Disputed goal earns point for Watford

Video assistant referees were trialled in domestic English soccer for the first time this week.

Unfortunately for Southampton, they aren’t being used in the Premier League.

Southampton conceded a lastminute equalizer in its 2-2 draw at Watford on Saturday after Abdoulaye Doucoure seemed to force the ball into the net with his right hand. Southampton’s players protested, but neither the referee nor his assistants saw an offence. A VAR surely would have.

“If VAR had come in, we probably wouldn’t get that,” said Watford captain Troy Deeney, who set up Doucoure’s goal. “But today we got it. It’s the luck of the draw.”

Used for the first time in England for the national team’s friendly against Germany in November, VARs were deployed in domestic soccer this week for the FA Cup third-round game between Brighton and Crystal Palace on Monday. They were also used for the League Cup semifinal between Chelsea and Arsenal on Wednesday.

They remain a source of debate, but incidents such as the one at Vicarage Road may yet hasten their arrival.

Harry Kane overtook Teddy Sheringham as Tottenham’s record scorer in the Premier League era (since 1992) with a second-half double in a 4-0 home win over Everton

The England striker moved onto 98 goals, one more than Sheringham, and reached 20 goals in the league for the fourth consecutive year.