Rasiak and Priskin secure points against Forest

Goals from the Hornets’ two in-form strikers – Grzegorz Rasiak and Tamas Priskin – either side of Matt Thornhill’s equaliser gave Brendan Rodgers’ men a 2-1 lead at the break that they hold onto after the break.

In truth, the winning margin should have been more and the failure to score a third goal led to an anxious finale, but the Hornets held on to secure their fifth win in their last six league outings.

Brendan Rodgers made just the one enforced change, with Rasiak promoted from the bench to replace the injured Tommy Smith.

Forest deployed a 4-5-1 formation, with Guy Moussi playing the midfield holding role, but it was the home side who had the first semblance of an attempt in the second minute when Jobi McAnuff saw a cross-shot from the right side of the area blocked. But three minutes later Watford were in front.

Don Cowie took the Hornets’ first free-kick of the game from the right side and Adrian Mariappa got in a clean header that looked to be goal-bound until it was blocked. The ball then rebounded to the edge of the Forest area where Ross Jenkins went in for a challenge and the ball ricocheted back towards the far post where the unmarked Rasiak climbed above Priskin to loop a header beyond the stranded Paul Smith to net his seventh goal for the Hornets and get them off to the ideal start.

And that great opening nearly got even better in the 13th minute.

Rasiak turned supplier with a lovely ball from halfway, tight to the left touchline, into the path of Priskin, who advanced into the area before laying the ball inside to Jack Cork. The Chelsea loanee shaped to open up a shooting opportunity, but when he was closed down he laid the ball into the path of the onrushing Cowie, who, with the goal at his mercy, sliced a volley wide of Smith’s left-hand post from eight yards.

The visitors tried to respond with Wes Morgan heading a free-kick comfortably wide of Scott Loach’s right-hand post, but then an awful lapse from left-back Joel Lynch allowed McAnuff to latch onto a mis-hit cross-field pass from Jon Harley and find Rasiak bursting into the area, but the striker was closed down as he shaped to shoot.

But with everything seemingly going swimmingly, Vicarage Road was stunned into silence in the 17th minute.

A ball was played down the inside right channel to Gary McSheffrey, who laid the ball back to the edge of the area where Matt Thornhill connected well with a right-footed shot, but Loach’s view was blocked by Mike Williamson and the ball was past the Hornets keeper before he really had time to react as the visitors made it 1-1.

Having been pegged though, Watford so nearly regained the lead moments later when Mike Williamson met McAnuff’s corner from the right with a first-time volley that Smith did well to save.

McAnuff was ripping Lynch to shreds in the early stages, but the admittedly injured left-back was saved further punishment in the 21st minute when he was replaced by Ian Breckin. The substitute went to centre-half, with Kelvin Wilson moving across to the left.

A low cross-shot caused problems in the Watford rearguard, but the home side still looked the more likely to score again and they nearly did so when Priskin’s neat back-heel set Rasiak free on the right side of the area, and the on-loan Southampton forward pulled the ball back to Cowie, who volleyed high and wide of the target.

However, Forest felt they should have had a free-kick on the edge of the Hornets box in the 29th minute when Mike Williamson dangerously dangled a leg out and Nathan Tyson went over it, but the striker was booked moments later for blocking Loach’s attempted quick restart.

It was the visitors who had the next attempt in the 38th minute when Loach had to get down smartly at his near post to hold on to a daisy-cutter from Gareth McCleary, before Lewis McGugan sent a cross from a free-kick that turned into a goal attempt into the gloves of the Watford keeper.

But the home side regained the advantage two minutes before the interval with a superbly-worked second goal.

The move began with a good pass forward from Lloyd Doyley, who picked out Priskin. He nodded the ball inside to Rasiak, who in turn lifted the ball beyond the flat Forest rearguard and sent his strike-partner streaking clear and such is the red hot Hungarian’s run of form, there was never any real doubt that he would slide the ball beyond Smith to score his seventh in his last eight outings to give the home side a 2-1 advantage.

And that was how it remained at the end of a frequently frenetic, but enjoyable opening period.

Billy Davies made a second change at the interval, with Robert Earnshaw coming on for fellow replacement Breckin in what looked to be a calculated gamble as the visitors went to three at the back.

But it was Watford who started the second period as they had finished the first, with McAnuff coming into a central position to pull a left-footed shot from the edge of the area wide of Smith’s left-hand upright.

Priskin then worked a neat one-two with Cowie and dragged the ball back, before seeing a right-footed curler from the edge of the box deflected narrowly over the top. And from the resultant corner it took the excellent reflexes of the Forest stopper to stop the Hornets from netting a third, as Mike Williamson stole in round the back to meet McAnuff’s deep set-piece, and Rasiak looked certain to score a second, only to be thwarted by Smith’s goalline intervention.

McAnuff tested the visiting keeper with a low drive as the Hornets continued to up the ante and intelligently utilising the space where the full-backs would have been had the Forest boss not opted to change things around.

The Hornets were threatening to run riot, with Priskin’s back-heel finding Cork on the right side of the area and his effort with the outside of his right foot was headed over, before Davies made his third and final change, bringing on Isaiah Osbourne for Moussi after 55 minutes.

Surprisingly, the game then went off the boil for a period until Harley earned himself another suspension after picking up his tenth yellow card of the campaign for a foul on McCleary, and then Rasiak headed the Hornets’ seventh corner of the second period wide of Smith’s right-hand post.

However, while they remained only one behind, there was always the chance that the visitors might conjur up an equaliser and that nearly arrived in the 75th minute when Loach did well to push a McCleary shot that bounced just in front of him around his near post.

But still Watford looked dangerous with McAnuff exchanging passes with Doyley before scampering towards to the byline and crossing, but Rasiak wasn’t able to grow tall enough to direct his header on target.

Forest became increasingly desperate as the closing stages beckoned, but as the tension around Vicarage Road grew Watford remained organised and disciplined, although they were perhaps guilty of letting their opponents having possession rather too readily at times.

But there were worrying signs in the closing stages when Rasiak went down – and stayed down – following a challenge and needed to be stretchered off. He was replaced by Lee Williamson as the fourth official showed four minutes of time to be played.

The tension rose still further when Forest won only their second corner of the match deep into injury-time, but the home side saw off the danger to deservedly pick up another three points.

Watford: Loach; Doyley, Mariappa, M Williamson, Harley; McAnuff, Jenkins, Cork, Cowie; Priskin, Rasiak (L Williamson, 90). Not used: Hoyte, Lee, Cauna, Parkes.

Nottingham Forest: Smith; Chambers, Morgan, Wilson, Lynch (Breckin, 21; Earnshaw, 46)); McCleary, Thornhill, Moussi (Osbourne, 55), McGugan, McSheffrey; Tyson. Not used: Garner and Gamble.

Bookings: Tyson for delaying a restart after 29 mins; Harley for a foul on McCleary after 70 mins.

Attendance: 14,730.

Referee: Mark Haywood.