Richarlison's injury-time equaliser salvages a point for Watford as West Brom let commanding lead slip

West Bromwich Albion 2 Watford 2: Hornets battle back from two goals down after early strikes from Salomon Rondon and Jonny Evans to snatch a draw at the death

Sean Taylor

The Hawthorns

Saturday 30 September 2017 12:26 EDT

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Richarlison celebrates scoring Watford's equaliser against West Bromwich Albion in their 2-2 draw (Getty)

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West Brom were denied a first win in five Premier League matches after Richarlison's header deep into added time salvaged a 2-2 draw for Watford at The Hawthorns.

Quick-fire goals from Salomon Rondon and Jonny Evans had Albion on course for victory, despite Abdoulaye Doucoure halving Watford's deficit before half-time.

Only Manchester City have managed to get the better of Marco Silva's side this season and they eventually got the point their performance deserved when Richarlison struck right at the end.

Watford have caught the eye this season under Silva, who has impressed during his short time in English football with his bold attempt to keep Hull in the Premier League last term before arriving at Vicarage Road in the summer.

West Brom boss Tony Pulis commented in the build-up to the match that Silva "has a better horse this year" but his Watford team were not at the races for a costly three-minute spell in the first half which allowed Albion to take control of the game.

Rondon was stronger than Christian Kabasele as he managed to get on the end of a lovely pass over the top from Grzegorz Krychowiak before shooting past Heurelho Gomes from a tight angle after 18 minutes.

Salomon Rondon celebrates putting West Brom into the lead (Getty)

It was the Venezuela international's first league goal of the campaign and his first at The Hawthorns since mid-December.

Evans scored in this fixture last season as West Brom won 3-1 and the Albion captain headed in a Matt Phillips corner at the far post to quickly double his team's lead.

Watford were struggling to cope with the hosts' aerial threat and Ahmed Hegazi almost headed a third goal from a Chris Brunt corner.

Jonny Evans bundles the ball over the line for West Brom's second (Getty)

However, Silva's side nearly pulled a goal back through an Andre Carrillo header before doing so in the 37th minute when Doucoure's low, left-foot strike across Ben Foster nestled in the bottom corner of the net.

The visitors were back in the match and finished the first half strongly. They maintained that momentum after the break, seeing a lot of the ball but just lacking the guile to create a clear scoring chance as Pulis' well-drilled defence kept Watford at arm's length.

Abdoulaye Doucoure curls in Watford's first goal to cut the lead (Getty)

Richarlison was off target with a header from a Doucoure cross midway through the second half before West Brom survived a goalmouth scramble.

It looked like Albion had weathered the storm and, in a rare second-half attack, went close to extending their lead when James McClean's shot was spilled by Gomes.

However, there was a sting in the tail for the hosts as the Hornets equalised in the fifth minute of added time when Richarlison headed home from Jose Holebas' free-kick.

Teams

West Brom: Foster, Dawson, Hegazi, Evans, Gibbs, Krychowiak, Barry, Brunt, Rodriguez, Phillips, Rondon.

Subs: Nyom, Robson-Kanu, Morrison, Livermore, Myhill, McClean, Chadli.

Watford: Gomes, Femenia, Mariappa, Kabasele, Holebas, Doucoure, Capoue, Carrillo, Cleverley, Richarlison, Deeney.

Subs: Janmaat, Britos, Gray, Hughes, Watson, Karnezis, Pereyra.

Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland)

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