Swansea fight back to claim draw with Watford

Zan Vipotnik's goal was his first of the season

Zan Vipotnik's late header saw Swansea City fight back to draw with Watford after teenager Nestory Irankunda's sparkling free-kick had looked set to end the Hornets' long wait for an away win.

Substitute Vipotnik glanced home with almost his first touch as Alan Sheehan's side salvaged a point.

Irankunda's first-half goal was his first since he joined Watford from Bayern Munich in the summer – and it may be a while before he scores a better one.

Having been fouled by Josh Key, the 19-year-old Australia international picked himself up and whipped the set-piece over the Swansea wall and high into the corner of the net.

Watford had been knocking at the door, with Luca Kjerrumgaard denied when his far-post header was pushed on to the bar by Swansea goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux and then again when Ben Cabango acrobatically hooked off the line.

Kjerrumgaard's drive forced another save from Vigouroux early in the second half before Swansea finally began to offer an attacking threat around the hour mark.

After Liam Cullen turned Josh Tymon's low cross on to the near post, Watford were on course to hang on a first away win since February.

But Slovenia forward Vipotnik, who has been linked with a move away from Swansea in this transfer window, met Ethan Galbraith's cross with a header which bounced into the net via the far post.

From that point it was Swansea who looked the more likely winners, with Goncalo Franco denied by Egil Selvik in added time and Vipotnik coming agonisingly close to tapping in the rebound.

Nestory Irankunda joined Watford from Bayern Munich for an undisclosed fee in July

Analysis: Watford impress – before Swansea find admirable response

Swansea's home form under Sheehan has been very impressive, with six wins – all of which came with clean sheets - and only one defeat in eight league games before this since he took charge of a team who had been in alarming form in February.

Watford, meanwhile, came to Wales on the back of six straight second-tier defeats on their travels, the club's worst run of away league losses outside the top flight since 1993.

But this is the Championship, where the only thing predictable is that results are hard to predict.

Watford's physical power combined with the attacking menace offered by Irankunda and fellow summer signing Kjerrumgard caused Swansea plenty of problems for the first hour of the contest.

Boss Paulo Pezzolano will be frustrated Watford did not seal all three points during that period, while there will be concern for the Uruguayan about the injury which forced Irankunda off just before the momentum of the game changed.

Opposite number Sheehan, meanwhile, can take heart from the resilience his side showed to find a way back into a match which seemed to be getting away from them.

Another man who will have been pleased with Swansea's response is Cordell Broadus, the son of rapper Snoop Dogg, who was introduced to some players before the game and watched on from the directors' box after his father became a co-investor in the Welsh club last month.

Cordell Broadus (left) alongside Brett Cravatt, one of Swansea's American owners

What they said

Swansea head coach Alan Sheehan:

"I think the first half a worldie free-kick and a headed chance kind of changes the perception. Apart from that there wasn't really a whole lot in the game.

"Were we the best version of ourselves? No, but it's very bitty against a physical team that's going man to man.

"I think after 55 minutes when we made the changes and made a few tactical tweaks, we were the better team.

"We were gathering rhythm, [then a Watford] injury, gathering rhythm, another injury, gathering rhythm, another injury. That's what it was like for the last 35 minutes.

"We just kept going until the end. We got a point and on another day we'd have got three."

Watford head coach Paulo Pezzolano:

"First half was really good, tactically and individually the players played really well.

"We were very good for 65, 70 minutes and they couldn't find a way to harm us. Maybe in the last minutes we might have run out of energy a little bit, but the opponents also played a good game.

"The first half was very good, very solid. Maybe what leaves a bad taste in the mouth is that we cannot drop these types of points.

"Based on what we did in the first half and part of the second half, we should win this game."