A late Odion Ighalo strike secured a crucial 2-2 draw for 10-man Watford at fellow promotion contenders Derby on a rollercoaster day at the top of the Championship.
The Hornets went ahead after a quarter of the contest through Matej Vydra’s fifth goal in six games.
Marco Motta was then dismissed for hauling down Derby winger Jonny Russell, with Darren Bent dispatching the resultant penalty kick to draw the sides level just before half time.
On-loan winger Tom Ince put the hosts in front with a fine solo goal, but Ighalo’s clinical finish 15 minutes from time ensured a share of the spoils as Derby's winless run was extended to seven games.
With just eight points separating the league’s top eight sides at the start of the day, Watford found themselves outside the automatic promotion places by kickoff time after positive earlier results for Middlesbrough and Bournemouth.
The game started as evenly as the pre-match build up suggested, with Bent having a shot deflected wide and Ighalo worrying Rams keeper Lee Grant from distance.
The Watford front three of Ighalo, Vydra and Troy Deeney have plundered 48 goals between them this season, and unsurprisingly the breakthrough came when Vydra clinically pounced after some hesitant Rams defending.
Derby nearly responded almost immediately but Will Hughes shot agonisingly wide from 25 yards, before Grant denied Hornets’ midfielder Adlene Guedioura with a smart low save.
The contest’s turning point came on the half time whistle, as Motta was adjudged to have felled Russell when the former was through on goal, leaving Kevin Friend no option but to show the right back a straight red card and award the hosts a penalty.
Bent was coolness personified as he rammed home the resultant spotkick to level proceedings going into the break, and Derby reinforced their control soon after half time.
Watford defender Craig Cathcart nearly deflected the ball past Heurelho Gomes, but just before the hour mark, Ince skipped past a few feeble challenges to find the bottom left hand corner and put the Rams in front.
The hosts then began to look complacent, allowing Watford back into the game, and Derby were made to pay when Ighalo clinically stroked past Grant from Guedioura’s fine pass with 15 minutes remaining.
Derby introduced top scorer Chris Martin after a long injury layoff, and he nearly set up the winner for Bent but the on-loan striker was denied by the feet of Gomes as both teams had to settle for a point.
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