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Javi Gracia believes Watford deserved to win in their 2-2 draw with Everton

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Javi Gracia says he is proud of Watford’s efforts in the second half of their 2-2 draw against Everton but insists his side deserved more than a point

Javi Gracia believes his Watford side deserved more than a point from their 2-2 Premier League draw with Everton at Goodison Park.

The Vicarage Road club had been on course for a first win in six matches after a Seamus Coleman own goal and Abdoulaye Doucoure's header had put them ahead on Merseyside.

Lucas Digne's free kick in the sixth minute of stoppage time gave Everton a draw, however, following Richarlison's opener against his old team - and it was a hard result for Gracia to accept.

He said: "I prefer to speak about the performance of our team. We had a very good performance, we scored two goals and we played much better in the second half.

"I think today we deserved a better result. As everyone can see, the team is full of confidence and I am proud of all of them.

Watford's Abdoulaye Doucoure scored his side's second goal against Everton
Image: Watford's Abdoulaye Doucoure scored his side's second goal on Merseyside

"We can always take positives. For me, it's most important I can see in training and all our performances that the players have a strong mentality.

"I don't know when it will be but I hope that soon we will be able to get better results."

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Watford struggled to make an impact initially and Richarlison's eighth goal of the season after 15 minutes was deserved, albeit controversial.

Theo Walcott appeared to touch the ball whilst in an offside position and the visitors were aggrieved the strike which followed had been allowed to stand.

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Highlights from Everton's 2-2 draw with Watford in the Premier League

Undeterred, they finished the first half strongly and were rewarded for their perseverance after the restart as they edged ahead.

Their undoing was largely down to Christian Kabasele, who first gave away a penalty which was missed by Gylfi Sigurdsson before his handball resulted in the free kick converted by Digne.

Gracia chose not to criticise him though, instead complaining about Everton's Yerry Mina escaping a second booking moments before half-time when he appeared to bring down Isaac Success.

Lucas Digne celebrates after scoring a late free-kick against Watford
Image: Lucas Digne's late free kick saved a point for Marco Silva's Everton team

Asked about Kabasele, he said: "I prefer not to speak about those moments. If I speak about that situation, I can't speak about why Yerry Mina didn't take a second yellow card.

"It was a clear foul on Isaac Success. I prefer not to say anything else about different moments of the game.

"The first half was tough. Losing a goal from an offside position is difficult to accept but we had a good reaction."

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