To come from three goals down was always going to be a tough task for the Eagles as promotion hopes came to an end at Vicarage Road. There was no lack of effort throughout the 90 minutes but Watford, with 11 men strung behind the ball proved too tough a nut to crack.
The Eagles' attempts of a comeback got off to the worst possible start as Clinton Morrison was forced to withdraw with an injury prior to kick-off. Dougie Freedman came in to replace the Republic of Ireland striker and Iain Dowie made two other changes with Gary Borrowdale coming in for Darren Ward and Mikele Leigertwood replacing Ben Watson.
Palace were straight at Watford and in the first few moments the Hornets' defenders were tested by some Fitz Hall long throws. But with Palace throwing bodies forward Watford always looked dangerous on the break and Gabor Kiraly was forced to come out of his penalty area after six minutes and kick clear under pressure from Ashley Young.
Palace were dominating the game and forcing Watford back into their own half. Jobi McAnuff hit a speculative effort over the bar from the edge of the area after 12 minutes and then AJ was inches away from connecting with a Freedman through ball seven minutes later.
Watford had an isolated attack in the 26th minute but Young volleyed over at the far post when well placed.
Despite all their pressure Palace could not find a way through a very resolute Hornets defence. In the 39th minute McAnuff had a deflected shot saved by Ben Foster but Hall was forced to make a fantastic covering challenge on Marlon King when it looked like the league's leading goalscorer was clean through on goal.
Palace suffered another blow to their play-off ambitions at half-time as Michael Hughes was forced off with a suspected broken arm. Ben Watson came on to replace the Palace captain and Palace continued from where they left off, however, Tom Soares could only shoot wide when setup by the Palace substitute in the 48th minute.
The ballboys were taking an age to return the ball for set-pieces, so much so, that one Palace fan took sprinted onto the pitch to return the ball to a Watford player. Even the Palace players found themselves sprinting after the ball and wasting valuable energy.
The Eagles continued to pour forward with Hall heading wide in the 58th minute and just a few minutes later the game erupted.
Watford manager Aidy Boothroyd tipped the ball away from Hall as he raced after it to keep play ticking over and a massive fracas ensued involving all the players, substitutes, coaching staff and even the injured Clinton Morrison. It took the referee at least five minutes to calm things down and the end result was some time wasted, a yellow card for Hall and trip to the stands for Boothroyd.
Things were starting to look increasingly bleak for the Eagles and things nearly became impossible for Palace in the 70th minute as King's overhead kick went inches wide. A few moments later Palace fashioned their best chance of the game. Marco Reich found fellow substitute Jon Macken with a great cross but the striker could only head wide from eight yards out.
Even when Palace got through Watford's resistance in the 85th minute, Emmerson Boyce's low cross evaded everybody and was punted away for a corner. With only 10 minutes remaining Palace heads started to drop and Watford began to dictate proceedings.
As time crept away, Watford had further chances to win the game but it hardly mattered as they had already sealed a meeting with Leeds United at Cardiff on 21st May.
PALACE: Kiraly; Boyce, F Hall, Popovic (Reich 68), Borrowdale; Soares, Hughes (c) (Watson h-t), Leigertwood, McAnuff; Freedman (Macken 59), Johnson.
Subs: Hudson, Andrews.
Booked: Hall.
WATFORD: Foster; Doyley, DeMerit, Mackay, Stewart; Chambers (Henderson 75), Mahon (c), Spring, Bangura, Young; King.
Subs: Chamberlain, Eagles, McNamee, Mariappa.
Booked: Bangura.
