Watford boss Xisco Munoz has admitted he was 'very disappointed' after his side gave Newcastle United a 'very important chance' to win the game at the death - even if Jacob Murphy ultimately missed it.
With the sides level, at 1-1, Allan Saint-Maximin sent Murphy racing through on goal late on but the substitute's chipped effort was easily claimed by 6ft 4in goalkeeper Ben Foster.
It was a glorious opportunity for Newcastle but, even before then, the Magpies had a host of chances to score a second goal but Sean Longstaff, Miguel Almiron, Joelinton, Ciaran Clark and Joe Willock all failed to take them.
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Bruce feared those misses would come back to haunt his side - it was hard to see this game finishing 1-0 when Longstaff gave the Magpies the lead midway through the first half - and Ismaila Sarr duly equalised for Watford in the 72nd minute.
Joshua King then thought he had won the game for Watford late on but the striker's goal was ruled out for offside following a VAR check before Murphy spurned that chance with Newcastle's next attack as the game became stretched.
Newcastle's wait for a win goes on and while it was another point on the board for newly-promoted Watford, who are riding high in 11th place, Munoz was not happy with his side's overall display.
"I'm a little bit disappointed about the performance in the first half," the Watford manager told reporters on Zoom just a few minutes after having his own chat with Bruce out on the pitch.
"I think our team is more ready to have the consistency, to be more solid in defence, to be more aggressive in offence.
“It was not our best first half and after the reaction in the second half, I think we were for 10 or 15 minutes trying to win the game but I need this ambition and this power for all the game - not only for 20 minutes.
“I’m also disappointed about the late actions. We can’t give this very important chance to our opponent because in the Premier League, sometimes, you lose like this."
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