Jewison Bennette late show stuns Watford and saves point for Sunderland

Sunderland substitute Jewison Bennette earned his side a 2-2 draw at Watford with an 87th-minute equaliser at Vicarage Road.

It was the second time in the contest that Tony Mowbray’s side had come from behind.

With the game ebbing away from the Wearsiders, Patrick Roberts clipped over a cross that evaded the Watford central defenders and dropped at the feet of Bennette, who swivelled and turned home to level a match full of errors and curious goals.

Such a prospect did not look likely in a dour opening half-hour.

Without the injured Ross Stewart, Mowbray had decided against trying to play a false number nine and instead pressed four players up as a false forward line up against the Watford rearguard.

Elliot Embleton and Alex Pritchard occupied the central roles, while Patrick Roberts and Jack Clarke kept the home full-backs fully occupied in their own half, denying them the freedom to burst forward on the overlap.

Watford were left to send over a series of crosses that were delivered by players who should have been in the area to receive them, which played into the aerial dominance of Sunderland central defender Danny Batth in particular.

It all added up to a contest that was tactically fascinating but low on goalmouth action apart from a Lynden Gooch shot that drifted wide and a João Pedro effort that was comfortably held by Anthony Patterson.

Then, out of nowhere, Colombian teenager Yáser Asprilla curled a clever ball into space on the left for Hassane Kamara to chase. The full-back’s cross was shovelled into the path of Keinan Davis by Sunderland goalkeeper Patterson, leaving the on-loan Aston Villa striker the easiest of tap-ins on his first Watford start.

If that goal came as a surprise, it was nothing compared to