Watford 2-2 West Bromwich Albion: Valerien Ismael's men held by old club Baggies
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Matheus Martins' 23rd-minute Watford equaliser proved to be the final goal of the night
Watford and West Bromwich Albion shared the points at Vicarage Road as Valerien Ismael's Hornets were held to a draw by his old club in the Championship.
All four goals came inside the first 23 minutes, sparked by Tom Ince opening his Watford account in only the third minute.
But Albion responded in rain-lashed Hertfordshire by scoring twice in three minutes.
John Swift's 14th-minute right-foot free-kick went straight though the Watford wall for his fourth of the season, before Jed Wallace's near-post flicked finish from Darnell Furlong's low right-wing cross gave Albion the lead.
But another three minutes later it was back to parity when Ince fed Matheus Martins who broke through before transferring the ball to his right foot to curl a fine finish just inside the post for his third goal of the season.
Tom Ince curled home the opener at Vicarage Road - his first goal for Watford
It is only 19 months since former Baggies boss Ismael lost his job at The Hawthorns - and it looked like revenge would be sweet when his Hornets stunned Albion with a dramatic start.
Watford worked the ball from left to right across the edge of the box, Imran Louza picked out Ince in space and the much-travelled former Blackpool, Derby County, Stoke City and Luton Town forward curled home a first-time left-foot shot on the angle from 20 yards.
But then came three goals in nine minutes as Albion midfielders Swift and Wallace found the target before Martins made it 2-2.
That surprisingly proved to be the end of the scoring for the evening - but not for the want of trying by both sides.
Martins went close again before he then fed Ismael Kone, who blazed over with only Albion keeper Alex Palmer to beat.
Albion striker Brandon Thomas-Asante unleashed a second-half piledriver destined for the top right corner which brought a great flying save high to his left out of Daniel Bachmann.
But Palmer also had to make a good stop of his own to keep out Kone's header as the game began to deteriorate in the driving rain.
Jed Wallace scored the goal that gave West Brom the lead at Watford - his first of the season
Who's next?
Both sides have won only two of their seven league games this season and remain locked on nine points apiece.
Watford, in 14th, now go to Leeds United on Saturday, when Albion, in 15th, host Millwall.
Watford boss Val Ismael told BBC TCR:
"We have to stop the mistakes and be more ruthless.
"We played well and created a lot of opportunities in difficult conditions.
"We gave West Brom a chance to stay in the game, but to come back into the game shows a great mentality.
West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan:
"We conceded an early goal. It was a poor start to the game. We played a ball we shouldn't have done.
"We should have been more aggressive in defence. But I liked the reaction of the team after the first goal.
"There was a lot of effort but it was not the most technical game. We will analyse, review and improve."