Imrân Louza’s incredible first-half free-kick wasn’t enough to earn Watford a share of the spoils at Blackpool, as a hard-fought clash at Bloomfield Road finished 3-1 in favour of the hosts.

The Hornets fell behind to Gary Madine’s well-taken opener inside the opening 10 minutes, but Louza levelled terms 19 minutes later, opening his account for the club with a curling effort from the corner of the 18-yard box.

The second-half yielded chances for both teams, with Hassane Kamara and Ismaïla Sarr both going close for the men in blue, before Jerry Yates notched a late brace within three minutes to seal the win for Michael Appleton’s men.

A second successive defeat sees Slaven Bilić’s charges slip down to 12th in the Sky Bet Championship table, ahead of the visit of Dean Smith’s Norwich City back at Vicarage Road next Saturday (October 15, 7.45pm).

Head Coach Bilić made four changes to the Hornets’ line-up following the defeat to Swansea City in midweek, with Dan Gosling, William Troost-Ekong, Louza and Vakoun Bayo all being drafted into the XI.

And it was a competitive start to proceedings, with Louza and Callum Wright each shooting at goal in the opening six minutes as both teams looked to gain a foothold in the clash.

There was a brief stoppage in play when Ken Sema hurt himself in a collision with Christian Kabasele in the Watford box, and almost immediately after the restart the visitors found themselves 1-0 down.

After going close to meeting a teasing cross under pressure from Bachmann, Blackpool forward Madine made no mistake with a second chance moments later, latching on to a deft Callum Connolly header across goal to coolly slot the ball home.

Watford quickly went on the attack in response to the early setback, though a succession of corners ultimately came to nothing, and Bachmann had to be alert to stop a Yates effort on the quarter-of-an-hour mark after some neat play by Sonny Carey.

A strong period of possession saw the Golden Boys grow in confidence, and Sarr went close to notching an equaliser in the 22nd minute, but Kamara’s low cross from the left just evaded the on-rushing Senegal international.

A foul on Louza, on the corner of the Blackpool box, opened up a set-piece opportunity for Watford soon after, and though the Seasiders weathered that storm, the Morocco international made the most of a second chance from the opposite flank with a sensational strike that made it 1-1.

Bachmann calmly held a speculative Theo Corbeanu shot from range, as Blackpool looked to re-gain the ascendancy straight from the whistle, but it was Watford who went closest to taking the lead six minutes from half-time, when Bayo’s angled shot was deflected out for a corner.

Bayo was at the centre of the Hornets’ next attack, though he couldn’t finish after getting the better of Dominic Thompson, and then the Tangerines served a reminder of their threat when Carey met a long ball over the top and crashed an effort into the side netting.

Yáser Asprilla replaced Sema - who had been featuring in his 100th game as a Watford player - at half-time, and Kamara almost got the second period off to a bang with a looping ball that came close to catching out Chris Maxwell, following a marauding run.

The home side enjoyed a chance of their own soon after, with Corbeanu flashing a fierce attempt off target, before Hamza Choudhury let rip from the edge of the box for the Hornets following a rehearsed Louza set-piece.

Clever play from Asprilla set up a chance for Sarr in the 54th minute, with the latter’s effort deflecting off the former for a goal-kick, and then Blackpool’s Corbeanu was again denied by away stopper Bachmann.

With both teams creating chances Bilić introduced Keinan Davis into the action in an attempt to swing the momentum in Watford’s favour, but it was livewire Corbeanu who next threatened in favour of the hosts, this time firing wide.

Bachmann was then at his best to keep out a piercing Madine header in the 69th minute, before Jordan Thorniley tested the Austria international from point-blank range, to no avail.

Tom Dele-Bashiru made a welcome return to match action for Watford, but the home pressure eventually told in the 81st minute as Yates - in space at the back post - finally breached Bachmann’s stubborn resolve.

And Yates put gloss on the scoreline for the Seasiders moments later, calmly finishing in the bottom corner to put the result beyond doubt, and condemn Watford to a fourth defeat of the campaign.