AB FAB! DOUCOURE RESCUES WATFORD
ABDOULAYE DOUCOURE climbed off the bench to rescue a point for Watford.
The midfielder – who is reportedly a target for Paris Saint-Germain next month – headed home to cancel out the opener from Salomon Rondon (below).
He put the visitors ahead with a thumping header from Matt Ritchie’s sumptuous cross shortly before the halfhour mark.
And it looked to have been the perfect response from the Venezuelan to being dropped by boss Rafa Benitez for the Toon’s Boxing Day defeat by Liverpool.
But with around eight minutes of normal time to go, Frenchman Doucoure, a 53rd-minute substitute, timed his run into the Newcastle box perfectly.
And when Gerard Deulofeu provided the cross, Doucoure was there to get the leveller Watford throughly deserved.
Javi Gracia’s men had dominated possession from start to finish and looked like being the victims of a classic smashand-grab.
But the Geordie boys’ one-goal advantage proved too slender and Watford finally got their reward.
Benitez said: “They scored in a way we could have avoided. And the way we were playing on the counter attack, with a better final pass we could have been talking about something different in the match.
“But the way we conceded, we could have stopped the cross and defended better.”
Unsurprisingly, Gracia was the happier of the two. He said: “We started well, created good chances, clear chances and we didn’t take them.
“After that we knew the game would be very demanding for us but after conceding the goal it was even more difficult.
“At the end, I am happy with my players, with our behaviour and how we are believing until the end.”
Watford showed no signs of a hangover from their defeat by Chelsea on Boxing Day as they grabbed this game by the scruff of the neck.
And twice early on they might have taken the lead had Deulofeu taken advantage of good positions.
The first time he was denied by a good tackle from Paul Dummett after Will Hughes’s clever flick had released the Spaniard.
And when he got in behind the visitors’ defence again, keeper Martin Dubravka stuck out a foot to deny his low effort. Watford were enjoying almost 80 per cent of possession at times during the first half.
But Gracia conceded: “Sometimes you have a lot of possession but that is not the same as having control of the game.”
It was Newcastle who took control when Christian Atsu spun away from Will Hughes and Domingos Quina before feeding Ritchie.
He whipped in a cross which begged to be headed home and Rondon obliged, getting in well ahead of Adam Masina.
Benitez added: “Rondon did well. And the crosses from Ritchie, for sure he is very good doing that.’’
Gracia made the crucial change early on when he sent on Doucoure and Troy Deeney for Hughes and Quina, but despite that few real chances were created at either end.
Until Deulofeu’s cross, that was, and up popped Doucoure to head home that gave the Hornets a point.
Watford 1 Newcastle 1 Tom Hopkinson