Match Report: Watford 3-2 West Bromwich Albion

A Ken Sema brace inspired Watford to a dramatic victory over fellow Sky Bet Championship play-off hopefuls West Bromwich Albion, with the teams’ breathless encounter ending 3-2 to the hosts under the lights at Vicarage Road.

Both sides enjoyed plenty of possession and chances throughout the 90 minutes, and while Ismaïla Sarr and Keinan Davis both went close, Sema’s far-post jab was all that either team had to show for their efforts at half-time.

A chaotic second half brought with it a bundle of goals, and after Conor Townsend, Sarr and Jed Wallace traded blows, Sema struck again 12 minutes from time with what ultimately proved to be the winner.

A first win since mid-January lifts Slaven Bilić’s charges back up to fifth in the second-tier standings after 33 games, with a trip to second-placed Sheffield United next up on Saturday (February 25, 3pm KO).

Head Coach Slaven Bilić - managing his 200th game in English football against his former side - made just one change to the XI that started the 1-1 draw at Burnley last time out, with James Morris coming in for the injured Hassane Kamara at left-back.

With the match underway, an early foul on Davis gifted Sema a free-kick opportunity from 35 yards, and the Swede picked out Ismaël Koné with a clever dink who headed across goal under pressure from away defender Darnell Furlong.

The Hornets were enjoying much of the possession in the centre of the park - with Hamza Choudhury and Koné pulling the strings in the opening stages - but at the other end Ryan Porteous was alert to demonstrate his defensive prowess up against Brandon Thomas-Asante and then Wallace before the 10-minute mark.

Thomas-Asante wasted the game’s first real clear-cut opportunity 12 minutes later, diverting a free header off target following a neat Marc Albrighton cross, but Watford issued an immediate response to take the lead.

A marauding run from Mario Gaspar down the right eventually saw the Spaniard find Davis in the 18-yard box, with the forward’s effort being denied by a combination of Furlong and goalkeeper Josh Griffiths only for Sema to bundle in at the back post for 1-0.

Sarr worked his way into a shooting opportunity quickly after the restart, but fired a wild shot over the bar, and then the Baggies served a reminder of their quality with John Swift going close at the end of an impressive counter-attacking move.

The hosts grew in confidence and swagger as the game ticked towards half-time, and after Davis was denied by Griffiths one-on-one from a tight angle, the former England youth international then failed to properly connect with a headed chance in space.

A blocked Albrighton attempt in the aftermath of a corner sparked penalty appeals from the visitors close to the whistle - though referee Tim Robinson wasn’t interested - and Watford maintained their composure to take a deserved lead into the interval.

West Brom Head Coach Carlos Corberán made two changes for the second 45 - with Grady Diangana and Jayson Molumby being introduced to the action -and with play resumed Choudhury was quickly shown a yellow card for a strong challenge on Swift.

Both teams found it difficult to create scoring chances of any real meaning for the next eight or nine minutes - with Thomas-Asante shooting high and wide having caught a rare sight of goal - but then Bachmann was required to palm away a stinging drive from the on-rushing Swift.

The men from the Black Country suddenly found their clinical edge and were back on level terms within seconds, with Townsend profiting from Watford’s inability to clear their lines and prodding in from close range to make it 1-1.

Sarr almost provided the perfect reaction when he bullied his way into the away box and hit the outside of the post, but the Golden Boys were lucky they didn’t go behind when Okay Yokuşlu mis-cued another free header.

The end-to-end nature of the game typically presented Watford with another chance before long however, and this time Sarr made no mistake in the 66th minute, the Senegal international smashing in his ninth of the season in the follow-up to a Koné mishit.

The momentum swung back in the Baggies’ favour moments later, with Wallace making the most of a defensive mix-up to fire home and make it 2-2, and although Sema then looked to have restored the Hornets’ lead after reacting quickest to a Griffiths parry, the goal was ruled out for offside.

The game was finely poised with 15 minutes to go, but it needed just three for the scoreline to change once again, this time Sema legally finding the net with a curling effort that deflected in off the leg of Erik Pieters.

João Pedro went close to notching a fourth for Watford close to the death, though he couldn’t scrape his shot past a stubborn Griffiths, but Watford withheld away pressure throughout six minutes of added time to get over the line and secure the win.