Reading 2-2 Watford: Hendrick hits stunner as Royals wipe out Hornets’ two-goal lead

READING FC overturned a two-goal deficit against Watford after a stunning Jeff Hendrick volley 10 minutes from time earned them a point.

Goals either side of half-time from Ismaila Sarr and Ryan Porteous put the Hornets into a commanding lead.

But after Shane Long drew a foul to win a penalty which Tom Ince tucked away, momentum was with the home side.

Hendrick connected deliciously on the volley to blast a shot past Daniel Bachmann to wipe out Watford’s two-goal lead.

Following their FA Cup exit at Old Trafford against a full strength Manchester United side, the Royals looked to pick up their form in the league.

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There was a full league debut for Chelsea loanee Cesare Casadei who was thrown straight into the mix having just arrived last week, while Andy Carroll missed out through suspension.

After losing on their last trip to Berkshire, in the FA Cup third round, Slaven Bilic’s team had a different look with Hamza Choudhury, Keinan Davis and Ismalia Sarr all recently recovering from injury.

In an uneventful start to proceedings, neither side were able to impose themselves to find a breakthrough.

The first big chance of the match was carved out by Tom Ince. Shane Long was set free on the left wing and looked inside to find Ince who cut onto his left and his low drive looked to be headed for the bottom corner, but Watford keeper Daniel Bachmann got fingertips to the shot to keep it out.

The Hornets responded with their first decent opening a few minutes later when Ismaila Sarr was given time to work the ball on his right and try to dig out a shot into the far corner that drifted just wide of Joe Lumley’s goal.

With his next chance, Sarr punished Reading from point blank range when he found an inch of room in the six-yard box to latch onto Henrique Araujo’s low cross and find the net.

Royals defender Amadou Mbengue picked up the first yellow card of the game when he clipped the back of Sarr’s heels when he was released down the left after Hassane Kamara picked a smart pass following his surging run from his own half.

A quick bit of thinking almost gave the Hornets an opening when a throw in set Araujo free in the box, but the angle worked against him from getting a shot at goal.

Reading’s final chance in a threadbare half came with a free-kick from 25 yards that Ince lined up wide on the right, but his shot flew harmlessly over the top as the visitors went into the break with an advantage.

The second-half started with a tame effort at goal from Jeff Hendrick, who scored twice on his last home appearance, after he had a sight at goal from 20 yards that was easily clutched by Bachmann.

Watford then threatened when Sarr had another shot at goal, but Lumley did well to close down his angle and save with his body.

But from the resulting corner, the Hornets doubled their lead. Ryan Porteous lost his marker from the set piece and was allowed a free header which he accepted gratefully and glanced the ball into the far corner.

Ince made his first change in the 56th minute when Tyrese Fornah replaced Casadei after he failed to make a strong impression on his debut.

Trying to get back into the contest, Tom McIntyre made his way forward and found himself on the deck after being challenged by a defender, but his appeals for a spot kick were quickly turned down by the referee.

Lumley prevented the game from being dead and buried when he got a hand to Matheus Martins’ venomous drive at his near post.

The game took a potential turning point when the referee pointed to the spot after Shane Long was adjudged to have been taken down by Craig Cathcart in the penalty area.

Ince stepped up to the mark and tucked the penalty into the bottom corner past Bachmann to get the Royals back within a goal.

Bilic’s team thought they had restored their two-goal advantage with just over 10 minutes to go when Martins’ effort took a deflection off Britt Assombalonga to beat Lumley.

But after deliberating, the linesman raised his flag to make a late call to disallow the goal with the forward standing in an offside position in front of the goalkeeper.

With the atmosphere cranked up a few notches, Reading sensed an opportunity to get something from the game and they snatched it when a deep corner was met by Hendrick who smacked a volley past Bachmann to level the game.

Reading got on the front foot again to try and snatch all three points with Hendrick lurking in the box before a deflection fell the way of Yakou Meite who launched a shot over the target.