Outstanding Heurelho Gomes save ensures Watford hold Chelsea to deserved point

The Hornets were excellent in the first half, demonstrating good ball retention and usage for the most part, interspersed with more than a little flair at times as they played at a lovely tempo and looked to take the game to their opponents when the opportunity arose. Their best attacking spell came midway through the half and had Odion Ighalo not mistimed a header when Jose Holebas played in a fine cross from the left, another famous Vicarage Road night may have been on the cards.

It may have been sporadic, but the visitors had already served notice of the dangers they could pose in the final third in the opening period and the offensive questions they asked mounted as the second-half minutes ticked by.

Watford’s attacking threat diminished as their resolve at the other end was increasingly tested and in the final ten minutes Chelsea were all but camped in the Hornets half. Ultimately it needed an outstanding save from Heurelho Gomes to preserve a point, the keeper plunging to his right in the closing stages to keep out a Diego Costa header.

One of the main questions before kick-off was whether new signings Mario Suarez or Nordin Amrabat would start for the Hornets. The answer was neither as Quique Sanchez Flores kept faith with largely the same team that beat Newcastle United in the Premier League last time out, making two changes. Holebas, as expected, replaced the ineligible Nathan Ake, while Sebastian Prodl came in for Miguel Britos, who was unwell.

Chelsea’s starting line-up in their 5-1 FA Cup victory against Milton Keynes Dons was arguably closer to full strength than Watford’s in their 1-0 win against Nottingham Forest and Guus Hiddink opted to shuffle his pack, naming a side that showed four changes from Sunday. In came Kurt Zouma, Cesar Azpilicueta, John Obi Mikel and Willian, with Gary Cahill, Baba Rehman, Reuben Loftus-Cheek and Eden Hazard dropping to the bench.

The Blues saw plenty of the ball in the early stages with their hosts using the press in sensible measure to restrict the visitors’ options as they neared the halfway line.

There was no goalmouth action of note until the seventh minute when  Costa was stopped in his tracks as he tried to break, Etienne Capoue lifted the ball forward to Troy Deeney, who used his strength to fine effect to nod it down to Odion Ighalo. The Nigerian took on and got half a yard on John Terry before seeing his right-footed shot deflected behind.

Jose Manuel Jurado, Capoue and Deeney then combined to neat effect before Ighalo fed Juan Carlos Paredes in space on the right, but he could only pick out the head of Zouma with his cross, although the manner in which the visitors then sought to clear their lines thereafter wasn’t entirely convincing.

Referee Mike Dean has his first cause to talk to Costa in the 12th minute after he blatantly shoved Prodl over in trying to create himself some space to get on the end of a cross from the right.

The Chelsea striker showed the better side of his game soon after when he capitalised on a lapse from Valon Behrami and ran at the right side of the Hornets defence but a good challenge by Prodl saw his attempted shot blocked away.

Watford had another half-chance in the 18th minute when a deep Ben Watson corner from the right was headed down by Ighalo, Prodl tried to turn it goalwards and then Deeney and Holebas both went for the same bouncing ball at the far post as the visitors managed to clear.

Watford’s Austrian defender was involved in plenty and in the 19th minute he was booked after tripping Oscar. It was a foul but Prodl had some cause to question why Costa hadn’t received the same punishment for his earlier transgression.

The Hornets were looking good though, and six minutes later they had another opportunity when some lovely build-up play ended with Deeney feeding the ball to Holebas on the left flank. He played in a superb cross which bisected the Blues defence but Ighalo mistimed his leap, letting the visitors off the hook.

Soon after Prodl got up well to meet a Watson corner from the right with a solid header but it brought a routine save from Thibaut Courtois, before the Belgian had another straightforward stop when Ighalo didn’t connect properly having opted to take on a shot early after Deeney had flicked on a Craig Cathcart ball forward.

The Hornets were building up a head of steam and after Jurado had jinked his way across the pitch to set Capoue into space, the midfielder saw his powerful effort blocked by the legs of Courtois.

But Chelsea served a reminder they can create something out of relatively little in the 32nd minute when a long ball out of defence found Costa up against Watford’s two centre-halves. The striker turned and hit a left-footed shot that looked destined for the far corner but a nick off Cathcart took it a yard or so wide.

Oscar saw an effort deflected high and wide of the target as the Blues enjoyed a promising couple of minutes in their opponents’ final third.

That relented for a spell but in the 42nd minute Paredes played Capoue into trouble, the visitors won the ball back but Azpilicueta pulled his shot wide of the far post.

That was it in terms of goalmouth action after an absorbing if goalless opening first period, but in the last minute of the half when events got rather unnecessarily heated in truth.

It started when Paredes and Costa both lined up to contest a ball in front of the dugouts and the Ecuador defender gave the striker a nudge in the back, with the striker letting out an audible yelp as he fell to ground. The referee was content to let play go on but then, almost predictably, Costa grabbed the Watford defender, who didn’t do himself any great favours by the manner in which he rolled on the floor.

There then followed some handbags between both sides, with Flores doing his best to calm down his former Atletico charge before Dean finally acted and booked the pair.

Chelsea were quickly out of the blocks at the start of the second half, with Mikel hitting a shot that was deflected up into the air and towards the Hornets goal as Gomes back-tracked and helped it over his own bar just to make sure.

Watford were soon into their stride again though, and Deeney wasn’t too far away from making the breakthrough with a right-footed shot that went narrowly wide of Courtois’ right-hand upright.

The next opening in the 51st minute as Holebas worked a give-and-go with Capoue as he burst into the left side of the 18-yard box before firing a shot into the side netting.

This was not the type of game to take your eye off for a moment and three minutes later Nemanja Matic released Costa on the left side of the 18-yard box. The striker initially looked like he might try something of his own from an acute angle near the byline, but he opted to pull the ball back for the onrushing Oscar, who stabbed narrowly wide of the near post.

Gomes grabbed a Matic 25-yard volley at the second attempt after a Costa cross had been partially headed clear by Capoue as the visitors continued to marginally edge the second-half proceedings.

Flores decided to make his first change in the 63rd minute as Jurado was replaced by Almen Abdi in a like-for-like change with the Swiss midfielder given a rare chance this season to play in his favoured advanced central role.

Moments later, Deeney nearly bisected the Chelsea rearguard with a pin-point angled pass but Zouma read it and was able to put it behind and prevent Ighalo having a gilt-edged opening.

Watford’s second change wasn’t too far in coming as Allan Nyom came on for Paredes in the 67th minute, but back came the visitors as Oscar cut inside Capoue before hitting a good right-footed shot from 20 yards that Gomes had to dive to his right to push behind.

Hiddink made his first change in the 72nd minute as Eden Hazard replaced Matic, which meant Cesc Fabregas dropped into a deeper midfield role and Oscar moving infield into the more offensive central position behind Costa.

And it didn’t take the Belgian substitute too long to almost make a telling impact. Hazard was allowed to wander into a pocket of space on the right side of the 18-yard box to receive a Willian pass and Hazard pulled it back to Branislav Ivanovic, who connected well enough but Gomes stood strong and produced an excellent reflex parry to keep the game goalless.

Watford’s keeper again needed to be alert to race from his line to prevent Hazard having a clear opening on the other side of the 18-yard box after Willian had pulled the ball across; the midfielder capitalising on the space vacated after Holebas’ attempted surge forward had been halted further upfield.

Watford were now on the back foot and Hazard again pulled the strings, this time crossing from the left for Costa to hook wide at the far post, although the angle was always against him such was his proximity to the byline and the covering Hornets defenders.

Suarez came on for his Hornets debut with four minutes of normal time remaining in place of Capoue but soon after Gomes needed to be at his absolute best to prevent Chelsea from going in front.

After the visitors had worked a corner short on the right, Willian floated over a cross from the right, Costa rose highest at the far post, his header deflected off an opponent and the Brazilian stopper flung himself to his right to produce a fabulous one-handed save.

That was to be the last moment of note of an absorbing contest that saw the Hornets hold out for a deserved point that lifted them up a place to ninth in the table.

Watford: Gomes; Paredes (Nyom 67), Prodl, Cathcart, Holebas; Behrami, Watson, Capoue (Suarez 86); Jurado (Abdi 63); Deeney, Ighalo. Not used: Pantilimon, Amrabat, Guedioura, Anya.

Chelsea: Courtois; Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Azpilicueta; Mikel, Matic (Hazard 72), Willian, Fabregas, Oscar; Diego Costa. Not used: Begovic, Rahman, Traore, Kenedy, Cahill, Loftus-Cheek.

Bookings: Prodl for a foul on Oscar (19); Costa for a scuffle with Paredes (45); Paredes for a scuffle with Costa (45).

Attendance: 20,910 (2,102 away fans).

Referee: Mike Dean.