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Football

Sunderland tied 2-2 with Watford thanks to Jewison Bennette

Keinan Davis scored on his debut start for Watford, but the Hornets were denied by a late Jewison Bennette equaliser to earn Sunderland a 2-2 draw at Vicarage Road.

Davis, on loan from Aston Villa, pounced on Anthony Patterson’s parry to put Rob Edwards’ side ahead just after the half-hour mark, however Black Cats youngster Aji Alese levelled on the stroke of half-time.

In a high-scoring game, both teams had chances and multiple penalty claims were turned down, and a second-half Luke O’Nien headed own goal in Watford’s favour was cancelled out by away substitute Bennette in the 87th minute.

Watford remain in contention for the play-offs after picking up their sixth draw of the 2022/23 season, with a trip to Stoke City coming up after the international break (Sunday October 2).

Head Coach Edwards made five adjustments to the squad that lost to Blackburn Rovers the previous week, with Davis starting for the first time for Watford, alongside William Troost-Ekong, Kortney Hause, Hassane Kamara, and Yáser Asprilla.

watfordPrior to kickoff, the players and staff accompanied the Vicarage Road crowd in paying homage to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s memory, with those inside the stadium observing a minute’s reverence before the National Anthem was performed. His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, Robert Voss CBE, lay a wreath, joined by Rita Taylor and Karen Colley, representing the family of the late Graham Taylor OBE, and Luther Blissett OBE DL.

Watford opened the game brilliantly, with the revamped backline seeking to begin attacks with Davis, Ken Sema, and Joo Pedro raising questions of the away defence early on.

Joo Pedro got the game’s first clear-cut chance when he met Hamza Choudhury’s enticing ball and pushed Patterson into a good reflex stop, albeit the referee’s whistle would have ruled the shot out if it had gone in.

watfordFollowing some slick link-up play with Joo Pedro, Asprilla was next to get an eye on goal in the eighth minute, but Troost-Ekong and Kamara had to be wary to danger at the other end as Sunderland attempted to get their heads in front.

In the 22nd minute, visiting midfielder Lynden Gooch blasted a speculative effort wide of Daniel Bachmann’s goal, as both teams struggled to shift the momentum in their favour, and subsequently Patrick Roberts had his penalty requests turned down by referee John Busby.

Patterson recovered a poor Joo Pedro shot from 20 yards in the 33rd minute, minutes before Davis scored into an empty net to give the Hornets the lead after the Black Cats goalkeeper parried Kamara’s cross.

With Sunderland trying to recover soon after falling down, Craig Cathcart did well to divert a curling Jack Clarke shot out for a corner, before the Wearsiders were denied a penalty kick for the second time.

watfordAs the clock approached the halftime, Corry Evans struggled to test Bachmann with a feeble attempt, but there was still time for Alese to square the scores with a close-range shot that was ruled to have snuck past the line despite Choudhury’s best efforts to clear.

The second half began with some nice Joo Pedro trickery, with the Brazilian’s through-pass almost escaping the on-rushing Asprilla, before the latter did get a shot off minutes later, but Patterson stayed firm.

Davis caused a commotion in the 55th minute, catching the Sunderland goalkeeper out of his goal, and Watford’s cries for a penalty fell on deaf ears after Kamara’s cross came off Gooch.

Just after the hour, the home pressure paid off, with a dangerous free-kick producing a brawl in the area and former Hornet O’Nien headed past his own goalie to restore the home advantage.

Joo Pedro led the assault for a third home goal with an audacious attempt from a close angle just over 20 minutes before full-time, while the Mackems had another penalty appeal turned down.

Clarke thought he had made it 2-2 with a neat finish from the left a few seconds later, only for the referee’s assistant to raise his flag for offside, and with the advantage intact, Kayembe was next to shoot for Watford, but his effort sailed wide.

Sunderland pushed forward late on in quest of a second equaliser, with Roberts and Leon Dajaku going close, before Bennette capitalised on a loose ball in the home area three minutes from the end to make it 2-2.

There was a feast of hard challenges in the last seconds as both teams sought a sensational winner, but there wasn’t time for a fifth goal, and Watford had to compromise for a share of the spoils.

Kajal S

Kajal S

kajal

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