WATFORD have their first point of the season on the board after an excellent Ashley Young brace enabled his side to turn a 3-1 half-time deficit into a 3-3 draw at Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday, August 9.

Some less than impressive defending by the visitors enabled Michael Evans, Tony Capaldi and Paul Wotton to net for the home side in the first-half, while Marlon King scored his first goal for the Hornets. However, a superb Young free-kick started the revival and he duly completed it with fine finish.

Adrian Boothroyd made just the one change from Saturday's opening day defeat against Preston, with James Chambers replacing Jordan Stewart, who dropped to the bench. Fit-again skipper Gavin Mahon was also among the replacements, meaning there was no place for Toumani Diagouraga.

Fresh from their 2-1 victory at Reading, Plymouth also made one change Nick Chadwick coming in for Bjarni Gudjonsson - and switched back to a 4-4-2 formation.

The match got off to a terrible start for the Hornets, who found themselves a goal down after just three minutes. An Akos Buzasky corner from the left was mis-hit back to him by Al Bangura, and the midfielder swung over a fine cross to the far post where Evans was presented with a routine header from three yards out.

Wotton then saw a 30-yard free-kick deflected behind off the wall, but Watford survived the corner, although Ben Foster was less than convincing in coming for the ball.

Bangura had a half-volley deflected through to Romain Larrieu and Darius Henderson headed a cross tamely down as the Hornets tried to establish a foothold in the game, but they were left with a mountain to climb after 11 minutes. From a throw in on the right, Evans had a shot blocked but the ball fell nicely for Capaldi, 20 yards from goal, and he placed a low, left-footed shot inside Foster's left-hand post to make it 2-0.

It might have been even worse after 16 minutes when Chadwick narrowly failed to connect with a Buzsaky corner from the left, but five minutes later Bangura picked up his second booking in as many games for a late lunge on Buzsaky, although he was quickly joined by Rufus Brevett after the left-back fouled Young.

Watford were almost in trouble again after 26 minutes when a long throw from the right fell for Chadwick in the six-yard box, but he couldn't control the ball which ran through for Foster.

Bangura was well off target with a 20-yard attempt on 33 minutes, but within a minute Watford were back in the game. Henderson hooked the ball over his shoulder from inside the centre circle to send Anthony McNamee streaking clear on the left. The midfielder looked to have taken too much time as the Plymouth defence regrouped, but he fired in a shot which Larrieu could only parry back into the path of King, who calmly steered the ball home from eight yards.

The Hornets had to make a change after 38 minutes when Stewart replaced Lloyd Doyley, who had picked up a knock to his back, but soon after Henderson pulled a left-foot shot wide of the far post, when well-placed on the edge of the area.

Foster picked up a yellow card on 42 minutes for carrying the ball outside his area, although he was under pressure from Chadwick, but from the resultant free-kick Argyle restored their two-goal advantage. Buzasky rolled the set-piece from the left side of the 18-yard box back to Hasney Aljofree, whose shot was going off-target before it sliced off the boot of Jay DeMerit and into the path of the unmarked Wotton, who took aim and slammed a rising drive into the roof of the net from the right side of the six-yard box to make it 3-1.

Not surprisingly, Mahon entered the fray at the start of the second-half as a replacement for Bangura, and five minutes later Paul Devlin was on for McNamee and also on the pitch in time to see Watford score in delightful fashion. After Buzsaky had fouled Henderson around 22 yards from goal, Young curled a wonderful right-footed free-kick over the wall and away from Larrieu to score his first goal in over a season.

Moments later, it could have been 3-3 when Dominic Blizzard played in the overlapping Chambers, and he stepped inside Brevett before striking a left-foot shot just the wrong side of the near post.

But on the hour Watford did equalise in fine fashion. A long Foster clearance was flicked on by Henderson to Young, who stepped outside his man on the edge of the area to create space for himself before lashing a low, right-footed shot into the bottom left-hand corner to net his second in the space of nine minutes.

The Hornets had the ball in the back of the net again two minutes later, but this time King was flagged offside, and then Watford had a reasonable penalty appeal turned down when Henderson was eased off the ball by Mathias Kouo-Doumbe as he shaped to shoot.

Watford continued to boss affairs, although Evans fizzed an angled header over following an Argyle corner on 74 minutes, but soon after a Young corner from the right was headed back to Dominic Blizzard, who didn't connect properly but his attempt was going in until Aljofree sliced the ball over his own bar.

Plymouth could have had the Hornets in trouble on 80 minutes when Brevett's quickly taken free-kick set David Norris free on the left, but he pulled his cross back too deep, and then at the other end the ball fell for King in the inside left channel but he dragged a low, left-footed attempt across the target and wide.

The Hornets continued to look the more likely to score a decisive fourth, and they had another opening when Devlin played in Chambers with a reverse pass but the right-back's low centre was cut out by Larrieu at the near post as Henderson waited to pounce.

Devlin picked up a yellow card on 85 minutes for a foul on Brevett, as did Chambers soon after for body-checking substitute Bojan Djordjic, but neither side were able to find the winner to take all three points.

Plymouth Argyle: Larrieu; Barness, Kouo-Doumbe, Aljofree, Brevett; Norris, Wotton, Buzsaky, Capaldi; Chadwick, Evans. Substitutes: Taylor for Chadwick after 59 mins; Djordjic for Capaldi after 63 mins; Gudjonsson, Connolly and McCormick not used.

Watford: Foster; Doyley, DeMerit, Carlisle, Chambers; Young, Blizzard, Bangura, McNamee; King, Henderson. Substitutes: Stewart for Doyley after 38 mins; Mahon for Bangura after 45 mins; Devlin for McNamee after 50 mins; Bouazza and Chamberlain not used.

Bookings: Bangura for a foul on Buzsaky after 21 mins; Brevett for a foul on Young after 23 mins; Foster for handling outside the area after 42 mins; Devlin for a foul on Brevett after 85 mins; Chambers for a foul on Djordjic after 88 mins.

Attendance: 13,813.

Referee: Lee Probert (Gloucs).