David McGoldrick netted Town’s first penalty of the season, but Troy Deeney equalised as the Blues drew 1-1 with Watford at Portman Road. McGoldrick put Town ahead in the 73rd minute after Gabriele Angella had handled, but Deeney hit back nine minutes from time.

Town boss Mick McCarthy named the same side for the third game running with the Blues lining up in a 4-3-3 formation.

Stephen Hunt missed out on a place on the bench due to the hamstring injury he suffered in training, with Paul Taylor taking his place amongst the subs.

New signing Sylvan Ebanks-Blake was left out of the 18 and isn’t expected to be involved until the FA Cup tie against Preston on January 4th.

Watford’s new head coach Giuseppe Sannino made seven changes to the Hornets side Gianfranco Zola lined-up in his final game last week and switched to a 3-5-2 formation.

Neither side created much in a tentative and scrappy opening spell with the players trying to settle into the windy conditions. Lewis McGugan’s low freekick across the Town box from the right was the nearest thing to a chance but Blues keeper Dean Gerken claimed.

On 12 Tommy Smith was booked for a late tackle on Deeney on halfway, the Town defender having slipped when going for an under-hit McGoldrick pass.

Angella lashed well over for the Hornets, who had had most of the possession, in the 23rd minute with rain now blowing across the pitch but sent the ball deep into the Sir Bobby Robson Stand. At the other end, McGoldrick shot across the face of goal from the right.

Watford were within an inch or two of going in front in the 25th minute when Diego Fabbrini hit a shot against Gerken’s left post from a tight angle.

Moments later, Aaron Cresswell struck a powerful effort which deflected over. From the corner, Christophe Berra’s goalbound headed was nodded away.

McGoldrick forced Hornets skipper Almunia into his first serious save of the afternoon in the 31st minute, the Spaniard tipping his 25-yard curler over. From the corner, Berra again won the ball in the air and nodded across goal but Frank Nouble was unable to direct his header goalwards while under pressure.

The Blues were starting to threaten more, although the game was still as scruffy as they come, and in the 36th minute McGoldrick crossed from the right to Murphy, who was unable to direct his header goalwards.

McGoldrick shot over from just inside the area from a well-worked freekick from the 18-yard line on the right in the 39th minute, Cresswell having dummied before Cole Skuse played the ball to the Blues top scorer.

On 43 Nouble cut in from the right, beating two men before forcing Almunia to save at his near post, although may well have been wiser to cut the ball across the box.

Referee Graham Scott brought what had been a disappointing half to a close without either side threatening again.

He scoreline was a fair reflection with the Blues increasingly threatening towards the end with Almunia making saves from McGoldrick and Nouble, while Fabbrini came closest to breaking the deadlock when he hit the post for the visitors.

Town started the second half on the front foot with Watford unable to clear their lines from a Blues corner and a loose ball almost falling for Smith.

On 55 a strong run by McGoldrick led to the increasingly involved Ryan Tunnicliffe and Nouble both having shots blocked.

A minute later, Fabbrini played in Sean Murray on the right and Gerken palmed his shot behind at his near post.

But it was Town who had been on top for the most part since the break and in the 58th minute a slick move ended with a Cresswell cross being deflected behind.

As the game reached the hour mark applause rang round in tribute to Kevin Beattie on his 60th birthday, before Daniel Pudil was booked for a foul on Luke Chambers.

Hyam and McGoldrick both scuffed shots wide from the edge of the box with the Blues on top but with Almunia untroubled.

Town went in front in the 73rd minute via their first penalty of the season. Nouble crossed from the left and Angella was adjudged to have handled the ball by referee Scott.

After lengthy protests with several players surrounding and in some cases appearing push the official, the Hornets were fortunate that only Joel Ekstrand was booked.

When order was restored, McGoldrick rolled home his ninth goal of the season, the ball going to Almunia’s left as the ex-Arsenal man went in the other direction.

Thorne was booked for a foul, then Marco Cassetti almost seized on a mix-up between Berra and Gerken on the edge of the six-yard box but eventually the keeper pounced on the ball.

Watford, who had only rarely threatened since the break, got back on terms in the 81st minute. Cassetti crossed from the right, the ball deflected off Cresswell and Deeney got ahead of Berra to stab past Gerken.

Town should have won it in the 88th minute when Almunia pushed McGoldrick’s shot into the air following an excellent move down the left. Hyam reacted quickest but headed onto the bar with the goal gaping. The loose ball came out to Nouble but his volley went past the post.

Watford sub Ikechi Anya shot wide from distance moments before the fourth official’s board signalled four additional minutes, but neither side were able to grab a winner.

The second half was an improvement on the drab first period with the Blues largely having had the upper hand and overall probably worth all three points.

Town, now without a home win against Watford in nine games stretching back to 2004, deserved their lead when it came with the Hornets’ equaliser coming somewhat against the run of play, while Hyam will feel he should have netted the winner late on having done well to anticipate Almunia stopping but not claiming McGoldrick’s shot.

The result sees the Blues move up one place to ninth but still three points away from the play-off zone ahead of the Boxing Day trip to Doncaster Rovers.

Town: Gerken, Chambers (c), Smith, Berra, Cresswell, Hyam, Skuse, Tunnicliffe, Nouble, McGoldrick, Murphy. Unused: Loach, Mings, Edwards, Tabb, Anderson, Graham, Taylor.

Watford: Almunia (c), Doyley, Angella, Ekstrand, Cassetti, Murray (Battocchio 78), Thorne, McGugan, Pudil (Anya 80), Fabbrini (Forestieri 83), Deeney. Unused: Bond, McEachran, Iriney, Nosworthy. Referee: Graham Scott (Oxfordshire). Att: 16,385 (Watford: 1,027).

Photo: Action Images

Cloddyseedbed added 18:06 - Dec 21 I'm a little disappointed at only 1 point from today especially as we were 1 goal up and should have been 2. Of course Hyam is going to be unsure in front of goal as he spends 99% of the time facing his own goal and playing a high percentage of the passes he receives back to the players who just passed to him. Please Mick tell him to turn and face the oppositions goal sometimes and look to maybe pass forward - it is not a sin. I know Luke gives 100% but little tweaks to his game will make a huge difference.

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JWM added 18:11 - Dec 21 I knew it wouldn't take long for all the moaners to flood back on this board! Just back off Hyam FFS! He is a young kid learning his trade and the barracking he received was just shameful and embarrassing!
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TractorBoy666 added 18:13 - Dec 21 Firstly I don't see why our own fans are trying to make a game uncomfortable for our own player, Hyam. I was one to moan at the person behind me for constant complaining! But our performance today in the second half was very good I thought. Skuse was very good today as he picked a lot of good passes. Bournemouth will be a hard game away but we're capable of going there with our current to get a result! COYB

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bluefeast added 18:17 - Dec 21 Felt sorry for Hyam today ,some idiots in our crowd bood him , got on his back etc. Maybe if we support our players better they would tuck away their chances. We have the most fickle fans i know of. Support the team and individuals.
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battyblue added 18:22 - Dec 21 Two points lost instead of one gained dominated much of the game fourteen attempts at goal one goal scored and that from the penalty spot not good enough.. ninety five % of our efforts on goal are long range ninety five % of goals are scored inside the box we are restricted to long shots by our style of play the only time we get players in the box is from corners and set pieces(mostly) i still believe MM and TC have done a great job to get us where we are we could have been much higher with some inspired substitutions of which there were none again today Paul Taylor will have to go out on loan again to get match mit and in my opinion he is what we need instead on Noble but then again i am not the manager also hope we start with Hunt in future i know he was injured today but what's the point of having a player of his undoubted ability and not making the most of him and others.

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jas0999 added 18:48 - Dec 21 Considering our recent record against Watford at PR, at least we managed a point! MM has worked wonders at this club since his arrival last year, but if we are to press on and challenge for the top six, these are the type of home games we need to win. The midfield still worries me. Hard working, but lacking in flair and creativity. Up front we have options, but the sooner SEB is fit the better as I thought nouble was poor, but nowhere near as bad as Murphy who was very very disappointing. Positives is we didn't get beat!

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TimmyH added 18:52 - Dec 21 Good post @jas0999 - agree!
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moike added 18:53 - Dec 21 totally agree with bluefeast. Confidence is an important part of any players game and booing them will destroy it. I have seen it before over the years. If you want our players to perform support them for goodness sake.
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EssexTractor added 19:09 - Dec 21 Time to be realistic. A game made difficult by Decembers rain and wind. An opposition hoping to impress a new manager, but holding an excellent away record. Given Micks team selection and formation supporters shouldn't expect flair football. I admire his loyalty to Luke Hyam in the Radio Suffolk interview. That's good man management. But a man of his experience must know despite Luke's "honesty" in training, today he really wasn't " at the races". Sadly he lacks pace and much of the time is facing the wrong way. But that's down to MMs "gameplan". And honestly we truly weren't that surprised that today his header hit the bar not the back of the net. Frank Nouble has troubled me since day one, I would so far have put him in the Worst top ten town players of , maybe, all time! But today he ran and ran, never gave up, and even showed some touches of dare I say it, "skill". Radio Suffolk texters were again critical of Daryl Murphy. But just consider week after week he is manhandled constantly fouled, though not always rewarded with free kicks,and expected to win the almost constant Long ball delivery to him.He may not be everyone's favourite but under the MM" style" , that's what follows. We have a sturdy and formidable back four, even though Luke Chambers is arguably better in the middle. We have a neat and tidy but not dominating midfielder in Cole Skuse, we have a tremondous left back, even though today not at his best, we have the prospect of Sylvan being the dreamed of goal poacher. We have true class in David McGoldrick, an improving Dean Gerken....so there are more positives than negatives. The real hope though of the majority of fans is that MM finds from somewhere a proper footballer to play make from the midfield He must be there somewhere Mick. Go find him.

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alanmason added 19:34 - Dec 21 ITFCsince67 - do us all a favour and move away again - back to Norwich?
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runaround added 19:38 - Dec 21 A draw that really feels like a defeat. I still cannot believe Hyam hit the bar with an open goal, had that gone in we would have won & had real momentum. Unfortunately it wasn't Hyams day & the miss summed up his performance. The conditions made football difficult, Watford started well passing the ball nicely without creating anything but for the last hour we were by far the better side. Didsy's penalty was reminiscent of Tommy Miller right in the bottom corner & he was the pick of our team today although I thought Tunners had his best game in months. There was a huge element of luck with their equaliser with the ball deflecting straight to Deeney although he took it very well. All is not lost & the next 3 games are very winnable against teams not as organised as Watford & we can still make progress, but Hyam's miss is haunting me for now(and him too I expect)as it costs us 2 points

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bohslegend added 19:40 - Dec 21 Itfcsince67 how about you take another two years before you come back? Have you any comprehension of the transition we are going through? How close we came to League 1 football? Go find a Chelsea or an Arsenal where big money buys you the right to expect the kind of football you are demanding. MM is building on a shoestring, no not even a shoestring, a bit of old blue rope, what you are spouting is not support. That's just cheap criticism. Bye bye! You're not needed here.

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TimmyH added 19:59 - Dec 21 Lucky having MM as manager really with little money being spent transfer wise , the bonus is he has a good reputation with other players and particularly one's he has worked with in the past so he obviously has good man management skills. We've picked up some reasonable players since he's been here including McGoldrick, Skuse and now SEB, if only we could get Stearman, admittedly not playing entertaining football but knows what he's doing organisational wise which can go a distance in this league.

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tractorboy12341234 added 21:45 - Dec 21 Doncaster, Bournemouth and Charlton games should see us in the play-off spots by 2014
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WaffleMan added 21:48 - Dec 21 the way were going, ebanks-blake signing, next three games we can win, starting to compete with the big teams, money in january, definately play off contenders!
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Fat_Boy_Tim added 00:23 - Dec 22 What a bunch of morons booing Hyam today, grow up you infantile bunch of tw*ts. He plays his heart out for the team and yes he isn't that creative spark in midfield but he does a lot of grunt work in the middle of the park. He deserves a lot more than that, it was a pathetic protest against a local lad playing for his team.
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riley26 added 05:24 - Dec 22 Just seen Hyam's miss, bit of a sickener, the real test now is to see how we bounce back over the busy festive period.
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joolsg100 added 08:06 - Dec 22 Jeez what is wrong with some town supporters...as per previous comments MM is doing wonders with a very limited budget compared to last season town are flying high in the league. And some complete morons booing hyam is crass behaviour... he doesnt play a couple of games..towns midfield miss him...he is not a flair player but he is a grafter and solid and allows the so called flare midfielders do there thing.....which is sadly lacking at times....not his fault. Ok he missed a sitter but at least he got into the right position to score and given support will get better....get off his back and encourage not just him but the whole team.

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spanishblue added 08:39 - Dec 22 Morning all feeling highly optimistic for the rest of the season. Just remember Luke is a 100% truer doing his best he will get better ?Just a mention for Phil Babcock 1000 games on the trot and still going.I think he's a teacher who got a motor bike to get to away games yes true dedication from a die hard true blue
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Jayembee added 08:59 - Dec 22 The first half was a bit of a mish mash, no real dominance from either side. We played so much better in the second hald and I thought Hyam worked really hard. Shame about the miss but that happens fro time to time, forget it and move on Luke.Murphy looked out of the game, but I do like the pairinbg with McGoldrick. At the outset it looked like a drawn game and that is how it turned out. I have never understood why people boo their own team, I guess it must be to make the team feel better.

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blueboy1981 added 10:15 - Dec 22 ....... to all those condoning Hyam's performance yesterday i.e. young local lad, still learning etc; etc; - in other words EXCUSES - just remember that you condoning such an inept performance will itself not help him at all. Forget the sob stories and feelings, this lad now needs to be doing the business - just like he did when he first came into the team (remember) ? - and how long ago was that ? - he hasn't 'just' arrived on the team scene. Unfortunately some of our supporters have low expectations of success on the pitch - and will accept whatever is served up - others have more AMBITION for us all. Time for Hyam to step up to the plate - and for some supporters to expect more from him. That's it - hit the minus button, as you will.

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blueboy1981 added 10:21 - Dec 22 ..... on another note:- spare a thought for the other MM at Cardiff, a thoroughly good guy being treated as he is - God Forbid our Club EVER getting into the hands of such ownership. Equally feel for the Cardiff Supporters.
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brittaniaman added 11:24 - Dec 22 I feel that when Hyam got that bang on the head, and the Egg developed on his head, Mick should have subbed him then ?? instead of letting him carry on ???? We suffered again with the new management Syndrome, remember Derby ????????
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blue_moon09 added 12:56 - Dec 22 The booing yesterday was disgraceful, bet these boo boys are the stay away bunch of morons that only go to PR 2-3 times a season and ring up and moan on the phone ins, The team is in a really good position in the league we have a very good manager who is building a quality young side for NOTHING.. get behind the team and don't boo our own you mugs.
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blueboy1981 added 14:00 - Dec 22 Phil - isn't it about time that some control is implemented with regard to some 'posters' - is there really any need for people to be branded as 'morons', tw*ts, etc; etc; just because they think differently to the 'forever satisfied' brigade ?. There is no need for it - and I am sure must put some decent posters of from giving an opinion. The previous post to this is typical of what I refer to.

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