Watford 1 Crystal Palace 1: WATCH HIGHLIGHTS – Troy Deeney’s 100th Hornets goal from the spot cancelled out Yohan Cabaye’s opener whilst Christian Benteke misses penalty in Sam Allardyce’s first game in charge
Former England boss had to settle for a point on his return to management in the Premier League
TROY DEENEY finally bagged his 100th goal for Watford after a ten-game goal drought to share the spoils between the Hornetsand Crystal Palace.
Yohan Cabaye scored the opening goal for the Eagles on 26 minutes after Andros Townsend showed great skill before slipping him in through on goal, after Younes Kaboul's sloppy positioning kept him onside.
Allardyce managed from the dug out and his side were deservedly in the lead but Christian Benteke fluffed his lines from the penalty spot to double their lead.
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The Belgian forward won a penalty after being brought down by Heurelho Gomes, but his poor effort was saved by the Brazilian who escaped a card for the foul.
The Hornets were forced into making two early substitutions with both Daryl Janmaat and Valon Behrami being forced off the field due to injuries - being replaced by Juan Zuniga and Deeney respectively.
Palace continued to be dangerous in the final third in the second half after Jason Puncheon's great trickery got him into a great position on the left flank but he was unable pick out Benteke at the back post.
Watford's best chance of bagging an equaliser then came on the hour mark when Deeney flicked the ball onto his strike partner Odion Ighalo.
The Eagles were made to pay for not being clinical once Damien Delaney gave away a penalty for pulling down Sebastian Prodl during a corner.
Captain Deeney then stepped up and fired home his 100th goal for Watford after belting the ball down the middle of goal - making Benteke's effort seem even more timid.
The Hornets then looked the most likely to claim all three points at Vicarage Road but in a frantic ending, neither side could find a winner.
STATS, FACTS, GOALS & LOLS
- WATFORD’S pre-match plans were decimated in the first ten minutes when Janmaat suffered a groin injury stretching to tackle Wilfried Zaha before Behrami limped off following a challenge with Benteke.
- THOSE early substitutions meant that skipper Deeney’s absence from the team was short-lived. The striker had been dropped to the bench after ten games without scoring but ended a 796-minute drought when he buried the penalty for his 100th Watford goal..
- ZAHA won the penalties which settled Palace’s 2013 Play-Off final against Watford and last season’s victory at Vicarage Road. No wonder his every touch was booed by the home supporters.
- IT wasn’t the worst reception a Palace figure received. Allardyce was greeted by inevitable chants of “you’re just a fat greedy b******” in his first game since being sacked by England.
- ALLARDYCE has now managed six different Premier League teams following his previous spells in charge of Bolton, Blackburn, Newcastle, West Ham and Sunderland. He is the first boss to achieve that feat.
- IT’s only a month since Watford were eighth in the Premier League but you certainly wouldn’t back them to finish above Palace based on this display. They could easily get sucked into the relegation scrap if they don’t get their act together quickly.
- GOMES has now saved nine of the 30 penalties he has faced in the Premier League after going the right way to keep out Benteke’s tame effort.
- IT is hard to believe that Watford turned down a £37.5million bid from Shanghai SIPG for Odion Ighalo in the summer. They would be lucky to get £5million for the goal-shy striker right now.
- MATHIEU FLAMINI was making only his second start for Palace following his free transfer from Arsenal but his calming presence in midfield suggested he could be a key figure in the new manager’s survival plans.
- JOSE HOLEBAS received his EIGHTH yellow card of the season for a high, late challenge on Puncheon. That might explain why Watford are bottom of the Fair Play League.
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BIG PICTURE
Next five fixtures
Watford
Jan 1 - Tottenham (H) - PL
Jan 3 - Stoke (A) - PL
Jan 7 - Burton Albion (H) - FAC
Jan 14 - Middlesbrough (H) - PL
Jan 21 - Bournemouth (A) - PL
Crystal Palace
Jan 1 - Arsenal (A) - PL
Jan 3 - Swansea (H) - PL
Jan 7 - Bolton (A) - FA
Jan 14 - West Ham (A) - PL
Jan 21 - Everton (A) - PL
DREAM TEAM RATINGS
SOCIAL SAYS
WHAT THEY SAID
Watford captain Troy Deeney, speaking to Sky Sports: "It's nice to finally get it [his 100th goal for Watford]. I've been having a bit of a stinker recently, so it's a huge weight off my shoulders.
"I thought I was poor against Sunderland so the gaffer had every right to drop me. The rest was just about digging in and making sure we were still in the game."
Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce, speaking to Sky Sports:"It's two points dropped for me. In some ways that's encouraging in your first game, away from home.
"On the balance of what happened it should have been a win but from our point of view there were too many chances thrown away.
"The penalty was the big one, to go 2-0 up and then there could have been another penalty we should have had – that might have got us a win."