Troost-Ekong seals EPL promotion with Watford

Ismaila Sarr’s 11th-minute penalty was all Watford needed to hand a 1-0 defeat to Milwall at the Vicarage Road on Saturday afternoon and book an automatic promotion spot to the English Premier League.

While compatriots Tom Dele-Bashiru and Isaac Success did not make the matchday squad, William Troost-Ekong made his 32nd appearance of the season to help the home side to another game without conceding a goal.

The Hornets are guaranteed to finish second on the Championship table after amassing 88 points with just two games left to play, with third-place Brentford ten points behind but with three outstanding matches.

Twenty defeats and a meagre eight wins saw the Hornets finished 19th in the Premier League last term earning them demotion to the second-tier alongside Norwich City and Bournemouth.

But Watford did well to retain the services of many of their important players, including Ismaila Sarr, Tom Cleverley, and Troy Deeney while adding Troost-Ekong to a defence that was exposed time and again in the top-flight.