Watford remain in Hornets' nest after draw
Boothroyd's side have only one league win this season
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Monday, 04, Dec 2006 10:07
Struggling Watford extended their winless run to five games after a 0-0 draw with Manchester City at Eastlands.
The Premiership new boys had stand-in goalkeeper Richard Lee to thank after a string of stunning saves denied the hosts.
The home fans were furious with referee Mark Clattenburg for not awarding a dramatic late penalty after Darius Vassell was brought down by Jay DeMerit.
Stuart Pearce's side remain unbeaten at home and move level with Fulham in tenth place.
Hornets boss Aidy Boothroyd welcomed back top-scorer Ashley Young into the starting line-up.
City manager Pearce kept an unchanged team following the mid-week win over Aston Villa.
The game exploded into life after eight minutes with City goalkeeper Nicky Weaver producing a stunning save to scramble away Damien Francis' looping header.
Two minutes later, Francis was lucky to stay on the field after being booked by referee Mark Clattenburg for elbowing Joey Barton.
Hornets shot-stopper Lee pulled off a reflex save to deny Georgios Samaras from close range after Watford failed to deal with a corner.
Watford came close to taking the lead on 16 minutes when Darius Henderson's header came off Richard Dunne and was cleared off the line by Weaver.
Despite having seven corners in the first half, the visitors were unable to convert their possession into goals.
Boothroyd's side continued to dominate after the break but it was City who created the first clear-cut chance of the second half.
Barton curled a free kick from the edge of the box that was well saved by Lee on 66 minutes.
The ineffective Samaras was then hauled off by manager Pearce and replaced by rising star Ishmael Miller.
Lee continued to frustrate the hosts with two vital saves in the closing stages.
First, he prevented Darius Vassell getting a shot in by rushing out to clear Dunne's long ball on 74 minutes.
Then three minutes from time, Lee blocked Bernardo Corradi's shot from just inside the box to keep the scores level before Vassell's claims for a penalty were denied in stoppage time.