempted to record their first victory at Vicarage Road since the 4-1 humbling of Manchester United in November.

But from the moment Leicester equalised they capitulated, with some hapless defending contributing to them becoming the first club to lose 15 home games in a Premier League season.

Hodgson’s side have also conceded 46 league goals at home this term, the most by any topflight team since 1960-61.

It represented a poor send-off for Hodgson at Vicarage Road and for Foster, who also appears set to leave the club this summer.