The sight of the Watford players leaving the pitch shaking their heads summed up the emotions of most inside Vicarage Road this afternoon as the Hornets let slip a great opportunity to move back to second in the Championship following a dramatic 3-3 draw with Burnley.

The Hornets were in command of the game as it entered injury time after Fernando Forestieri had scored his second to give his side the lead for the first time in the second half.

Gianfranco Zola’s men looked set to move a point back above Hull City, before Tuesday night’s clash between the two sides, only for former boss Sean Dyche’s side to snatch a point when Sam Vokes capitalised on a bad mistake from Matthew Briggs late on.

There had been 69 goals scored in the previous 17 league games between the two sides and the four-goal-a-fixture average was maintained in a captivating first half.

Charlie Austin fired the visitors into the lead inside a minute but it took the Hornets only five minutes to get back on terms when Troy Deeney crashed a shot past Lee Grant.

A Marco Cassetti foul on former Watford loanee Alex Kacaniklic allowed Austin to fire the Clarets back in front after 24 minutes but the hosts were again level within five minutes when Forestieri showed some superb skill to make it 2-2.

Watford almost went in front just before half-time when Deeney hit the bar but they tightened things up after the break and gained the upper hand with 18 minutes remaining when Forestieri fired home a superb second from the edge of the area after some fine build-up play. That should have been that but it was the visitors who were to have the last laugh.

Zola made five changes from the side that performed disappointingly at Barnsley last time out and was able to welcome back three of his big hitters.

On the back of Nyron Nosworthy’s season-ending injury on international duty with Jamaica, Fitz Hall returned after a seven-game absence from the starting line-up. Fulham loanee Briggs was also back in the central defensive trio after injury ruled him out of the trip to Oakwell. Further forward, Almen Abdi and Nathaniel Chalobah returned in the centre of the park, while Forestieri got the nod to partner Deeney up front.

Following their international exertions and, one suspects, with one eye on Tuesday’s big trip to Hull City, Lloyd Doyley and Matej Vydra were on the bench alongside Jonathan Hogg and Mark Yeates, who had both started at Barnsley.

Zola’s Vicarage Road predecessor Dyche made two changes to the side that drew 1-1 at Blackburn Rovers in their last outing. Daniel Lafferty came in for the suspended Ben Mee, while Danny Ings replaced Martin Paterson as top scorer Austin’s strike partner.

However, Dyche was forced into a late adjustment as Michael Duff was injured in the warm-up, meaning Kevin Long was promoted from the bench.

That change may have been unwanted but the Clarets were quickly out of the blocks and took the lead with the first attack of the game after just 41 seconds.

Kacaniklic attacked down the left and his low cross wasn’t dealt with, Ross Wallace’s initial shot was blocked but the ball broke nicely for Austin to sweep left-footed past Jonathan Bond to make it 1-0.

It might have taken some sides some time to get such an early setback out of their system but Watford were soon on the front foot and equalised with their first attempt of the afternoon in the sixth minute.

Ikechi Anya and Forestieri worked the opening as they built from the left before feeding Deeney, who was not closed down and was given the time to take a touch and aim before striking a right-footed shot past Grant to make it 1-1 with his 15th of the campaign.

The tone of the contest looked to have been set and the Clarets went close again from their first corner three minutes later, with Austin seeing a close-range header blocked following the delivery from the right.

Watford soon won their first corner as well, also from the right, with Cassetti’s near-post flick causing some uncertainty in the Burnley rearguard before they were ultimately able to clear their lines.

The game finally started to settle down after that frenetic start but in the 18th minute it was the Hornets’ turn to almost take the lead for the first time.

The hosts built steadily down the right side, with Abdi heavily involved, and it was the Swiss midfielder who found Forestieri on the edge of the area, with the Argentine hitting a shot with the outside of his right boot that almost deceived the diving Grant as he managed to parry the ball clear in somewhat unorthodox fashion.

Six minutes later though, Burnley were back in front.

Again the problems originated down the Hornets right, with the ball back-heeled into the path of Kacaniklic, whose burst into the area was ended by a clumsy challenge from behind by Cassetti. There were few complaints from those in yellow and after about a minute’s delay, Austin did what was required from 12 yards, beating Bond with a spot-kick high into the roof of the net.

The Hornets keeper looked less than certain from the Clarets’ next attack when he started to come and then changed his mind as the ball was played in from the right and it ultimately fell to Chris McCann, but he steered his attempted half-volley over the top.

But what was an engrossing contest was to take another twist in the 29th minute when the Hornets levelled for a second time.

This time it was Hall who found himself in an advanced position up the pitch and he slipped the ball down the inside right channel to Forestieri. The Argentine had a bit of good fortune as he controlled the ball and juggled it but he deserved the break, beating Jason Shackell with some superb skill before firing past Grant from ten yards to make it 2-2.

Austin dragged a shot wide at the other end before Lafferty picked up the game’s first yellow card for a foul on Anya after 35 minutes.

Burnley had another good opportunity soon after when, after a Wallace free-kick had struck the wall, referee David Coote ordered another set piece but from a better position, much to the annoyance of the majority inside Vicarage Road. This time Wallace’s effort did clear the wall but it dropped high and wide of Bond’s left-hand post.

Long headed Burnley’s second corner of the half down a wide of the opposite upright two minutes before the break but in the last minute of the opening period Watford went close to taking the lead for the first time.

A ball forward threatened to release Forestieri but as he checked to go back on his right foot on the edge of the area, he was momentarily dispossessed but then managed to get a foot back in and tee up Deeney. He let fly with a right-footed shot which Grant managed to parry back to his left where Anya had a great chance to convert the rebound, but dragged his follow-up wide.

The Hornets had tweaked their line-up by this stage, with Cassetti moving to the left of the three centre-halves, Briggs going to left wing-back and Anya switching to the opposite flank.

And it was the home side who were to have the last opportunity of the opening period when a delivery in from the left was deflected up and invitingly into the path of Deeney, who lifted it up and over Grant, only to see the ball bounce back off the bar and the bounce did not fall favourably.

Zola was forced into a change within five minutes of the restart when Cassetti limped out of the contest. He was replaced by Doyley to make appearance number 399 in a Hornets shirt and move into tenth place in his own right in the club’s all-time list.

The hosts forced a couple of early corners after the restart and then Long was booked for bundling over Forestieri as he sought to break clear down the right. The angle was perhaps a bit too tight for Abdi but he gave it a good go, with his free-kick hitting the side netting to Grant’s right.

Watford though, were starting to crank up the pressure and they cut their opponents open in the 56th minute when a give-and-go with Chalobah put Briggs in behind the defence on the left but no team-mate was able to connect with his driven ball across the six-yard box.

Burnley created a fine chance of their own soon after when Kacaniklic exchanged passes with Ings and found himself with a good shooting opportunity on the left side of the box, only to try and be too precise and end up hitting the ball straight at Bond.

Dyche made his first change after 62 minutes, with Brian Stock replacing Marvin Bartley, before McCann became the third visiting player to see yellow for a clear trip on Briggs.

Watford were looking the more likely to score a third at this stage and their next opening came in the 66th minute when Briggs sent over a looping cross from the left, Deeney’s downward header was parried by Grant and a combination of the keeper and his defenders prevented Cristian Battocchio getting a clean bite at the follow up.

Shackell headed a corner harmlessly wide at the other end before it was the turn of the Championship’s newly-crowned Player of the Season to enter the fray, with Vydra coming on as a 69th-minute replacement for Anya.

Three minutes later, the Hornets were in front.

Like so many of Watford’s goals this season, it started with some fine play in midfield, including some lovely close control from Chalobah to take himself away from two opponents in his own half. The ball was then worked through the phases to Doyley, who set Battocchio away down the right. He played in a low cross which Deeney swung at and missed but the ball ran through to Forestieri, who took a touch before curling a superb right-footed finish beyond Grant to make it 3-2.

Having got the upper hand in the contest for the first time, there followed some moments of concern for Watford as Abdi and then Chalobah suffered injuries. While the latter was receiving treatement, Dyche played his final hand, bringing on Vokes and Paterson for Wallace and Kacaniklic.

Paterson did have a shot deflected wide soon after coming on but their Hornets were looking largely in control, with Deeney going off as the game entered five minutes of stoppage time to be replaced by Alex Geijo.

That should have been that but in the third minute of injury time Watford were caught napping at the back when Burnley launched a hopeful ball forward and Vokes was able to get the better of a very tame Briggs challenge and beat Bond with a low drive to make it 3-3.

Watford: Bond; Ekstrand, Hall, Briggs; Cassetti (Doyley 49), Abdi, Chalobah, Battocchio, Anya (Vydra 69); Deeney, (Geijo 90) Forestieri. Not used: Yeates, Hogg, Pudil, and Bonham.

Burnley: Grant; Trippier, Shackell, Long, Lafferty; Wallace (Vokes 79), Bartley (Stock 62), McCann, Kacaniklic (Paterson 79); Ings, Austin. Not used: Stanislas, Jensen and Mills.

Bookings: Lafferty for a foul on Anya (35); Long for a foul on Forestieri (54); McCann for a foul on Briggs (63).

Attendance: 15,435 (573 away).

Referee: David Coote.