Patrick Bamford scored a second-half brace as Sheffield United claimed a 2-0 Championship victory over Watford on an afternoon when both sides had it confirmed that they were safe from relegation this season.

The striker's sharpness in front of goal made the difference and lifted Chris Wilder's side above their opponents in the bright spring sunshine at Vicarage Road.

Defeats for Oxford and Leicester in the early kick-offs confirmed the Blades' Championship status for another campaign, one which will not be accompanied by Premier League income levels or parachute payments for the first time in seven seasons.

As the teams walked onto the pitch, a play-off place was still mathematically possible for Watford, although that required the unlikeliest combination of results, both theirs and those of others.

As befitting a game with little riding on it, there was a distinct end-of-season feel to the opening exhanges.

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The visitors did at least manager two efforts on target, albeit with a tame Andre Brooks shot held by Egil Selvik before the Watford goalkeeper did the same to a flicked Bamford header.

Brooks then pierced the home defence with a through ball to Bamford, whose shot was arrowing towards the far bottom corner before Selvik threw out his leg to divert it for a corner.

Watford's only threat early on was a Nampalys Mendy shot that curled away from goal and ended up closer to the corner flag than their opponents' net.

The clearest opportunity of the half arrived in stoppage-time. Imran Louza sent over an inviting cross that was headed down by Nestory Irankunda into the path of Edo Kayembe, just eight yards from goal.

The Watford midfielder snatched at his effort though and launched the ball high over the crossbar.

Within 25 seconds of the restart, Mamadou Doumbia tested the reflexes of visiting goalkeeper Adam Davies at his near post.

That miss was punished in the 50th minute when Bamford played the ball to Gustavo Hamer and collected the return pass with a sweep of his left foot that looked a little inadvertent.

There was no doubt about the intention nor the technical brilliance when Bamford made it 2-0 - nine minutes later - with a flick that bordered on genius to convert a Femi Seriki cross.

Irankunda almost reduced Watford's deficit in the 81st minute with a viciously-dipping free-kick that landed on the roof on the net.

The managers

Watford's Ed Still:

"It was a difficult day. Our reaction after the second goal was probably the biggest disappointment for me.

"It just doesn't happen out of nowhere. It's what hurts me the most. It's just totally against my nature.

"I'm not going to point the finger at anybody because it's important that you stay together and react collectively. Everybody has made mistakes in the defeat.

"I'm convinced that I can get Watford through this. I'm not someone who gives up. I'm a fighter, a winner.

"But it's not just me that's got to crack it.

"It's about everybody in the building, players, staff, people around the team, it's on all of us to push, to find the answers and to change something."

Sheffield United's Chris Wilder:

"For Pat to have 12 goals from the amount of games he's played is a magnificent effort.

"But it's not just those qualities. Even at the end he didn't want to go over to the supporters because that's not his gig.

"He's just a humble guy but an important one for us. He gives us that number nine profile that we've needed all season and that we'll need next year. He has experience that I can't coach.

"Recently, there have been some chances he'll be disappointed not to have put away, but he keeps stepping up and putting himself in those positions to score.

"We're very fortunate to have him and his second goal was a fabulous finish. We had to beat off a few people to sign him, but he enjoys playing for us.

"He has a huge part to play next season. He keeps himself incredibly fit. He has another 98 minutes under his belt today, which is a testament to his professionalism.

"We've lacked leadership and resilience at times this season. We're trying to restore the young players' confidence and to have Pat and Danny Ings around just to calm them down is a fine thing."

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