Watford’s Under-23s played out an entertaining 2-2 draw with Charlton Athletic after a goal-laden first half at London Colney.

It was a frantic opening to proceedings as the Hornets and Charlton traded blows. The Addicks notched the first before the Golden Boys equalised through Tiago Cukur who tapped in at the far post – all before the fifth minute.

Charlton responded as Aaron Henry scored a penalty before Jimiel Chikukwa brought the sides level by heading in James Morris’ cross in off the post, following a well-worked corner.

In comparison, the second half was a much more composed affair with both sides settling into frequent spells of possession. Goalscorer Chikukwa forced a good save out of Nathan Harvey, and Adrian Blake hit the side-netting, but neither team were able to break the deadlock as the game ended level.

Under-23 Lead Coach Omer Riza felt that the draw was ultimately a fair result, and was pleased with how his side responded after the early goals.

“I thought it was a good game for the boys today,” said Riza. “We did some work yesterday, not loads because obviously we had played on Friday, and we went through a game plan. We could’ve maybe nicked the game at the end, but I think the draw was a fair result.

“It was disappointing really because we do all the work to not concede early, we want to be solid and disciplined. We got hit with a ball over the top and they scored from it. It might’ve been offside to be fair, but we worked hard and got ourselves back in the game.

“I think we had good possession in that first half, much like the match against Cardiff City. We had good possession, we were composed in what we were doing, and we had a first-team player playing today at the back which gave us much more experience there.

“We had good control of the game, it was just more about making it count and getting ourselves into positions on the pitch or the final third where we could punish them and get more shots off.

“We didn’t create as much as we would’ve liked but we created enough to go and win the game. We scored two goals and we probably could’ve scored a few more. We might’ve had a penalty at the end there with Jimiel [Chikukwa] who went through, but it’s shame we don’t have VAR in the Under-23s.”

Despite not taking the three points, Riza was pleased with how his side maintained their game plan and kept Charlton’s chances at a minimum.

“They worked hard today,” Riza continued. “They [Charlton] started with a back four and went to a back three in the second half – we knew how we were going to press them both ways.

“It is important with the development of the players that we get them to recognise when they are playing against a three or a four, and they have to understand what the press looks like and how we approach the press. That’s all a part of their development so I think they did that really well today.

“Charlton didn’t really cause us loads of problems today. Their number 11 in the wide areas was quite good one versus one when isolating Jack Broome or Ryan Andrews, but we dealt with it quite well. I think if there was going to be a winner out of the two teams it was going to be us.”

First-team player Nicolas Nkoulou started the match and played 30 minutes as he looks to take his next step on the road to recovery following injury. Riza was pleased with the defender’s influence on the side and explained how important that relationship is between the Under-23s and the first team.

“Dan [Gosling] played the last game against Cardiff, and he hasn’t featured since pre-season so it was nice to get him in there, and Nkoulou trained with us yesterday and he has been good with the boys and was really good in the game,” Riza added.

“These players are experienced, and they breeze through these games. I think it is important and Roy Hodgson has always been that way. He wants to play senior players in the Under-23s if they need the minutes or if they’re coming back from injury and we are open for that.

“That’s what we are there for so that young players can develop and go up and for the first-team players to come down and get their minutes. If it can be an experience for our players to play with the senior players and see what their levels are it’s always a bonus, especially to see him get through 30 minutes confidently today without breaking a sweat. It works for everyone.”