A defensive blunder on the 86th minute and more VAR confusion overshadowed what was a gutsy away performance by the Hornets as the game finished 1-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Watford would have taken a point at the start of the game, but Quique Sanchez Flores’ side were unfortunate not to get all three points against last year’s Champions League runners up.
Watford were forced into an early substitution as Danny Welbeck limped off with what looked to be hamstring worry, but that didn’t disrupt their fast and aggressive start.
Six minutes on the clock and Craig Cathcart switched a lovely cross-field ball to find Daryl Janmaat who fizzed a great ball across all three central defenders to find Doucouré who calmly slid the ball into the net to make it 0-1.
Watford taking an early lead meant an unrecognisable Spurs side this season had it all to do.
Deulofeu had a strong penalty claim turned down by the referee after Jan Vertonghen went to the ground, but a review by VAR confirmed the referee’s decision.
A number of dangerous crosses whipped in by either of Tottenham’s full-backs were well dealt with by Watford defenders who saw their side go into the break one nil up against the North London side who were booed off by their supporters.
With Spurs struggling with their final ball, Pochettino had to do something and brought on Heung Min Son who made a near instant impact.
Son’s direct runs at the Watford defence caused panic for the defenders who struggled to keep control of the Korean.
Another direct run by Son found himself in the box and his powerful strike cannoned off the crossbar.
With the game fizzling out, Watford seemed comfortable with playing on the counter, but a lack of quality in the final moments meant they didn’t convert their numerous chances.
With 86 minutes on the clock and Spurs running out of ideas, a long ball caused confusion for Ben Foster and his defence which meant a lurking Alli controlled the ball on the top of his shoulder and calmly slotted home.
Now here comes the confusion… a lengthy VAR review for a possible hand ball by Alli in the lead up to the goal seemed to be overturned by the officials according to the big screen which showed ‘NO GOAL’ but the referee said the opposite and pointed to the centre spot to confirm the goal.
With everyone in the stadium confused, the referee confirms the goal after speaking with the VAR officials and the game finished 1-1.
Another draw means Watford still find themselves at the bottom of the table and winless, but a good performance against Tottenham will give fans, players and coaching staff many positives to take home.
Watford next play at home against Bournemouth on Saturday, October 26.
Photos courtesy of Watford FC and Alan Cozzi
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