Watford 2-3 Huddersfield Town: Woeful Watford well beaten by Warnock's Huddersfield

Huddersfield escaped the relegation zone after a thrilling 3-2 victory over a poor Watford.

Despite taking the lead through Yáser Asprilla, Watford were disappointing throughout and goals from Jack Rudoni, Matty Pearson and Kian Harratt lifted Neil Warnock's side closer to safety. 

Britt Assombalonga pulled a goal back for the hosts in added time before goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann saw red in a bizarre meltdown at the end of the game. 

Chris Wilder made two changes from his side's similarly disappointing derby-day defeat to Luton with João Ferreira and Asprilla coming into the team. Keinan Davis was ruled out due to a hamstring injury and top-scorer Ismaïla Sarr remained on the bench having not scored since February. 

Huddersfield travelled down from Yorkshire off the back of a magnificent 4-2 win over promotion-chasing Middlesbrough and were looking to climb out of the relegation zone with a win over The Hornets. Neil Warnock made just one change from that game, with David Kasumu replacing Duane Holmes who was ruled out for the rest of the season with an injury sustained against Boro. 

The Yorkshiremen were battling like a typical Warnock side but struggling to create much in the opening exchanges, and it was Watford who had the best of the early chances. 

Ismaël Koné's curling shot from outside of the area was just too high after ten minutes and Tomás Vaclík in the Huddersfield goal was called into action to spectacularly tip Imrân Louza's powerful effort out for a corner. 

Watford were playing without a recognised striker and many of their chances were therefore speculative efforts from outside of the box. They made one count, though, when Asprilla's low drive nestled into the bottom corner to open the scoring. It was the Columbian teenager's first goal for the club since joining in the summer and it was a fine way to do it. 

It was his first start for the club since December having been unable to break into Slaven Bilić's team. He almost repaid Wilder's faith in him with a second goal minutes after his opener, but his shot drifted just wide of the post. 

Huddersfield were pressing well throughout the first half and caught Watford's back three in possession on a number of occasions, and they were looking to counter-attack at any given opportunity. 

On the stroke of half time they stung Watford with a perfectly executed counter. Josh Koroma broke down the right hand side and Rudoni sent Daniel Bachmann the wrong way having been gifted the ball from Ryan Porteous. 

Set pieces and counter-attacks were always going to be vital for The Terriers and they took advantage of a free kick shortly after half time. Pearson's header across the face of goal evaded everyone, including Watford keeper Bachmann, before nestling in the far corner. Despite Danny Ward's claims that he got the last touch, it will go down as a Pearson goal.

The Hornets had over half an hour to find a response, but they were unable to create any meaningful chances. Despite dominating possession and winning a series of corners and set pieces they simply didn't test Vaclík anywhere near enough. 

The game looked to be sealed with ten minutes to go when substitute Kian Harratt made it 3-1 with his first touch of the game. Koroma once again broke down the wing and Harratt headed home within seconds of replacing Danny Ward. 

The hosts had a lifeline with just a few minutes to go when substitute Britt Assombalonga pulled a goal back in injury time. He was played through on goal and he rifled the ball into the net from the edge of the penalty box. 

Instead of pushing for an equaliser, Watford finished the game in chaos. Bachmann went up to offer an attacking threat for corners and free kicks but ended up getting himself sent off and blowing the game for his side. 

A first yellow card was given for dissent to the referee, before he then saw red for a high challenge in the Huddersfield box. The challenge alone could have been a straight red itself. After a melee between the two teams he was booed off by his own fans after throwing his gloves onto the pitch in frustration. 

It was another poor result and performance by The Hornets, but Huddersfield deservedly got themselves out of the relegation zone.