"Mixed feelings" for Martin after Watford draw

Will Hughes gave the visitors a second-minute lead at St. James’ Park but the Magpies responded, with Fabian Schär levelling the scores before the break.

United had some chances to regain the lead after the restart, with Isaac Hayden and Yoshinori Muto among those going close, while the Hornets also threatened through Isaac Success and Roberto Pereyra, who both saw their efforts repelled by Dúbravka.

And the Slovakian stopper felt that a draw was probably an honest reflection of the contest as a whole – though he conceded that his side’s desire to take maximum points in front of their own supporters leaves them with conflicting feelings after being held by Javi Gracia’s men.

“When you play at home you want to win, but on the other side, we have to say that it’s probably fair,” he told nufc.co.uk. “In this position you need every point, so maybe in the end we’ll say it was a great point. But now, we have mixed feelings, because we want to win every game at home.

“You saw today that they created some chances as well, we created some chances, and the second half was probably our better 45 minutes. It’s probably fair.

“The early goal, we didn’t expect that, but it was a deflection and very unlucky because it went from Jamaal (Lascelles) to Dummy (Paul Dummett) and then fell straight in front of him (Hughes). I was unlucky as well, because it was not even a proper shot, but it hit the bottom of my palm and then in.

“But we reacted well, in the second half especially. We created some chances and kept the ball at our feet a little bit more than in the first half, which was important also. We created two or three opportunities.

“It’s good that we created them, so hopefully in the next game it will come. We could score more goals, and hopefully it will come. It’s important for confidence, and defensively I think we did well – in the first half they created one or two chances, and in the second half it was the same. Both teams could have won this game, so it’s fair enough for both, I think.”

Steve Bruce’s side now have a fortnight to prepare for their next Premier League outing at Liverpool, with many of his squad away on international duty during the two-week break.

Dúbravka is set to link up with his Slovakia teammates in the coming days, as they prepare for their vital European Championship qualification Group E double-header against Croatia and Hungary.

But the 30-year-old says he will be prepared for next month’s trip to Anfield on his return – and hopes the Magpies can take some heart from their excellent 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.

“I have a good session for the national team – we have two very difficult games – so I need to be ready for international duty now, and then I will try to get ready for Liverpool,” he said.

“It’s tough to play against Liverpool. We’ve played them many times and it’s difficult always to play against the top sides.

"But we surprised also last week, so in this Premier League anything can happen. Hopefully we will be in good shape.”