Watford moved up to ninth in the Premier league table as substitute Abdoulaye Doucoure scored a late equaliser in their 1-1 draw against Newcastle
Salomon Rondon gave the visitors a surprise lead in the first half (29) shortly after Gerard Deulofeu squandered a great opportunity to put the hosts in front
But Watford grabbed a deserved equaliser through substitute Doucoure (82), who converted his powerful header from close range
The result means Watford are four points behind sixth-placed Manchester United on 28 points, while Newcastle are 15th
Watford started the game stronger and Deulofeu was presented with a glorious chance to give them the lead in the 16th minute
 Roberto Pereyra's fine floated ball put the former Barcelona forward into a one-on-one position, but Martin Dubravka did well to block his shot aimed for the bottom corner
Although Javi Gracia's side looked the more likely team to take the lead, it was the visitors who broke the deadlock thanks to Rondon
 The Venezuela international sneaked into a gap between Craig Cathcart and Adam Masina at the far post and converted Matt Ritchie's early cross by powering his header past Ben Foster for his fifth Premier League goal of the season
The goal seemed to rattle the Watford defence as Rondon had the ball in the net 10 minutes later, but it was chalked off for offside
 Watford did create another good chance through Isaac Success shortly before half-time, but his venomous strike was batted away by Dubravka
With Newcastle starting the second half on the front foot, and Ritchie looking particularly lively for the visitors, Gracia elected to bring on Troy Deeney and Doucoure in search of an equaliser early on - and the decision paid off
Deulofeu delivered a fine cross from the right flank for the unmarked Doucoure, who steered his header into the top corner
Watford continued to press for the winner in the final few minutes with Success' tame effort landing into the grateful arms of Dubravka as Newcastle held on for a precious point
"It was a difficult game
 We knew before the start that after conceding the goal it was even more difficult but we had the possession
 We knew we would have the possession but it wasn't enough to control the game all the time
"We created good chances in the beginning and when they scored their goal it was more difficult for us
 We tried until the end
 We crated some new chances and we scored one goal for the draw
" "It's frustrating
 You have to give credit to our players because they're working so hard trying to do the things that we wanted them to do
"We did well against a good team and they are where they are in the table because they have some good players and the play well
 I'm happy with the effort and the work rate of everyone
"With Watford looking relatively uninspiring going forward after going a goal down, Doucoure helped swing the game in the hosts' favour when he was introduced off the bench early in the second half
He combined well with fellow substitute Deeney to cause the Newcastle defence problems and capped his performance off with a crucial equaliser in the 82nd minute as he displayed his goalscoring prowess once again
Watford travel to Bournemouth on January 2
 Newcastle, meanwhile, host Manchester United on the same evening
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