Live Commentary: Watford 1-2 Stoke City - as it happened

Stoke City have moved into seventh position in the Premier League table with a 2-1 victory away at Watford.

Jonathan Walters put the Potters into the lead in the 17th minute before Joselu doubled the lead six minutes into the second half.

Troy Deeney pulled a goal back for the Hornets during the closing stages, but it was too little too late as Stoke held on for the win.

Read below to see how the action unfolded at Vicarage Road.

4.58pmThat will be all from Sports Mole for this match. Thanks for joining us this afternoon and we hope that you can stick around for all of the reaction that is coming your way. Goodbye for now.

4.57pmThe full-time whistle goes at Vicarage Road and Stoke have held on to earn a 2-1 win. It got nervy at the end but the Potters were full value for the three points.

90+4 minFULL TIME: Watford 1-2 Stoke City

90+2 minMore Watford pressure. This would be an undeserved point if they were to grab an equaliser...

90 minThere will be four minutes of added-on time.

88 minThe home side are throwing men forward now. This seemed so unlikely a few minutes ago!

85 minWatford are back in it! Anya has been lively since coming on and he works his way into a position to cross for Deeney, who gets ahead of the Stoke defence to head the ball home. Game on!

85 minGOAL! Watford 1-2 Stoke City (Deeney)

83 minButland advances out of his goal and it gives Deeney the chance to try to lob the England international, but his effort is lacking in power and flight. Not long to go now. Stoke look like seeing this out with minimal fuss.

80 minSHOT! The game is opening up slightly, which will suit Watford, but they cannot capitalise as Suarez blazes a shot high over the crossbar after being set up by Amrabat.

77 minA clearance from Butland is expertly controlled by Walters but after he works the ball to Arnautovic, the Serbian can't connect properly and Gomes is able to claim.

76 minSUBSTITUTION! Flores makes his final alteration, throwing on Ikechi Anya for Nathan Ake. You feel it might be too little too late.

71 minSHOT! Amrabat gets a shot on target, but rather than shouts of encouragement, it brings sarcastic cheers from the home support. They appear less than impressed with their team's attacking performance this afternoon.

68 minThe introduction of Amrabat and Guedioura has livened things up for Watford but still, they cannot muster up a clear opportunity. I suspect Mark Hughes will freshen things up himself soon in order to see out this match.

65 minAs it stands, Stoke are moving two places up to seventh. It would leave just a point behind Manchester United, but the Old Trafford outfit have two games in hand.

61 minThe intensity of the game has dropped a touch now. Have Watford got the desire to get back into this game? You have to say that Stoke have been very impressive.

57 minStoke are all over Watford now and after Arnautovic retrieves possession for the Potters, Afellay is given an opportunity to shoot but Gomes makes the save by tipping the ball wide for a corner.

55 minSUBSTITUTIONS! Flores has acted - he had no other choice. Amrabat and Guedioura have been introduced in place of Jurado and Behrami.

51 minWatford started the second half the stronger of the two, but it's Stoke who go 2-0 ahead! A long ball is hooked into the path of Joselu by Walters, and Joselu produce a bit of brilliance to loft the ball over Gomes. That's the Spaniard's fourth goal of the Premier League campaign.

51 minGOAL! Watford 0-2 Stoke City (Joselu)

46 minIghalo is presented with a half-chance in the opening seconds but his speculative effort was off target. Still, it gives Watford the platform to get onto the front foot. They did to shake things up in the Stoke defence.

46 minWe are back underway at Vicarage Road. What have the Hornets got to offer in this second half?

3.48pmThe half-time whistle goes at Vicarage Road and a close-range finish from Walters is the difference between the two sides. There haven't been that many opportunities but Stoke won't care - they are 45 minutes away from an important three points.

45+1 minHALF TIME: Watford 0-1 Stoke City

43 minCHANCE! That was an opportunity for Watford. A delicate flick from Ighalo finds Jurado, but after moving into a shooting position, he sends the ball high into the stands. He should have done better.

40 minBOOKING! The first caution of the afternoon goes to Capoue, who is booked for a foul on Imbula.

38 minUPDATE! Elsewhere in the Premier League, West Ham are leading at Chelsea and Leicester are ahead at Crystal Palace. So far, it's a day for the visitors.

35 minStoke have the ball in the net when Arnautovic converts a Bardsley cross but the assistant raises his flag for offside. It's a very tight call, but the correct one.

32 minWatford are slowly starting to build a head of steam but they cannot force Butland into any kind of significant save. Stoke have been struggling for defenders of late, but even without Shawcross, they look a tough unit today.

29 minCHANCE! After a couple of free kicks come to nothing, Watford make more of a corner but Deeney's header is off target. They've been a bit better over the last few minutes but Stoke look comfortable.

25 minWatford need to try to regain a foothold in this match. They started well but since the quarter-hour mark, Stoke have taken over. It's a little too soon for the Hornets to be distracted by the FA Cup semi-finals.

20 minIt's all Stoke now and Arnautovic has an opportunity to double the lead after beating the Watford offside trap. However, he doesn't connect cleanly with his shot and it goes wide of the target.

17 minIt must have been my words of encouragement! Stoke take the lead at Vicarage Road through Walters, who converts at the back post after being found by Bardsley. A driving run from Imbula started the move.

17 minGOAL! Watford 0-1 Stoke City (Walters)

16 minStoke are the underdogs in this game but a draw wouldn't really suit them. They are safe from relegation so they have little reason not to go for maximum points at places like Watford. They are probing away on either side of the pitch, but as of yet, nothing has tested Gomes.

12 minA few Stoke crosses have gone astray during the opening stages and it is no different when Walters gets into some space on the flank. He tried to roll a low pass across the penalty area but is was easily defended by the Hornets.

9 minIt's Watford who create the first chance of the game through Ighalo, but despite Ighalo getting the better of Wollscheid, he cannot beat Butland, who gets down low to prevent the ball from finding the bottom corner.

7 minStoke are having a lot of the ball but Watford are defending in numbers. You wouldn't expect too many goals between these two sides and although it is early days, it doesn't look like the kind of the game that will produce many this afternoon.

3 minGood start from Watford, who almost create an opportunity through Ighalo but the Hornets player cannot find strike partner Deeney with his pass.

1 minStoke get us underway at Vicarage Road!

2.57pmAs for Stoke, Mark Hughes has made four changes, with Phil Bardsley, Marc Muniesa, Jon Walters and Joselu all coming into the side.

2.57pmOdion Ighalo was a doubt for Watford, but the club's top goalscorer starts. However, Quique Sanchez Flores has made three alterations, with Miguel Britos, Mario Suarez and Jose Jurado all taking their place in the starting lineup.

2.55pmSTOKE CITY SUBSTITUTES: Haugaard, Ireland, Adam, Diouf, Teixeira, Crouch, Krkic

2.55pmSTOKE CITY XI: Butland; Bardsley, Cameron, Wollscheid, Muniesa; Whelan, Imbula; Walters, Afellay, Arnautovic; Joselu

2.54pmWATFORD SUBSTITUTES: Pantilimon, Prodl, Watson, Abdi, Anya, Guedioura, Amrabat

2.53pmWATFORD XI: Gomes; Nyom, Britos, Cathcart, Ake; Behrami, Suarez, Capoue; Jurado, Deeney; Ighalo

2.53pmWith only seven minutes to go until kickoff, let's get straight to the teams!

2.52pmHello, and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the Premier League match between Watford and Stoke City.

Live Commentary: Watford 1-2 Stoke City - as it happened

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Teams mentioned in this article :

Stoke City

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