Ipswich Town came from behind to beat Watford 2-1 at Vicarage Road, sending them into Saturday's East Anglian Derby on the back of a dramatic win.
A mistake from Vaclav Hladky allowed Yaser Asprilla to fire home the opener in the first half, but a quick response saw George Hirst score from point-blank range to equalise. With the game balanced on a knife edge, Sam Morsy popped up with a big late goal, handing his side three points on a wet night in Hertfordshire.
Watford brought a real intensity to the opening few minutes of the game, pouncing on loose balls and mistakes as Ipswich tried to feel their way in. The hosts came close with their first real chance as Ken Sema crossed onto the head of Mileta Rajovic from the left flank, although he fired over the bar.
Ipswich responded with a similar chance in the 11th minute as Marcus Harness cut inside to find space through the middle, eventually picking out Omari Hutchinson on the right. The Chelsea loanee cut inside and picked out Harness once again, but he looped his header over the bar.
The Hornets pounced on a mistake to take the lead just a minute later. Hladky was caught playing out from the back, passing the ball straight to Yaser Asprilla, who set Rajovic up for a shot. The striker forced a good save from Hladky, who could only parry it back out to Asprilla, allowing him to curl the ball into the back of the net to make it 1-0.
The players were quick to run over to support the goalkeeper before restarting, and they came close to an equaliser in the 18th minute as Leif Davis picked out Conor Chaplin with a superb cross. He controlled the ball and went for goal, firing straight into the gloves of Ben Hamer.
The leveller did come quite soon after as Ipswich carved Watford apart with a slick move. Harness found Hutchinson on the right with a slick pass, allowing him to cut inside and fire a shot at goal. Hamer couldn’t hold onto it, allowing George Hirst to tap the equaliser into the back of the net in the 23rd minute.
Hutchinson was keeping former Norwich City man Jamal Lewis busy, picking up the ball from Hirst and driving down the right once again shortly after the half-hour mark. He cut inside, but this time he went for goal, curling a shot just wide of the post.
They kept pushing, with Harness firing a low shot into the gloves of Hamer seconds later as they continued to grow into the game. However, it was Watford who has the better chances at the end of the half, although they failed to capitalise.
The second half became more physical and scrappy. Hirst was involved in a constant battle with Ryan Porteous, while Massimo Luongo was booked for a foul on Ismael Kone.
Ipswich piled on the pressure, but the best chance went the way of Watford, who came close from Sema's low ball across the face of goal, although none of his teammates could get close.
It was that moved that showed the Hornets could do damage on the counter, which opened the game up. The Blues threatened from a corner, with Hirst smacking the post in the 61st minute, although they couldn't maintain the pressure before the hosts regained the ball.
Valerien Ismael's side came inches away from retaking the lead in the 66th minute as a flicked header caused chaos in Town's box, although Jake Livermore couldn't get the final touch to divert it into the net.
The chance prompted Kieran McKenna to make a triple substitution, which included two established starters in Wes Burns and Nathan Broadhead. However, with Watford also making two changes, the momentum of the game started to slow as the clock ticked closer and closer to full time.
At moments like that, you need a moment of magic or an error, and it was the latter that saw the Blues go in front. Wesley Hoedt's heavy touch allowed Morsy to steal the ball and race through on goal, firing it underneath Hamer to seal all three points in the 80th minute.
Town XI: 4-2-3-1: Hladky; Williams, Tuanzebe, Burgess, Davis; Morsy, Luongo; Hutchinson, Chaplin (Burns 68'), Harness (Broadhead 68'); Hirst (Ladapo 68')
Watford XI: 4-2-3-1: Hamer; Andrews, Porteous, Hoedt, Lewis; Kayembe, Livermore; Asprilla (Ince 67'), Kone, Sema; Rajovic (Bayo 67')
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