Watford beaten by Brentford after wasting winning opportunity

It looked like the contest would end with honours even until the third minute of injury time when the home side spurned a glorious opportunity to take the points when Imran Louza missed a near open goal after a Joshua King effort had rebounded off the post.

Instead of a celebrating a first home victory in almost six months, heads were in hands moments later when Pontus Jansson headed home a Christian Eriksen free-kick to bring the probability of relegation into even sharper focus for Watford.

It was the second time the Bees have beaten their opponents this season thanks to goals deep into injury time. And for the second time it happened because of poor game management by Hornets.

The hosts were poor in the first half and had once again fallen behind in awful fashion when Christian Norgaard wasn’t picked up in the area and had a straightforward finish after a long throw had been flicked on after 15 minutes.

The home side rarely threatened to get back on terms before the interval and they were very fortunate not to fall further behind early in the second half when Ivan Toney dragged a clear opening wide.

Instead of going 2-0 down though, the Hornets were to level soon after when Emmanuel Dennis rifled the ball past David Raya from the left side of the area after Ismaila Sarr had helped on a Moussa Sissoko cross.

Roy Hodgson made just the one enforced change to the side that lost 3-0 to Leeds United with Dennis replacing the injured Cucho Hernandez.

Injuries did limit the Hornets manager’s options to an extent, but the inclusion of Dan Gosling and particularly Shaq Forde among the substitutes still raised some eyebrows.

Brentford came into the game having won four of their previous five Premier League outings and Thomas Frank also made just the one change with Jansson replacing Mathias Jorgensen in central defence.

The game started at a good tempo with both sides seeking to gain the early ascendency but neither side was able to create an opportunity until the ninth minute when Norgaard’s pass inside found Eriksen in space on the edge of the D and the Danish midfielder curled a right-footed effort a couple of yards wide of Ben Foster’s left-hand post.

Watford responded by winning the game’s first corner which saw Sissoko drag a shot wide from the edge of the area. Soon after though, Kiko Femenia was played into space on the right and he struck a good first-time cross which Sarr met with a header, but he put it over the top.

That lifted the Vicarage Road faithful though, only for them to be largely silenced when their side fell behind to their latest defensively dreadful goal.

An Ethan Pinnock long throw from the right was flicked on by Kristoffer Ajer and Norgaard was allowed the freedom of the penalty area to stroke the ball past Foster from barely six yards out to put the Bees into a 15th-minute lead.

Pinnock’s game was to end prematurely soon after through injury and he was replaced by Mads Bech Sorensen.

Juraj Kucka fired high and well wide of the target as the home side sought a quick response, but there was little threat to the Bees backline until Femenia and Sarr combined for the latter to whip in a cross which Raya dealt with, but at least it threatened to ask questions of the visitors.

Brentford had an opportunity from a corner from the right in the 32nd minute which was struck beyond the back post where Jansson headed down and back to Vitaly Janelt, who mishit a left-footed attempt across the area and wide, but it could easily have caused Foster problems had it got a touch on the way through.

Foster then had to go to ground to hold an Eriksen left-footed drive before Yoane Wissa had a shot deflected behind. In between times though, referee Simon Hooper had played advantage when Dennis was having his shirt pulled by Norgaard as he tried to break downfield, only to then fail to book the midfielder when there was a pause in play.

Brentford kept knocking at the door, with Janelt hitting a snap-shot wide from a corner, but two minutes before the break Watford almost got a rare moment of good fortune when a Femenia free-kick from the right was met but the right knee of Ajar on the edge of the six-yard post at the back post, directing the ball back across the face of his own goal and the wrong side of the post from a Hornets perspective.

The home side threatened again in stoppage time, again from a Femenia cross which was half cleared to the edge of the area, but Louza was unable to properly get hold of his shot as Brentford took their one-goal lead into the break.

The Hornets started the second period a little more positively, but attempted moves were still foundering due to a poor pass or the wrong decision being taken.

Hassane Kamara picked up the first booking of the match in the 53rd minute for a foul on Mbeumo and from the resultant free-kick the Hornets were very lucky not to go 2-0 down, switching off when Eriksen clipped the ball over the wall for Toney to run onto, only to drag his attempted finish wide of the far post.

It was to prove a costly miss as soon after the Hornets were level when a Sissoko cross from the right was headed on by Sarr to Dennis, who took a touch before rifling a right-footed shot past Raya to make it 1-1.

There were as an anxious wait as initially it looked like Sarr may have been offside when he got the touch, but VAR ruled he was on and the goal stood, giving Dennis his tenth of the season.

The card count was levelled up when Toney was booked for a foul on Kucka, but Louza put his free-kick into the wall.

Watford were threatening to get on top though, and they had another opportunity when Kamara dug out a cross from the left which Sissoko brought down on the edge of the box before dragging a left-foot shot wide.

Saman Ghoddos replaced Wissa and Mathias Jensen came on for Janelt as the Bees completed their changes before Toney tried an audacious volley from more than 30 yards that left Foster looking a little worryingly behind him as the ball went wide.

The Bees were asking more questions as the game entered the final ten minutes; Hodgson making a double change as King came on for Joao Pedro, while Tom Cleverley replaced Kucka.

Cleverley’s first involvement was to play a give-and-go with Sissoko, darting down the left side of the area but he was unable to pick out a teammate with his cut back.

Watford were seeking to finish strongly; Dennis attempting to catch out Raya with whipped in free-kick from the right after being fouled.

Five minutes of injury time afforded hope of a late winner – and the Hornets really should have scored it three minutes into stoppage time.

Brentford failed to clear their lines from a set piece, Dennis played the ball back towards the six-yard box where Sissoko managed to work the ball lose into the path of King, who saw his shot rebound back out off the near post and into the path of Louza, who looked odds-on to score but somehow missed the target.

While the Hornets fans were still trying to get their heads around that, Kamara fouled Mbeumo right of centre around 30 yards out.

Eriksen curled the free-kick into that dangerous area just outside the six-yard box and Jansson got in between two Hornets to head down and beyond Foster.

The Bees fans were jubilant; the Hornets supporters were stunned as the relegation trap door moved even closer into focus.

Watford: Foster; Femenia (Cathcart 87), Kabasele, Samir, Kamara; Sissoko, Louza, Kucka (Cleverley 83); Sarr, Pedro (King 83), Dennis. Subs not used: Bachmann, Ngakia, Etebo, Gosling, Kayembe, Forde.

Brentford: Raya; Ajer, Jansson, Pinnock (Sorensen 21), Henry; Janelt (Jensen 74), Norgaard, Eriksen; Mbeumo, Toney, Wissa (Ghoddos 66). Subs not used: Fernandez, DaSilva, Fosu, Baptiste, Roerslev, Stevens.

Bookings: Kamara for a foul on Mbeumo (53); Toney for a foul on Kucka (64).

Referee: Simon Hooper.