Cooper stops Watford from rolling out the barrel

Watford 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1

The last time Watford's Ray Lewington won the Manager of the Month award his team of the time, Fulham, lost their next match 7-0. He was spared such gross embarrassment yesterday but his frustration was no less acute.

Leading until the second minute of added time, Watford fell victim to a Kevin Cooper equaliser but even so, the financially troubled club which seemed to be going nowhere last season, moved up to third place in the First Division. Lewington is pulling spirits together and a revival seems likely to be sustained.

But for their shedding of too many goals and the lack of them away from home, Watford would probably have started out yesterday close behind the runaway leaders, Portsmouth. Their 2-1 win at Stoke in midweek had seen them rampant in the first half and resolute under pressure in the second. But Wolves had scored four goals in both of their previous games. The preamble was enticing.

Every early indication was that Wolves had the edge in confidence. Playing tight at the back and putting quick pressure on Watford in midfield, they suffered no danger for the first 20 minutes, though, on the other hand, profited little from their possession.

That 20th minute saw them looking back in appreciation at Matt Murray who expertly turned away a header from Heidar Helguson that looked a sure-fire goal.

Watford picked up on the hopeful sign and began to spread their game wider, but Wolves remained more inventive in possession, though Nathan Blake, the scorer of a hat-trick in his previous game, needed sharper service to help him lose the shadow-marking of Sean Dyche.

A pitch becoming increasingly slippery made control difficult and did nothing to improve the quality of football. Nevertheless, Wolves continued to make creditable efforts to play a thoughtful passing game, if tending to fall back on speculation in the direction of Blake.

Watford's chances were few and well spaced out. Paul Ince's experience in the Wolves midfield frustrated them on a few important occasions. These days he conserves his energy for just those moments. In reality, what the game needed was an Ince of old getting a real grip of the central area. At least he did have one of the more positive shots of the first half.

The need for Watford to provide more opportunities for Helguson was obvious. When he did get his chances he looked dangerous, and when collecting one long ball in the penalty area, he at once turned it into his team's most threatening moment to date, slamming a shot which forced Murray into an instinctive parry. Wolves were shaken and Watford flowed forward with great tenacity.

After forcing three corners, they finally succeeded with the fourth. Neal Ardley swung the ball over into the crowded area and Neil Cox managed to get above the clutch of defenders to head through the bodies and somehow past Murray.

Wolves may have felt aggrieved but they had failed to turn their earlier good possession into concrete results and were suffering the consequences. Their manager, Dave Jones, himself admitted: "We didn't up our tempo – Watford did." Blake did glide a header a shade over the crossbar but the second half belonged to Watford, until, in added time, their resilience finally deserted them as Cooper was left unmarked to drive an instant shot that deflected in off Mikah Hyde.

That final mistake did not erode the defiance that the team showed when they had been under pressure from a Wolves side that, clearly, had the advantage in terms of individual ability.

Watford 1
Cox 67

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1
Cooper 90

Half-time: 0-0 Attendance: 16,524