The inability to maintain possession and poor defending cost Watford this afternoon as they gave away a two-goal lead to draw with Blackburn Rovers and were fortunate not to leave empty handed.

In truth, the Hornets were fortunate to go into the break two goals to the good, thanks to fine strikes from Matej Vydra and Daniel Tozser, after a dominant display from the home side.

And Rovers pulled a goal back immediately after the restart when Rudy Gestede headed in and secured a deserved equaliser on 77 minutes through Ryan Tunnicliffe.

The Blackburn dominance continued as the match came to a close and Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes twice had to save from close range to ensure the Golden Boys returned home with a point.

Hornets head coach Oscar Garcia watched on from the directors’ box after being given the all-clear from the doctors after chest pains resulted in the Spaniard spending a week in hospital.

The draw means Watford have yet to win at Ewood Park for 14 years – a run of four matches, the previous three of which ended in defeat.

The Golden Boys made four changes into their starting XI. Two were forced with Gabriel Tamas out for several months due to a serious knee injury and Almen Abdi was missing with a thigh problem. Joel Ekstrand and Lloyd Dyer also dropped to the bench as Gabriele Angella, Craig Cathcart, Gianni Munari and Odion Ighalo came in.

The Hornets started in a 4-2-3-1 formation as Munari and Tozser sat in front of the back four and Sean Murray started on the left of the three behind Ighalo. However, it was a very fluid system which would often see Murray drop in alongside the centre midfielders and Vydra push high up the pitch alongside Ighalo.

It was a lively start from both sides and Watford arguably should have taken the lead inside the opening two minutes. Anya burst into the box wide right and could have gone it alone but cut the ball back to the unmarked Ighalo, only for the former Granada man to shoot wide first time from ten yards out.

The home side didn’t have to wait long for their opening opportunity either as full back Alex Baptiste cut on to his left foot and had a 20-yard effort saved by Gomes at the near post.

Watford have struggled to keep the ball for prolonged periods in recent weeks and they were again inviting pressure from Rovers with sloppy passes out of defence, one of which led to Jordan Rhodes shooting wide from distance. The prolific Rovers’ striker also would have been clean through had it not been for good last-ditch defending by Paredes.

Blackburn played with a high defensive line which arguably suits Watford. The visitors were carrying a threat when they reached the final third and Ighalo showed nice footwork before bringing a save out of Jason Steele from inside the area.

Gomes’ handling has been shaky at times in recent weeks but he again held on to another shot from distance; this time a powerful strike from Tom Cairney.

Rovers looked more confident in possession and were the team controlling the pace of the game.

But it was the Hornets who took the lead on the half-hour mark and in impressive fashion. Cathcart released Vydra and whilst his second touch allowed several defenders to recover, the 22-year-old shifted the ball on to his left foot and curled his shot from the edge of the area into the far corner.

Rudy Gestede almost equalised with a similar strike from slightly further out as they applied pressure but the visitors increased their lead 11 minutes after the opener when Tozser sent a 25-yard free-kick into the bottom corner. Steele was that side of his goal and arguably should have saved, even though it was a superb strike from the Hungarian international.

Watford were far from their best as they struggled to keep the ball but went into the break with a two-goal advantage, However, that lasted just 20 seconds in the second half as Marcus Olsson’s cross from deep on the left flank was headed powerfully past Gomes by Getede.

And the former Cardiff City striker could have equalised 90 seconds later as Paredes failed to clear a cross and Gestede sliced a shot from 12 yards wide of the near post.

Blackburn were dominant at the start of the second half and Watford were attempting to slow down the pace of the game, which eventually resulted in Gomes being booked for time wasting.

There were a few passages of neat play from the Golden Boys which didn’t amount to much but showed they were a threat on the counter. Ighalo worked hard and picked up a few good positions but his finishing leaves a lot to be desired and that was evident again on the hour when he completely missed the ball when receiving a cross from Anya. The offside flag reduced his embarrassment.

At the other end, Gestede was proving a constant threat and almost equalised when he lifted the ball over the on-rushing Gomes only for the ball to bounce wide.

Watford kept the ball better as the match wore on which helped reduce the Rovers pressure. The introduction of Lloyd Dyer, for Ighalo, also added additional pace on the counter-attack.

But it wasn’t long until Blackburn regained control and the Hornets sloppy defending eventually proved costly with 13 minutes remaining. Rovers countered following a Watford goal kick and Ben Marshall overlapped Cairney before standing up a cross which was headed in from close range by substitute Tunnicliffe.

Dyer almost reached a cross from Tozser and Munari headed well wide but the Hornets were lucky to leave Ewood Park with a point.

Cairney hit the crossbar with a free-kick, Gestede forced Gomes to save from eight yards out moments later and then Rhodes had a goal ruled out for a foul on the Watford goalkeeper.

Rhodes could have snatched a winner again when through on goal but Gomes saved from close range once more.

Sacrificing a two-goal lead will be hugely frustrating for the Golden Boys players but they were fortunate to leave with a point, let alone all three.

Blackburn: Steele; Baptiste (Conway HT), Hanley, Duffy, Olsson; Cairney, Williamson (Tunnicliffe 62), Evans, Marshall; Rhodes, Gestede.

Subs: Eastwood, Kilgallon, King, Varney, Taylor.

Watford: Gomes; Paredes, Angella, Cathcart, Pudil; Anya (Ekstrand 88), Tozser, Munari, Murray (Forestieri 80); Vydra, Ighalo (Dyer 69).

Subs: Bond, Hoban, McGugan, Fabbrini.

Referee: Darren Drysdale.

Attendance: 14,084 (675 away).