Eddie Howe felt Bournemouth were “unfortunate not to win” but knew beforehand Watford could cause a problem from set plays.

The Hornets led twice in the 2-2 draw as Christian Kabasele and Troy Deeney both headed home from corners, but on both occasions the Cherries were able to get back on terms through Joshua King and substitute Benik Afobe.

The Cherries had come into the game with only one win in their last five league outings and Howe said: “I thought it was a good performance, especially in the second half I thought we played very well. We started the game really well and got knocked by their goal. Overall I felt we were unfortunate not to win.”

Asked if he was frustrated at conceding twice from set plays, the Bournemouth boss responded: “You could say that. We defended well in open play today. I don’t think Artur’s (Boruc) had too much to do, one save down low in the second half, so in open play we were fine.

“Set plays, we knew that was going to be a strength of theirs. They’re a really big team. But still the manner of the two set plays was disappointing but we have to look for positives. The character of the team was superb to comeback when losing and the impact the subs made should give us a huge boost.”