Watford 1-1 Nottingham Forest

Despite taking a third-minute lead through Birmingham City loanee Jordon Mutch Watford threw away two points in allowing Forest midfielder Lewis McGugan to stride forward unchallenged and equalise.

A third home draw of the campaign sees the Hornet's sit handsomely in 11th place after the first third of the season.

Manager Malky Mackay made just one change from the side that came away from Pride Park battered and bruised last weekend, Marvin Sordell dropping to the bench with Troy Deeney making a rare start.

Forest manager Billy Davies left Polish midfielder Radoslaw Majewski on the bench, preferring Chris Cohen alongside skipper Paul McKenna in the middle of the park.

The lead was Watford's just three minutes in after some industrious work down the right from Danny Graham.

Unmarked at the back post midfielder Jordon Mutch collected his third goal in a Hornet's shirt nodding Danny Graham's inch-perfect right-wing cross past away 'keeper, Lee Camp.

However, the lead lasted just seventeen minutes and Forest grabbed a leveller through midfielder Lewis McGugan.

Allowed to run and run, the 22 year-old midfielder lashed a swerving effort past Scott Loach from fully 25 yards.

It wasn't like the Hornet's hadn't been warned, this latest strike was McGugan's eighth of a fruitful campaign from midfield; the 24th of a league career which spans just 74 starts.

Speaking a full time, Mackay was full of praise for Forest as a club, in stark contrast to Billy Davies:

'I've got to be happy with a point. We're playing against an experienced team who were in the play-offs last year, with a good experienced manager and a club that size who can bring people off the bench with the experience they've got and have guys like Paul McKenna and Lee Camp in their team.

'For us to go out and play the way we did and create more chances and, on other day, probably score those chances, I've got to be happy.'

Just for a change, Davies used his post-match comments to bemoan the lack of backing from his board and suggested that Forest we're 'not a top six side', despite last years Play Off defeat:

'They'll win, they'll lose and they'll draw and they are what they are. We are not a top six side and anybody who thinks we are is like comparing that to Britain ruling the world as far as I'm concerned.

'We are what we are, we're getting what we're getting, I can ask no more of this team.

'I compare ourselves with Liverpool for example where you can't blame the previous manager, you can't blame the current manager but the facts are if you want to be a top six side in the Premier League, if you want to be a top six side in the Championship, then you have got to, in my opinion, bring in stellar signings to keep the club moving forward.'

Watford: Loach; Doyley, Mariappa, M.Taylor, A.Taylor; Eustace (c); Bryan, Mutch, McGinn; Deeney and Graham

Subs: Gilmartin (gk); Hodson, Walker, Buckley, Bennett, Sordell and Whichelow.

Nottingham Forest: Camp; Chambers, Morgan, Gunter, Bertrand; Anderson, McKenna (c), Cohen, McGugan; Earnshaw and Blackstock.

Subs: Darlow (gk); Adebola, Tyson, McGoldrick, Moussi, Majewski and Lynch.

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