WATFORD showed their preparations for the Premiership are right on track after Italian giants Inter Milan were made to come from behind to earn a 1-1 draw in an enjoyable and thoroughly watchable friendly at Vicarage Road on Tuesday, August 8.

The Italian champions may not have had their full array of superstars on show, but they were given a tough examination by Aidy Boothroyd's troops who demonstrated all the characteristics that got won them promotion to the big time last season. There was pace, power, pressure and intensity in abundance and for a few minutes it looked like a trademark strike from Marlon King might be enough to earn a not unflattering win, but those hopes were dashed by substitute Marco Andreolli's scrambled equaliser.

The Hornets boss selected all three of his summer signings to date in a strong starting line-up, including newest recruit Dan Shittu who formed the heart of the defence alongside Jay DeMerit. Chris Powell won the nod over Jordan Stewart at left-back, while Damien Francis linked up with Gavin Mahon in the centre of the park.

Although the likes of Patrick Vieira, Luis Figo and World Cup winners Marco Materazzi and Fabio Grosso were not in the squad, Roberto Mancini still paraded a host of big names. The Inter coach started with seven of the players who began Saturday's 3-2 victory over Porto in the Amsterdam Tournament, including Argentine stars Javier Zanetti and Walter Samuel and big-name strike pair Adriano and Obafemi Martins.

Watford started extremely brightly, with Darius Henderson searching out Mahon with a dangerous right-sided cross inside the opening 30 seconds. The Hornets maintained their high-tempo, pressing approach in the early stages, clearly determined not to let Inter settle on the ball, although Dejan Stankovic did have the first shot on goal with a 25-yard effort that didn't unduly trouble Richard Lee.

But the Hornets went closer still after ten minutes when Ashley Young rolled a free-kick near the left-side of the area short to King, who spun into space before letting fly with a right-footed drive which Julio Cesar did well to push away. From the resultant corner, DeMerit narrowly failed to connect with a header but the ball broke towards Young on the edge of the area and the wide midfielder struck a half-volley just over the bar.

Milan, with a very fluid 3-4-2-1 formation, looked good in possession when they had the ball, but struggled to put the Watford defence under any serious pressure as the halfway mark of the opening period approached.

Stankovic did send a rising drive across goal just before the half-hour mark, but DeMerit largely had Adriano in his pocket, while Powell, Shittu and Lloyd Doyley were also catching the eye.

But Inter did go close after 36 minutes when Santiago Solari sent over a good cross from the left that was perfectly-weighted for Adriano around 12 yards out, but the Brazilian star rather directed his header at the centre of goal, although Lee was still down sharply to make the save.

As the interval approached though, Watford pressed again with Samuel making a timely defensive header to prevent Henderson getting on the end a useful Young cross from the right, but within seconds Inter should have taken the lead when the pacey Martins latched onto a Stankovic flick and got goal-side of the Hornets' defence but Lee stood up well and made a fine block when the Nigerian striker looked a good bet to score.

Both sides made changes at the break; Adrian Mariappa came on for Shittu, while for Inter former Italian number one Francesco Toldo, the scorer of the best goal at the World Cup Esteban Cambiasso and Cesar replaced Julio Cesar, Olivier Dacourt and Adriano.

Stankovic warmed Lee's gloves with a tamely-struck volley in the opening stages of the second period after Mariappa had done well to get his head to a cross, before David Pizzaro felt the force of a crunching Mahon challenge in midfield.

Inter had another opening after 59 minutes when a Pizzaro ball put Martins in on goal, but again DeMerit got back with a challenge to guide the ball safely back to Lee. And within a minute the importance of that tackle was magnified as Watford struck. Henderson did well to guide the ball into the path of King in the inside-left channel and he spun away from his man before calmly passing the ball around and beyond Toldo from 20 yards.

Mancini responded by making a double change, bringing on Lambros Choutos and Andreolli for Solari and Ivan Cordoba, amid ironic chants from the Vicarage Road faithful of "Serie A, you're having a laugh". And those chants almost grew louder after 68 minutes when King cut in off the right and tested Toldo with a left-footed drive following a magnificent cross-field pass from Henderson.

A good night's work for Henderson and James Chambers was completed when they were replaced by Al Bangura and Anthony McNamee, but with 15 minutes remaining Inter drew level with a goal reminiscent of the one Zanetti famously scored against England in the 1998 World Cup. This time it did not come from a free-kick, but a corner, with Zanetti pulling into space on the right-side of the area before drilling the ball across a packed penalty area where Andreolli eventually bundled it in from close range.

Mancini was already preparing for another double change before the goal, and still carried it through with Daniele Marino and Simone Fautario coming on for Zanetti and Samuel.

Martins wasn't far away with a shot on the turn from around 15 yards before Mancini made sure all his players were given a run-out by taking the number of Inter substitutes into double figures.

With six minutes remaining, Watford were awarded a free-kick in a promising central position but Young couldn't keep his effort down, despite getting the ball over a wall that did not look ten yards away. Soon after though, King came alive again, wriggling his way clear in the area before firing straight at Toldo.

Substitute Goran Slavkovski lashed a rising effort over at the other end as both sides looked for the winner, but in the end they had to be content with a share of the spoils.

Watford: Lee; Doyley, DeMerit, Shittu, Powell; Chambers, Francis, Mahon, Young; King, Henderson. Substitutes: Mariappa for Shittu after 45 mins; Bangura and McNamee for Henderson and Chambers after 73 mins; Stewart and Chamberlain not used.

Inter Milan: Julio Cesar; Cordoba, Samuel, Zanetti; Dacourt; Maicon, Pizarro, Stankovic; Martins, Solari, Adriano. Substitutes: Toldo, Cambiasso and Cesar for Julio Cesar, Dacourt and Adriano after 45 mins; Choutos and Andreolli for Solari and Cordoba after 65 mins; Marino and Fautario for Zanetti and Samuel after 77 mins; Slavkovski, Bonucci and Belaid for Pizzaro, Maicon and Martins after 83 mins.

Bookings: None.

Attendance: 13,272.

Referee: Dermot Gallagher (Banbury, Oxfordshire).