WE BELIEVE IN MIRACLES Toon display gives Benitez hope

IT’S the time of year for miracles and Rafa Benitez thinks he might just produce one.

Newcastle were close to securing all three points until Abdoulaye Doucoure climbed off the bench to rescue a point for Watford.

But Benitez, who claimed last week that keeping Toon up would be a miracle, said: “I can be happy as before the game against a good team we knew a draw would be a good result, and we were very close to winning.

“We could have defended their goal better but it is clear the way the team performed today is the way we can get the miracle done.“

Salomon Rondon (right) had put the visitors ahead with a thumping header from Matt Ritchie’s sumptuous cross shortly before the half-hour mark.

And it looked to have been the perfect response from the Venezuelan to being dropped by Benitez for Newcastle’s one-sided Boxing Day defeat by Liverpool.

But with around eight minutes of normal time to go, substitute Doucoure, – reportedly a target for Paris Saint-Germain next month – headed home after timing his run into the Newcastle box perfectly.

Gerard Deul ofeu provided the cross and 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 o slender and Watford finally ally got their reward.

Benitez added “They scored ed in a way we could have ve avoided. . Also, with a better final pass the way we were playing on the counter - attack, we e could have ve been talking ng about somemet h i ng quite different.

“We had more or less control of the game — there weren’t many situations that you could say they were quite dangerous. This group of players were playing really well and doing really well. We have to realise that for us the key has to be the team effort.”

Watford boss Javi Gracia was the th happier of the two mana managers. He said: “We started well, created cr good chan chances, clear cha chances and we di didn’t take th them.

“After that we knew the game would be ver y demanding for us, but a after letting in the goal it wa was even more diffi difficult.

“At the end, I am happy hap with my players, maybe the game could have had a