Match report: Watford 2-2 Southampton.

Nestory Irankunda hit another spectacular free kick as Watford rallied from behind twice to grab a draw against Southampton.

Ryan Manning thought he had won the game for the Saints with a free kick 12 minutes later, but the inspired Irankunda was at it again, unleashing a beauty into the top corner that may even outperform his effort against Swansea last week.

The Hornets trailed at halftime when Cameron Archer exploited some sluggish set-piece defence, but replacement Kwadwo Baah equalised on 65 minutes with a stunning goal.

Both sides pressed for the win in the last moments, but were forced to share the spoils.

Watford started the game well, but they shot themselves in the foot by defending a corner poorly after 10 minutes.

Southampton made the first contact with the delivery, and Archer was on there to smash home the opener.

Watford’s best chance of scoring came from Irankunda, who fired wide after a smart run three minutes later.

Paolo Pezzolano (Image by Alan Cozzi/Watford FC) Hector Kyprianou had the ball in the net from a corner kick midway through the half, but the referee blew up for a foul on James Abankwah.

Two minutes later, Irankunda squandered the Hornets’ greatest chance of the first 45 minutes when he failed to reach Kjerrumgaard for an opportunity similar to the opener against QPR a week ago.

Four minutes before halftime, Egil Selvik made a fantastic stop to deny debutant Finn Azaz as the Hornets fell behind.

They didn’t start the second half well, either, forcing Pezzolano to bring on Baah and Rocco Vata before the hour mark.