This Friday night, under the lights, will be remembered for two scintillating Sarr goals. Scored in the 12^th and 14^th minutes, they gave us an early cushion which was enough to see the game through. They made Reading tear up their game plan and come out to attack us. No other team has had as many shots at our goal as the Royals did in this game, several of which looked destined to register. Our opponents played with the shackles off, and nothing to lose, testing our mettle, and luck, both of which held. To win this game they needed three, knowing that we had not conceded more than two in any game all season. Their efforts were gallant, but in the end they simply ran out of steam.

We fielded an unchanged eleven – for the fourth time in six games – needing 13 points to guarantee promotion. In reality, 10 points, maybe less – so three in this game would be huge. Reading’s boss Veljko Paunovic elected to leave Joao, their top scorer, on the bench, opting for Puscas – a more physical presence perhaps – up top. It was Puscas who’d netted against us in Reading’s victory back in October, and he was to rattle the woodwork in this one. Early leaders of the Championship, the Royals were now facing dropping out of the top six if they lost, and Bournemouth won on Saturday. Much at stake for both sides.

Before the opening goal, we’d shown our strengths and weaknesses. Reading’s keeper was called into action in the 3^rd minute to rush out ahead of Sarr, with their newly-instated left-back Gibson ball watching. Then from a Bachmann punt, Sarr chested down nicely to Pedro who shot from a tight angle. We were already showing a cutting edge, but there were nerves on display too. Troost-Ekong played a hospital pass to Sierralta, nearly getting his fellow centre-back in trouble, before the Chilean himself played an uncharacteristically sloppy ball straight to Ejaria.

Quality trumped nerves, thanks to some world class striking. Chalobah and Femenia kept the ball alive and fed Sarr to the right edge of Reading’s box. With great composure he rolled the ball onto his left foot, and curled a wonderful strike into the far left of the goal, their keeper without a chance. As our players mobbed the Senagalese wide-man, he raised a half salute, hand on the brow, as if looking far into the distance. That will be the Premier League, with or without Watford, the stage which he will rightfully grace next year. If he is in a yellow shirt, rather than the red of United or Liverpool, we’ll be fortunate. He has already shown incredible grit and resilience to ride out the relegation season, and is now a far better prospect on the transfer market. He’s a loyal lad though, so just maybe he’ll stay for one more season if we make it.

If his 11^th goal this season was measured and artfully despatched, his 12^th, two minutes later, was a thunderous rocket. Captain Chalobah involved again, winning the ball back high up the pitch and feeding Zinckernagel. He carried the ball forward and played Sarr in just inside the penalty area on the right. He timed his stride to hit the thing, and hit it he did – it seared into the roof of the net leaving a tear in the time-space continuum. In this kind of form he makes the outstanding look easy.

After these two incredible minutes, the emphasis shifted almost entirely towards Reading. They have a bunch of very talented attacking players who now had a license to try to salvage anything from the wreckage – and their rescue attempt was valiant. For the remainder of the first half they ran us semi-ragged, pushing us back and putting our defence under considerable pressure. It didn’t help that Zinckernagel was yellow carded on 17 minutes, meaning he had to pull out of a host of fifty-fifty balls which allowed the likes of Ejaria, Olise and Meite to run more confidently at us in possession. Shortly before half-time, Xisco was waving an imaginary card at Zinckernagel, presumably to remind him to stay out of trouble. He would have to stand off out of possession and make it count with the ball at his feet.

The 18^th minute saw Meite charge into our box, but he was run wide by good pressure from Troost-Ekong. Shortly after Olise whipped in a dangerous ball that Masina headed out for a corner. In the 26^th minute Meite’s overhit cross was quickly matched by Sarr’s underhit one at the other end. The following fifteen minutes were to be Reading’s best. Laurent struck fiercely from 30 yards out which Bachmann got down well to clutch on the bounce. Then an uncharacteristic mix-up between Chalo and Hughes allowed the same player to drag his shot wide from the edge of the box.

In the 33^rd minute Puscas rattled our right-hand post, with Troost-Ekong once again in close attendance. Olise showed a bit of magic to ride challenges in midfield, before carrying the ball forward with great skill, beating Masina and laying off a pass to Meite on the right. His cross took a small deflection off a sliding Masina limb which may have been enough to cause Puscas to miss.

My biggest cheer of the night came just after the Puscas miss, when Masina’s wicked cross was poked into the net by an onrushing Sarr. I really wanted that to count – not just to relieve the pressure, and put the game to bed, but to give Sarr his first hat-trick in Watford colours. He was inches offside, so the effort was rightly chalked off. Sarr then pounced to snatch possession in his own half, playing up to Pedro, but he fell over before he could release Chalobah. It felt like we could kill the game at any minute, but until we did, Reading were very much in the ascendancy.

In the 40^th minute Laurent took advantage of Chalobah switching off momentarily to carry the ball right to the edge of the six-yard box. From the acutest of angles, he nevertheless forced Bachmann to use a leg and an arm to repel the danger. Boasting 78% possession in the last ten minutes, Reading were cranking it up a notch.

In the 45^th minute Ejaria waltzed through and hit Troost-Ekong with a shot, Gibson firing the rebound well over. Troost-Ekong then gifted a ball to Meite, playing carelessly across goal 20 yards out. Meite broke strongly onto the misplaced pass, beat Sierralta, and then fired his shot just wide of the near post and high into the side netting. Bachmann made himself big, but Meite went for the wrong corner. The half finished with Bachmann making another save, this time from the right-back Yiadom, Sierralta getting in to block a follow-up side-shot.

Fine, fine margins, and two glorious chances wasted by Reading. Great encouragement, in one sense, but at the same time devastating not to take such presentable chances. Had they had a Sarr in their ranks, it could easily have been 2-2 at half-time. But Meite didn’t shoot across the keeper, and Puscas couldn’t angle his shot inside the post. Reading were missing good chances, whilst we had nailed a coupe of half-chances at best. Expected Goals said it all – Watford 0.29 v Reading 1.45.

“They” say a lot of things in football – such as 2-0 is a dangerous score line. It’s a cliché whose element of truth lies in the psychology of managing a comfortable, but not unassailable lead. At 2-0, no doubt we became less intense, less expansive, and more containing. Reading on the other hand played on the front foot, with freedom to express themselves and attack. One counter-attacking goal would have sealed it at any moment, and very nearly did, but one Reading goal would have probably led to a swift second. Stick, or twist. We stuck, they twisted – but couldn’t unravel our lead.

We came out in the second half with a new captain in Hughes. Chalobah, having sustained a knock colliding with Bachmann towards the end of the first half, was replaced by Sanchez. This is the first time, I think, I have realised Sanchez’s true potential in this squad. He’s come on to help see games out before, but this time his introduction was for a whole half, needing to tame some very lively and skilful opponents champing at the bit. With Chalobah off, Zinckernagel on a yellow, and Sanchez vastly experienced but not exactly match sharp, I could sniff trouble. However, after a couple of roastings by the Reading playmakers, he quickly found his rhythm and began to close down space.

Sanchez occupied Hughes’ defensive midfield position, Will taking up Chalobah’s empty berth in a more attacking role. As Sanchez’s proficiency in this role became clearer as the half wore on, it was a joy to see Hughes causing trouble in the opponent’s half. With both Hughes and Sanchez stifling and reading the play so well, we began to clog up the Reading machine.

The first 10 minutes of the second half were a stalemate, suiting us perfectly. Rinomhota’s frustrations were clear as he took Sarr’s heels away for a yellow card in the 56^th minute. Adam Masina’s cross-field distribution is being employed to ever greater effect, and his raking passes out to Sarr or Kiko on the opposite flank really do propel us into instant threatening positions. Kiko received one in the 59^th minute and Liam Moore needed to be alive to send his cross out for a corner. On the occasions where Sanchez’s pace was found wanting, exposed by Olise and Ejaria, other men in yellow would be racing back to swamp the threat. A blind Reading back-pass almost let Pedro in to finish the contest. Reading needed to change something.

Omar Richards and Lucas Joao entered the fray in minute 64, shortly before Troost-Ekong, injured in tackling a free-flowing Ejaria, made way for Craig Cathcart. From the resulting free-kick Olise struck the ball sweetly, but straight at our Austrian stopper, who swiftly engineered a counter-attack. Hughes fed Masina whose pile-driver cross must have given Zinckernagel whiplash as he craned to get his head onto it, to no avail.

The Dane’s non-stop endeavour and running was a thing to admire. Shortly after this futile, but spirited attempt to tame a missile of a cross, he was back robbing Meite of possession in his own box with Masina still stranded up field. A minute later and he was shooting at the Reading sticks again, his effort blocked. A proper box-to-box masterclass, with an assist to boot, and all whilst negotiating an early yellow card.

Hughes picked up his almost obligatory yellow card hauling back Olise who threatened to escape down the flank, still in his own half. By means fair and foul we were closing out the game with a measure of control, even if the final result was still in the balance. Pedro’s late elbow on the back of Holmes’ head went unseen, and unpunished, although replays suggest he will be lucky not to get a retrospective ban. His arm was high on Holme’s back, but a late and separate movement looked like a deliberate attempt to catch his man. Xisco immediately withdrew the Brazilian.

Gray and Success came on with barely 10 to go, a proper handful for any defence in the latter stages of a game. Their physicality and speed were the perfect foil to a now stuttering and waning Reading performance. Good chances had come and gone, and now fatigue appeared to be their biggest hurdle, although they continued to be competitive in every area.

Zinckernagel blasted a presentable chance high and not-so-handsomely over, and Sanchez had an effort from range a metre-wide of the upright. Sanchez and Moore competed at speed for a loose ball in the middle, both men giving no quarter, and neither, fortunately, sustaining any injury. A frenetic end to the game ensued, Omar Richards slicing over from a Reading free-kick, Sarr almost grabbing his hat-trick again with a neat attempt from a Sierralta header, nudged wide of the post by a defender’s leg. A whisker away from three.

Reading’s last roll of the dice introduced Baldock and Aluko to good effect. Aluko’s crisp shot in the 89^th minute went through a sea of legs but Bachmann fell to the ground quickly to gather. In injury-time it was Sanchez coming round on the cover who stole the ball off Baldock’s toes just as he was about to shoot. Success earned a yellow for time-wasting, whilst Gray’s poor touch on a promising breakaway was a good opportunity wasted at the death.

The last meaningful action saw Baldock fire across the six-yard area for Meite to stab well wide. It was a tired effort from a now very jaded Reading team who had given their all. But scoring against Watford is a tough ask – this was our 20^th clean sheet of the campaign, only one away from being our second best in history. It would be a tough ask to equal our best ever haul of shut-outs – set in 1968/69 by Ken Furphy’s team – we’d need five clean sheets in our final five games to match the 25 blanks they kept.

I felt a little giddy after this one. 12 points clear in second, having defeated some quality opposition, with only five games to go and our star man rising. By Saturday afternoon, having seen Brentford hit 5, Bournemouth 4, Swansea 3, Barnsley 2 and Norwich 1 – all gaining maximum points – some much needed caution was creeping back in again. It was a countdown-worthy reality check to see all the top sides winning, and our rivals so suddenly revitalised with goals.

So nothing is earned just yet, even if we’re getting tantalisingly close. Unless we suffer a calamitous dip in form, then automatic promotion will be ours.

What a time to bring on the Luton.