League One strugglers Tranmere battled back from three goals down at Vicarage Road to take
Premier League Watford to an FA Cup third round replay. The Hornets looked to be cruising at half-time. Expert finishes from Tom Dele-Bashiru, Nathaniel Chalobah and Roberto Pereyra had the home side 3-0 up, with Tranmere contributing to their own downfall. But the hosts took their eyes off the ball in the second half and Micky Mellon’s men punished them with two goals from set pieces and a penalty awarded by VAR turning the match on its head.
The scoring started in the 12th minute and was all too easy for the hosts. Watford had won their first corner of the match after Adam Masina’s cross was blocked by Jake Caprice, and they took it short. Roberto Pereyra played it to Domingos Quina who in turn found Nathaniel Chalobah who slipped the ball to Tom Dele-Bashiru who was loitering 25 yards from goal. There was no one marking the 20-year-old former
Manchester City prospect and no one interested in closing him down neither. Dele Bashiru took note, took a succession of small touches and then curled a sweet shot inside the left-hand post.