Missed opportunity for Hornets

Wigan boss Paul Jewell was left to rue another controversial refereeing decision - but watched his 10-man side edge a further point away from the relegation zone at Watford with a 1-1 draw.

Jewell believed referee Phil Dowd contributed to his team's 2-1 defeat at Arsenal earlier this month, and he was left perplexed again here when Fitz Hall was shown a straight red card in the 20th minute for a challenge on Johan Cavalli.

Replays suggested the decision was very severe, and things went from bad to worse for Wigan when they fell behind four minutes later. Jordan Stewart turned Steven Kabba's mis-hit shot from right to left back into the path of Henderson, who bundled the ball over the line.

Foster excelled himself in the 31st minute, lunging bravely at the feet of Folan as the forward was about to shoot then recovering to save from Denny Landzaat.

But Foster sustained an injury during the challenge, leaving Boothroyd - who had not chosen a goalkeeper among his substitutes - holding his breath.

Foster continued after a spell of treatment, but did not appear to be moving comfortably.

Wigan scored the equaliser they deserved when Folan ran onto Jay DeMerit's weak back-header before guiding the ball past Foster and into the bottom-right corner.

The Hornets lacked the guile to make their numerical advantage count, and they were lucky not to go 2-1 down when Landzaat raced unchallenged into the penalty area, but instead of picking out the unmarked Emile Heskey, the midfielder shot, allowing Foster to make a fine save.

Hameur Bouazza almost scored a freak goal when his mis-hit cross caught John Filan out of position, but the goalkeeper recovered in time to push the ball over, while Henderson and Stewart both went close in the closing stages.