Isaac Success came off the bench to score Watford’s second-half equaliser and his first for the club in a 2-2 draw at home to Bournemouth.
The summer signing from Granada steered a header into the far corner on 65 minutes after fellow second-half substitute Josh King had beaten two players and smashed a low shot home to restore the Cherries’ lead.
The visitors had gone ahead during an impressive first-half display when Callum Wilson stole in front of his marker and flicked Junior Stanislas’ cross through Heurelho Gomes’ clumsy handling (31).
Troy Deeney made it 1-1 just after half-time with a side-foot finish and Jack Wilshere twice hit the post after the break, the second effort of which he should have scored from close range.
Watford, beaten away at Burnley in their previous Premier League fixture, made two enforced changes in defence and switched to a back four, with Younes Kaboul and Camilo Zuniga coming in.
They bossed the early possession but Bournemouth showed what a threat they were prepared to be when Stanislas made Gomes tip over a wicked free-kick on 13 minutes.
Walter Mazzarri’s back four had done well to stifle Bournemouth’s counter-attacks, but it was Stanislas who fashioned the opening goal when he burst up the right wing and crossed for Wilson to nod home.
Wilshere could have set up Wilson for a second soon after but misplaced his pass with Bournemouth two-v-one in the counter-attack, but the striker wasted a chance of his own when he teed up Andrew Surman instead of shooting himself just before half-time.
Watford came out bullishly for the second period, however, and were rewarded by Deeney after Nordin Amrabat danced past two players to the by-line and then cut the ball back for the forward to fire in between defenders (50).
Wilshere broke from midfield excellently for the first of his chances that met the upright, curling a shot towards the far corner that had Gomes beaten, but not the goal-frame.
He remained on the pitch as Jordan Ibe was replaced by King, who showed Wilshere how to score a superb solo effort by pushing past his opponent with a burst of pace before firing low inside Gomes’ near post for 2-1.
But the lead lasted just two minutes for Eddie Howe – again linked with the England job this week – and his men this time, a sloppy foul committed on the left-hand side allowing Etienne Capoue to deliver a delicious cross for Success to guide into the far corner.
Wilshere’s stunted form was laid bare on 73 minutes as a cross beat everyone in the box and found its way to his feet at the far post, with the ‘keeper scrambling across to cover his post, but the Arsenal loanee punted off the upright all by himself. – Sky Sports.
