Watford produced a dramatic late comeback as they scored twice in the final 10 minutes to beat Blackburn Rovers 2-1 at Ewood Park.

Jon Dahl Tomasson's side led from the third minute through Adam Wharton's first of the season. The midfielder broke into the box and fired into the top corner from an improbable angle.

They missed gilt-edged chances to win the game and win the points in the second half. Jake Garrett should've done better after running onto Andrew Moran's through ball whilst Hayden Carter's cross was somehow not poked in with the goal gaping.

Those missed opportunities came back to haunt Rovers as they somehow lost the match. Leopold Wahlstedt kept out Yaser Asprilla's shot but fellow substitute Mileta Rajovic was on hand to tap in from close range.

That was a sucker punch but things then went from bad to worse. Wahlstedt should've done better as he punched away a dangerous corner, a shot came back in at goal, which was saved, but Rhys Healey was on hand to convert the rebound.

Having been in control for such a long period of the game, it was the same sorry story for Rovers, who ended up with a defeat when they should've had three points.

Rovers got themselves off the perfect start, taking the lead after only three minutes. Wharton made a great third-man run into the box, was picked out by Carter and then somehow fired the ball into the top corner.

It was an early present from Hornets goalkeeper Ben Hamer, who will be wondering how he let the ball past him at the near post. 

That helped settle any pre-Christmas jitters for a bumper home crowd, thanks to the brilliant work for the Fans' Takeover. Their support was especially useful with Tomasson forced to shuffle his pack.

Lewis Travis was playing left-back for the first time with Harry Pickering unavailable and Callum Brittain suspended. The captain drifted into midfield to assume his more conventional role, helping to create overloads in the middle of the park.

Watford were clearly in a festive mood because they seemed desperate to hand Rovers another present. Some calamitous passing in their own defensive third saw Wesley Hoedt almost slice into his own net before Jake Livermore and then Hamer gave the ball away in their own box. Unfortunately, Rovers couldn't capitalise.

After a disappointing 4-0 drubbing at Southampton last time out, Rovers were keen to provide a response. Their passing was slick on the greasy Ewood turf but they couldn't quite get the final pass to make their good play count.

They almost doubled their lead through Arnor Sigurdsson, who could've celebrated his permanent contract with a goal, but after collecting Travis' back heel, he was denied by Hamer at his near post.

Although Rovers had plenty of the play, Watford posed a threat on the counter-attack. They probed but couldn't find a way past Dom Hyam and Scott Wharton in the first half, who defended the box manfully in front of Wahlstedt.

Rovers could've taken a big step towards three points seconds after the restart. Lovely play between Niall Ennis and Andrew Moran released Jake Garrett but he got the finish all wrong and spurned a great opportunity.

They were almost punished a few minutes later as Wahlstedt produced a brilliant save. Rovers were caught on the counter-attack and Vakoun Byao was played through but the Rovers goalkeeper made a fantastic stop to deny his powerful shot across goal.

With the game in the balance, Garrett almost made amends for his earlier miss. He brought the best out of Hamer, who produced a great save, diving to his right to keep out a curling strike.

Another chance soon came and went to wrap the game up. Substitute Harry Leonard played Wharton in again, he tried to poke it past Hamer, and the ball then broke to Carter, whose drilled cross somehow evaded everyone with net wide open.

The game then turned with ten minutes to go. Substitute Aspirlla was allowed to carry the ball too far and shoot from the edge of the box, which was saved by Wahlstedt but turned in by Rajovic.

From one substitute to another, the Hornets turned the game around. Wahlstedt didn't get enough on his punch from a corner, a shot was fired in which he saved again but Healey was on hand to tap in from close range.

After dominating the match, Rovers somehow conspired to lose it. Whilst this was not a hard-luck story, more another familiar tale of not taking your chances, it's impossible to ignore the impact Watford's bench had in turning the game on its head.