LEEDS United ended their npower Championship season with a 2-1 win at Vicarage Road to spoil the promotion party of hosts Watford.

Gianfranco Zola’s Watford side saw automatic promotion slip through their fingers – Hull City were promoted to the Premier League after a 2-2 draw with Cardiff – and they will now have to tackle the play-offs with a goalkeeper crisis.

Zola was forced to hand a professional debut to 19-year-old Jack Bonham after injuries to first-choice ’keeper Manuel Almunia and back-up Jonathan Bond.

Almunia felt his hamstring in the warm-up and Bond, his replacement, was stretchered off following a sickening collision in the 22nd minute.

Bonham looked nervous when he came on and he was soon picking the ball out of the net after a mix-up with Joel Ekstrand allowed Dominic Poleon to score for Leeds.

The Hornets levelled through Almen Abdi’s superb curler during 16 minutes of injury time at the end of the first half, and as news of Cardiff’s late equaliser against second-placed Hull filtered through, Watford knew another goal would send them up.

However, as they piled forward, Leeds broke at the other end and Bonham let Ross McCormack’s lob squirm through his hands and roll into the beck of the net to condemn Watford to a 2-1 defeat and a play-off semi-final against Leicester.

Leeds manager Brian McDermott said: “It was an amazing game.

“Obviously we knew what was going on at Hull but we did what we had to do. I had a feeling Ross McCormack would make a difference.

“Gianfranco is a friend of mine and I feel for him but during the game you have to do what you have to do.

“He’s a top person who has done a fantastic job, and they still have every chance of going up.”