Watford and Sunderland ended their respective 2015-16 Premier League campaigns with a 2-2 draw at Vicarage Road on Sunday afternoon.
The home side twice had to come from behind against Sunderland in what was Quique Flores's final match in charge of the Hornets.
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The first clear chance of the match fell to Watford in the sixth minute, but Almen Abdi rattled the post with a strike from the edge of the box.
It was the home side that continued to look the more likely to make the breakthrough, and Nathan Ake forced Jordan Pickford into a smart save 10 minutes before the end of the first period.
Sunderland made the breakthrough in the 39th minute though when Jeremain Lens set up Jack Rodwell, who showed excellent composure to finish past Heurelho Gomes from close range.
The visitors had the ball in the back of the net for a second time three minutes later, but Duncan Watmore's effort was ruled offside, leaving the score at 1-0 Sunderland entering the second period.
Watford were back on terms in the 48th minute when Sebastian Prodl headed a corner past Pickford from close range, but Sunderland regained the lead three minutes later as Watmore set up Lens, who could not miss from close range.
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Sunderland again found the back of the net just before the hour through Dame N'Doye, but once again the flag went against the Black Cats, who conceded just two minutes later after Jose Manuel Jurado was brought to the ground inside the box.
Both John O'Shea and Lamine Kone made contact with the Watford winger and Troy Deeney stepped up to send his penalty into the bottom corner.
Both managers made changes in the latter stages in a bid to snatch all the points, but an entertaining fixture at Vicarage Road finished with the two teams sharing the points.
The result means that Sunderland finish 17th in the table on 39 points, while Watford's return to the Premier League has seen them collect 45 points and a 13th-place finish.
Matt Law
