Watford 2-2 Sunderland - final game of 2015-16 season

Watford 2-2 Sunderland

Flores’ last game as Watford manager ends in draw with Sunderland

Home team scorers
Sebastien Prodl 48
Troy Deeney 61 Pen

Away team scorers
Jack Rodwell 39
Jeremain Lens 51

For much of the season it looked as if this fixture could feature an emotional farewell to the Premier League – and so, in a way, it proved. In the end, though, Sunderland came into it safe from relegation and only Watford’s manager, Quique Sánchez Flores, was departing. The home fans gave their verdict on this week’s controversial managerial manoeuvres before kick-off, when the Vicarage Road End displayed a large banner bearing Flores’s face – and the Rookery End raised a significantly larger one dedicated to the club’s owner and the man who effectively sacked him, Gino Pozzo.

Sam Allardyce has done little wrong in the eyes of Sunderland’s fans and although he repeatedly rejected their loud requests for him to dance, he did give them a demonstration of – and these aren’t words that have often been written about the club recently – the strength of both his squad and his youth team. He rewarded most of the players who had secured his side’s survival with victory over Everton on Wednesday with a day off, making nine changes to the team that started that game, leaving only Lamine Koné and DeAndre Yedlin in the starting XI. The team’s left flank, in winger Rees Greenwood and the left-back Tom Robson, was populated entirely by 20-year-old debutants, while the 21-year-old George Honeyman came on for Greenwood in the second half to make his own debut.

While Watford started well, their opponents never looked like a ragtag collection of squad players, let alone a collection of squad players at a nearly relegated club, although the lack of intensity in the early stages must have helped them to settle. Eight seconds short of 15 minutes had been played before the referee, Kevin Friend, was forced to blow his whistle for the first time, when John O’Shea handled in the centre circle while under no pressure, and the first foul came six minutes later.

By then the home side had wasted several decent opportunities, Almen Abdi coming closest as he twirled and shot just wide from the edge of the area in the sixth minute. More chances came and went, Sebastian Prödl failing to find the goal with a free header from Adlène Guedioura’s 23rd-minute corner, Odion Ighalo’s shot deflecting just wide and both José Manuel Jurado and Nathan Aké testing Jordan Pickford with shots from outside the area.

The closest Sunderland came to a goal in the opening 38 minutes was when Duncan Watmore’s volleyed centre was turned just over his own bar by Miguel Britos – but the first time they forced Heurelho Gomes into action it led to a goal. Prödl’s slip allowed Dame N’Doye to run unhindered down the left before passing inside to Jeremain Lens, whose drive was well saved. At this point Prödl, now back in his defensive position, fell over again and the ball was immediately worked back to Lens, whose low centre was turned into a now totally exposed goal by Jack Rodwell.

Two minutes later they scored again, Watmore running clear of the Watford defence on to Lens’ pass and sliding the ball low past an advancing Gomes – but although he appeared to be fractionally behind Aké when the ball was played the referee’s assistant raised his flag. Two minutes after that they might have had another, Prödl’s last-ditch challenge deflecting N’Doye’s shot wide.

In the minutes after half-time the game swung one way and then another, with the same two men at the heart of both incidents. In the 48th minute Prödl headed in a Guedioura corner, having apparently given his marker, O’Shea, a shove as the ball swung its way towards them. When Watford got another corner two minutes later O’Shea was not taking any chances, with both arms around the giant Austrian defender as the ball came in. The ball was cleared, Sunderland broke and moments later Watmore played in Lens, who turned inside Aké and scored from 10 yards.

Sunderland might have felt that those two incidents evened themselves out but eight minutes later they were cursing. Sebastian Larsson’s right-wing free-kick was headed in by a diving Lens at the far post – but again it was disallowed for an extremely marginal offside. Watford took the free-kick, sped up the other end and promptly won a rather soft penalty, after O’Shea and Koné simultaneously ran into Jurado. Deeney swept it in as Pickford dived the wrong way.

Guardian