Watford come from two down to beat Burnley

Aside from arguably the start of the match, and a five-minute spell around the half-hour match, the Hornets looked set to produce a largely abject display for the third match running after gifting Jay Rodriguez the opener before Nyron Nosworthy headed into his own net to put the Clarets firmly in the driving seat early in the second half.

Crucially though, Nosworthy halved the deficit within five minutes and that gave Sean Dyche’s men the spur they needed to rediscover their attacking game that had largely been missing since the 3-2 victory over Leicester City.

Alex Kacaniklic, who impressed after coming off the bench at half-time with his willingness to run at opponents and use the ball effectively, restored parity with his first senior goal before the Hornets made it count from a Sean Murray corner for the second time in the match as Troy Deeney blasted in a close-range winner.

Sean Dyche’s response to last week’s poor showing against table-topping Southampton was to make four changes.

Lee Hodson and Murray, after illness and injury respectively, both returned, Prince Buaben was back in the starting line-up after six games on the bench, while Joe Garner was given the nod to partner Deeney. Fulham loanees Marcello Trotta and Kacaniklic were both among the replacements but Carl Dickinson and Mark Yeates were left out of the matchday 16, the latter for the first time this season.

Burnley had two changes from the team that went down 3-1 at home to Millwall seven days previously, with Dean Marney and Josh McQuoid coming in for Marvin Bartley, who was a substitute, and the absent Keith Treacy.

Tomasz Kuszczak had a couple of confident early touches as his side won the game’s first corner after 80 minutes. But it was the Clarets who had the first chance in the third minute when a long throw from the right bounced up in the box to David Edgar but he couldn’t generate enough power with his header to seriously trouble the on-loan Manchester United keeper.

However, the Hornets had a fine opportunity to take the lead with their first opening in the sixth minute when Deeney got in between two defenders to latch onto an under-hit back pass but keeper Lee Grant had already sensed the danger, quickly advancing and making himself big to save the striker’s efforts at dinking the ball past him.

After that early flurry of action, which saw the hosts have four corners in the opening ten minutes, little of note happened in the way of goalmouth action, although in the 20th minute Nosworthy – making his 350th professional start – did well to head a dangerous inswinging Ross Wallace cross over his own bar. However, the officials thought otherwise and awarded a goal kick.

Burnley were asking most of what relatively few attacking questions were being posed at this stage, as their opponents struggled to retain possession and build going forward, and Eddie Howe’s side weren’t too far away from making the breakthrough when a Wallace strike from the edge of the area dipped narrowly over.

Wallace chanced his arm again soon after, coming in off the right before firing an angled left-footed drive over the top, and then a Marney half-volley from a more central position on the edge of the 18-yard box also finished up in the Rookery.

Lloyd Doyley decided to try and inject some attacking life into his side in the 33rd minute, bursting forward and laying the ball to his left to Murray before continuing his run into the box. The youngster’s cross was decent but it was just too high for Buaben to threaten with a header, with Doyley in close attendance.

Watford finally mustered another attempt soon after, although Garner dragged it harmlessly wide, but the hosts were starting to look dangerous and in the 37th minute Hodson laid the ball across to Buaben on the edge of the area and the Ghanaian took a touch before striking a right-footed effort that Grant had to acrobatically tip over.

That offered signs of promise but four minutes later the Hornets fell behind to a goal all of their own making.

Nosworthy was almost caught in possession by Rodriguez, with the ball spinning up and across to the left where Adrian Mariappa attempted to head back to Kuszczak, only for it to fall woefully short and the Burnley striker didn’t need a second invitation, running through to emphatically beat the Hornets keeper with a right-footed finish to put his side a goal to the good.

There was no surprise that Dyche made a change at the start of the second half, with Kacaniklic coming on for Buaben, but the visitors also switched things around as Michael Duff made way for Brian Easton.

Watford were looking to make a better start to the second half but precisely the opposite happened and they found themselves two down within five minutes of the restart.

They were again the architects of their own downfall, first conceding a free-kick close to the right-hand corner. Wallace swung over a dangerous free-kick which Kuszczak started to come for and was then left partially stranded as Nosworthy, under pressure at the far post, headed back into his own net to make it 2-0 to the visitors.

Within five minutes though, the centre-half had scored at the right end – and for the first time in a yellow shirt – planting a far-post header powerfully down and past Grant from Murray’s left-sided corner in the 55th minute.

Not content with halving the deficit, Nosworthy almost cancelled it out completely two minutes later when his right-footed shot from inside the area was blocked by the keeper following a pull back from Kacaniklic.

The Hornets were now looking far more lively going forward and in the 67th minute Kacaniklic took on and easily beat Kieran Trippier before sending over a teasing cross from the left that Garner flicked away from John Eustace, with the Hornets skipper – making his 150th appearance for the club – seemingly well placed behind him.

Burnley made their second change two minutes later as Martin Paterson replaced Charlie Austin and the substitute arrived in time to see Wallace go close to scoring a third, curling a well-struck free-kick from 25 yards narrowly over the top.

Moments later though, it was the Hornets who were celebrating.

Following a throw in from the left, Garner played a lovely side-footed cushioned lay-off from the edge of the area to release Kacaniklic and the Fulham loanee kept his composure, shooting across Grant to equalise with his first professional goal.

The momentum was now firmly with Watford and three minutes later the comeback was complete.

For the second time in the half, a corner from Murray led to a goal as the Clarets failed to clear their lines after Eustace challenged for a header at the far post and after Garner had seen one close-range effort blocked on the line, Deeney gleefully slammed in the rebound to make it 3-2 before earning a yellow card for taking his shirt off and celebrating.

The game was not won yet though, and in the 80th minute it took a superb save from Kuszczak to keep his side in front as he dived full length to his left to push away a fiercely struck effort from Rodriguez around the post.

Dale Bennett came on for Murray as the fourth official signalled for five minutes of stoppage time. Despite the odd nervy moment in that period, the Hornets completed the job to move within seven points of the 50-mark.

Watford: Kuszczak; Hodson, Nosworthy, Mariappa, Doyley; Buaben (Kacaniklic 46), Hogg, Eustace, Murray (Bennett 90); Deeney, Garner. Not used: Loach, Iwelumo and Trotta.

Burnley: Grant; Trippier, Duff (Easton 46), Edgar, Mee; Wallace, Marney, McCann, McQuoid (Ings 82); Austin (Paterson 69), Rodriguez. Not used: Jensen and Easton.

Bookings: Deeney for over celebrating (75); Wallace for a foul on Murray (83).

Attendance: 11,612.

Referee: Michael Naylor.