Vivaldo Semedo's 90th-minute equaliser denied Sheffield Wednesday their first win in 31 games as Watford earned a barely-deserved 1-1 draw at Hillsborough.
Wednesday, who have been in administration since October and are already relegated from the Championship following an 18-point deduction by the EFL, were minutes away from ending a wretched winless run going back to September when Jerry Yates' second-half header put them in front.
But Semedo bundled home late on to deny them victory, though the draw sees the Owls register their first point of 2026, ending a 13-game losing streak in the Championship.
In a season of endless pain for Wednesday's fans, this will sting on a day it was revealed that Mike Ashley has submitted a bid to buy the crisis club.
Watford got away with it and the draw says more about their failings as their faint play-off hopes took a hit.
There was a pre-match presentation for Owls captain Liam Palmer, who became just the fourth player in the club's history to make 500 appearances.
Palmer had plenty of defending to do in the early stages as Watford twice came close to taking the lead inside the opening 10 minutes.
Edo Kayembe struck the inside of the post from 20 yards in the seventh minute and two minutes later Luca Kjerrumgaard put his effort from Giorgi Chakvetadze's cross just wide.
Kjerrumgaard was denied again as Pierce Charles made a fine save in the 36th minute.
A nice move saw Marc Bola played in on the left and he squared for the striker, whose shot from six yards was turned over the crossbar by Charles.
That was the end of Watford as a serious attacking threat.
It was Wednesday who were on the front foot after the break and Jamal Lowe tested goalkeeper Egil Selvik with a shot from distance.
Selvik was picking the ball out of the net in the 54th minute as the Owls took a shock lead.
A nice move saw Sean Fusire cross for Yates, who powered home his third goal in three games.
Lowe could have made it 2-0 soon after but he shot straight at Selvik, who also made a big stop to deny Charlie McNeil.
The Wednesday forward had just come off the bench when the ball broke to him in the penalty area but he shot straight at the keeper, who claimed the ball at the second attempt.
Wednesday fans will have been wary about getting too excited in the final 15 minutes, having seen their side succumb to plenty of second-half goals this season.
It looked like this Watford side, devoid of attacking ideas and quality in the second half, were never going to get back into the game.
But there was a sting in the tale for the battle-weary Owls as Semedo bundled home after his initial shot had been palmed away by Charles.
Sheffield Wednesday's Henrik Pedersen:
"So proud and so disappointed, very proud of the performance," Pedersen added. "I think we played a very strong game over 90 minutes, the mentality from the start was amazing.
"It was so close."
On potential takeover:
"I've had a brief meeting with them today as a part of the diligence, or homework, or what we can call it.
"They are some very friendly and very interesting people.
"There was not (a massive amount) of details but the energy was good and they are interesting, very interesting people.
"So I have a very, very positive feeling about it."
Watford's Ed Still:
"Really disappointed, we created some fantastic opportunities in the first half," he said. "We started really well and made four or five big chances in the first half, we didn't take them.
"It is really frustrating because that game was there to be won, but the equaliser right at the end is a really important one and it shows the spirit in the team.
"We felt that we've created enough chances to win here, that's for sure. So we're disappointed not to have won, but you can easily walk away from here with nothing.
"They've put in a really good performance. They had something extra to play for this evening, and to be able to get over the mistakes we've made in the second half and still get back in the game, get the point. It could be a vital point."
