Valerien Ismael revealed that Wesley Hoedt’s stunning goal which earned Watford a 2-1 win at Hull was perfected on the training ground.
The Hornets captain seized possession just over the halfway line before having the awareness to lob Ryan Allsop in an extraordinary moment of ingenuity on 74 minutes.
Ismael said: “Their goalkeeper has a massive part in their build-up and we know that some teams like Leicester and Hull play with high risk.
“I’m surprised by the quality and the technique, but the goal was not a surprise.
“We work on those patterns on the training ground. We know every time the ball went through the middle we had to defend aggressively and that was what happened.
“As soon as we win the ball high up we tell all the defenders ‘try it, try it’.
“If you see it on the TV, you could see Wesley knew what he was doing.
“It’s not a surprise because we worked on this one.”
In-form Watford have lost just once in nine games and are now three points off the Sky Bet Championship play-offs.
Ismael’s men opened the scoring after eight minutes through Edo Kayembe, who controlled Jamal Lewis’ good cross from the left before striking past an unsighted Allsop.
Hull, who remain in the top six, equalised two minutes later when Scott Twine swept home after Liam Delap’s brilliant run into the box was stopped by Hoedt.
An end-to-end game, in which the hosts had the better chances, could have gone the other way had Jaden Philogene not missed a second-half penalty.
Philogene’s weak spot-kick, awarded after former Hull midfielder Jake Livermore clumsily upended Jacob Greaves, was saved by Ben Hamer on the hour.
The Tigers had a clutch of good chances thereafter but never did enough to force an equaliser once Hoedt stunned the MKM Stadium.
Ismael said: “We are pleased with the improvement and the stability we have now got with the team.
“It’s been a long process and we had to start from the beginning.
“We are now more ready – tactically, physically and mentally. We are ready for the competition now.
“If you win games with consistency you can start to plug the gap at the top of the league.
“The second half was a different game. The first half was really, really good but in the second half we saw the tiredness the players put into the first half.
“It’s a great feeling that we are getting the reward from our performances, but it’s all about staying stable and continuing to push.”
Head coach Liam Rosenior was crestfallen by the result.
He said: “I’ve never in my playing career and coaching/managerial career had a feeling like this.
“If we’d have drawn, I’d have been disappointed. I don’t know what to say. I thought we were by far the better team, but they scored an absolute miracle goal – the lad nicks it and hits an absolute wonder strike.
“It’s not a crisis. That’s an outstanding performance. On another day we maybe win it by two, three or four.
“I can’t fault the players and I want them to stay positive.”
Rosenior, whose side had won their last three home games, added: “There’s a consistent dominance about our play now and that’s pleasing.
“The lads are a really resilient group and the players have been magnificent.
“There’s so much good to us. I don’t want to come across arrogant, but I said to the players, ‘I’m angry for you, not angry with you’.
“We have to use a negative experience and turn it into a positive.
“We shouldn’t be happy with the top six, we should be pushing for top two.”
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
Al-Khaleej 0-1 Al-Nassr: Ronaldo misfires on return as Laporte nets winner
Cristiano Ronaldo returned from suspension but failed to find the net as Al-Nassr secured a 1-0 win over Al-Khaleej on Saturday, with Aymeric Laporte coming up with the decisive goal.
Ronaldo was in action for the first time since being sent off for an elbow in a 2-1 Saudi Super Cup loss to Al-Hilal earlier this month, with his initial two-match ban being reduced to one on appeal.
He missed three good chances as Al-Nassr threatened to fall further behind runaway Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, but former Manchester City defender Laporte spared his blushes by nodding Marcelo Brozovic's deep free-kick into the bottom-left corner with 68 minutes gone.
Al-Nassr remain nine points adrift of Al-Hilal at the summit in spite of their win, with Jorge Jesus' team unbeaten through 28 games this season as they close in on a record-extending 18th title.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo misfires on return
Ronaldo was presented with the Saudi Pro League's Player of the Month award for March ahead of kick-off, having scored four goals in three league appearances last month.
However, his sights were off on Saturday as he failed to net despite three of the visitors' four big chances, as defined by Opta, falling his way. He led all players on the pitch for expected goals (1.27 xG), shots (five), shots on target (three) and touches in the area (nine) without reward.
Huddersfield all but relegated from Championship while League Two play-off spots decided
Huddersfield Town saw their relegation from the Championship all but confirmed after a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Birmingham City on Saturday.
The Terriers avoided a defeat that would have seen them relegated on Saturday, but even a win on the final day over promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town will not be enough unless they overcome a huge goal difference of 15 goals with Plymouth Argyle.
Birmingham remain in the other relegation place and now must beat Norwich City to stand a chance of staying up with Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth and Blackburn Rovers also still in danger.
At the other end of the table, the Canaries dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Swansea City, leaving the door open for Hull City, who face Ipswich Town later today.
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