Newcastle earn an impressive point against Watford

Newcastle United return home with one point after earning a 1-1 draw against Watford at Vicarage Road.

Just when it looked like Newcastle United would return home with three points, Watford earned a late equalizer to share the spoils with their visitors from Tyneside. A point is a point, though, and Newcastle will take what they can get during this difficult stretch of matches. Newcastle deserved more from this match, but here is how things played out at Vicarage Road.

First Half

The first 10 minutes was all Watford as the home side pressed forward and took multiple shots, but none of their early attempts threatened Martin Dubravka. Newcastle’s defense stood firm over the next few minutes, but Gerard Deulofeu beat the offside trap in the 14th minute and was left one-on-one with Dubravka, but the Slovakian made a big save for the Magpies.

One minute later it was Newcastle who finally tried to attack through Matt Ritchie as the Scottish international found Salomon Rondon with an arching cross that left Ben Foster exposed, but the assistant referee raised the flag. The action continued to pick up after this moment as Watford broke free for a counter-attack after a Newcastle free-kick in the 17th minute, but Paul Dummett made a crucial interception that otherwise would have seen Watford get a goal.

Newcastle finally started playing more balanced football and started pushing more bodies up the field after not conceding a goal in the opening 20 minutes. The 28th minute was a moment of beauty as Newcastle spread the ball out wide to Ritchie who curled in a quick cross that was met by Rondon to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. It was a brilliant header from Rondon in a crowded box.

Rondon did not stop there, though, as he blasted a shot into the bottom corner after receiving a low cross in the middle of the box in the 40th minute, but he was ruled offside. Newcastle’s urgency took everyone in the stadium by surprise. The Magpies only completed 61 passes in the first 24 minutes of action, but finished the first half with 167 passes.

Second Half

Newcastle picked up where they left off in the first half with some good ball movement and composure in the opening minutes of the second half. Javi Garcia wasted no time making his first substitution in the 52nd minute by putting striker Troy Deeney in for Will Hughes with the hope of boosting his side’s offensive efficiency.

The match opened up in the 55th minute as both teams traded possession in midfield. At this stage in the match, though, Newcastle were clearly playing with more urgency and conviction, and this was reflected by how easy it was for the visitors to build counter-attacks and march down the field.

The 70th minute saw Watford play their laziest football of the season as Newcastle had all the time in the world to complete multiple passes in the back, lob a ball to Atsu down the flank who then found Hayden in the middle and he laid the ball off to Ritchie who struck a powerful shot at Watford’s goal from far out.

The 77th minute saw Jonjo Shelvey make his return to action after a long recovery from a thigh injury. He replaced Isaac Hayden in the middle of the park and was greeted with cheers from the Toon Army as he ran into position alongside Mohamed Diame.

After a calm few minutes, Watford scored a goal out of nowhere in the 81st minute through a soft header from Abdoulaye Doucoure. To nobody’s surprise, Doucoure managed to score with ease due to poor marking in the penalty area. He was left all alone near the penalty spot.

Newcastle deserved more from this match, but they have to appreciate earning a point on the road against such a strong opponent. Newcastle’s next match will be against Manchester United at St. James’ Park on Wednesday.