Jeffers injury-time spot-kick earns Sheffield Wednesday point (From Watford Observer)

Jeffers injury-time spot-kick earns Sheffield Wednesday point

5:07pm Saturday 14th March 2009 in

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Watford were on course to make it six wins out of seven in the league this afternoon until a Francis Jeffers penalty five minutes into injury-time earned Sheffield Wednesday a 2-2 draw.

There appeared to be little debate that Jon Harley tripped Jermaine Johnson to concede the spot-kick, but what made the decision – after Andy Woolmer had finally decided to award the penalty – harder to stomach for Hornets fans was that the Owls should have been reduced to ten men by that point after the official failed to dismiss Richard Wood for what had seemed to be a clear professional foul on Tamas Priskin.

Earlier, a low key first-half had only been memorable for two bizarre goals. The first, a mistake from keeper Hornets keeper Scott Loach, gifted Marcus Tudgay the opener, before the Hornets were handed the equaliser through a Mark Beevers own goal.

A rare headed goal from Jobi McAnuff 11 minutes after the restart looked like it would be enough to secure another Hornets victory, until Harley’s late rash challenge.

Brendan Rodgers was forced into one change following the mid-week win over Nottingham Forest, with Lee Williamson coming in for the injured Grzegorz Rasiak.

This led to a change of formation and the Hornets opened up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Lee Williamson operating between wide men McAnuff and Don Cowie and behind Tamas Priskin.

The home side looked to be positive from the kick-off and they had the game’s first attempt in the fourth minute when Cowie struck a 25-yard free-kick from a central position, but keeper Lee Grant was comfortably behind it.

The Owls then came into the match and had some decent spells of possession, without threatening, but little of note happened until the 12th minute when a poor touch from Harley allowed Johnson to try his luck from the right side of the area, but his shot was blocked.

Johnson, coming in off the right, then combined to neat effect with Jeffers, but his final ball was neither a shot nor or a cross and the ball drifted harmlessly wide of Loach’s right-hand post.

The Wednesday right-winger continued to be at the centre of the action, and embarked on a 40-yard run down the centre of the pitch, as his side countered, before hitting a right-footed effort from the edge of the area which Loach was comfortably behind.

The visitors continued with their shoot on sight policy, with Michael Gray the next to chance his arm, but his effort from the edge of the 18-yard box was blocked by Adrian Mariappa. Johnson then hit over a useful cross from the right which sliced off the boot of Mike Williamson and behind for the first corner of the match. The result was a nightmare for Loach.

The ball was curled into the six-yard box from the left and the Hornets keeper, admittedly under some pressure, inexplicably let a catch squirm through his grasp and Tudgay couldn’t miss as he gently nodded in his 13th of the season to give Wednesday a 1-0 lead.

The Watford boss would have been hoping the goal would have given his side the wake-up call they needed, but they were still struggling to get their game going and no immediate response was forthcoming.

Indeed, things almost got worse after 31 minutes when Tommy Spurr almost executed a superb lob from the left edge of the penalty area, but Loach did well to tip the ball over his own bar.

Mike Williamson picked up the game’s first yellow card four minutes later for a clear foul on Tudgay, but it then needed a useful intervention from the centre-half to prevent Jeffers getting a clear strike on goal after a free-kick forward had skimmed off Mariappa’s head.

The visitors continued to look the better side as half-time approached, with Johnson trying an overhead kick from near the penalty spot, which went well wide of Loach’s left-hand upright.

But in the first minute of first-half injury time, Watford were gifted a route back into the game in truly bizarre fashion.

A long ball forward down the left by Harley bounced behind Beevers with Grant coming out of goal, but as the centre-half went to hook the ball clear he received a nudge in the back from Priskin, which may have been a contributory factor in explaining why he succeeded in only hammering the it past his own keeper to make it 1-1 at the break.

Despite seeing his side get back on terms, Rodgers decided to make a change at the interval, with Will Hoskins replacing Lee Williamson.

It was the visitors who were the first to add to their shots tally after the restart, with Gray fizzing a drive from the edge of the area narrowly over.

But the Owls were forced into change after 53 minutes after Gray had sustained a shoulder injury moments earlier, and he was replaced by Luke Boden. And the substitute arrived on the pitch in time to see his side go behind three minutes later.

A lot of the credit went to Harley, whose tenacity ensured Sean McAllister could only strike a clearance as far as Cowie on the left, and the Scot took one touch before sending over a deep cross to the far post where McAnuff had pulled off his man and headed the ball back across Grant and inside his right-hand post to make it 2-1.

It could have got even better for the Hornets after 63 minutes when Priskin capitalised on a lapse by Boden and sought to play in McAnuff to his right, but the pass was just too heavy and Grant was able to slide to claim the ball at the scorer’s feet.

Wednesday suffered another blow in the 70th minute when they lost Spurr to injury and he was replaced by Frank Simek, and then Jeffers was booked for needlessly getting involved with Loach after Wednesday had won a corner.

But Watford were still looking the more likely of the two sides to score and Cowie wasn’t far away from getting the chance to add a third after 83 minutes – working a give-and-go with Jack Cork before bursting into the area, but Grant just beat him to the ball.

McAnuff was then cautioned for a foul on Lewis Buxton, before Laws played his final hand and brought on Richard Hinds for James O’Connor.

But Wednesday really should have been reduced to ten men with three minutes remaining when Priskin outmuscled Wood, who was the last man, in a one-on-one and was pulled back, but referee Andy Woolmer only deemed what is a red card offence worthy of yellow.

Grant plucked Cowie’s resultant free-kick out from beneath his bar and then Priskin and Mike Williamson both had half-chances to put the game to bed, before the referee decided six minutes of stoppage-time were necessary.

And the fifth of those, Wednesday were gifted the opportunity to equalise.

Harley was favourite to get to the ball when Johnson attacked down the inside-right channel and, after appearing to fall over, the Hornets left-back clearly tripped his opponent.

The referee initially looked like he wasn’t going to give it, but, after consulting his linesman, he changed his mind and Jeffers did the rest from 12 yards to snatch a last-gasp 2-2 draw for the Owls.

Watford: Loach; Doyley, Mariappa, M Williamson, Harley; Jenkins, Cork, McAnuff, L Williamson (Hoskins, 46), Cowie; Priskin. Not used: Hoyte, Lee, Cauna and Parkes.

Sheffield Wednesday: Grant; Buxton, Wood, Beevers, Spurr (Simer, 70); Johnson, O’Connor (Hinds, 85), McAllister, Gray (Boden, 53); Tudgay, Jeffers. Not used: O’Donnell and McMenamin.

Bookings: M Williamson for a foul on Tudgay after 35 mins; Jeffers for confrontation with Loach after 79 mins; McAnuff for a foul on Buxton after 83 mins; Wood for a foul on Priskin after 87 mins.

Attendance: 16,294.

Referee: Andy Woolmer.