STEVE McCLAREN’S wait for a Premier League win as Newcastle United head coach goes on after Watford piled on the frustration at St James’ Park.

Nigerian striker Odio Ighalo, signed on a free from Udinese last season, scored twice in the first half to put the Hornets well on course for a 2-1 victory on Tyneside.

While Watford have adapted to the Premier League well, McClaren is yet to taste a win in the top-flight since taking over and that run has stretched to six ahead of dates with Chelsea and Manchester City.

Dutchman Daryl Janmaat’s stirring second half display, which earned him a goal just after the hour, did threaten to inspire a successful fightback from Newcastle.

But in the end Newcastle could not find a way through and Watford held on to the points.

McClaren mixed things up beforehand in the hope of a change of fortunes, with the two holding midfielders system dropped in favour of a playing four men further forward. That meant Ayoze Perez replacing Vurnon Anita.

And had Papiss Cisse scored one of his two early chances – the first was a half chance while the second was a shot off target when he was unmarked in front of goal – then things could have been a lot different.

Instead Ighalo showed Newcastle how it is done and his first arrived in the tenth minute. After Massadio Haidara was robbed by Almen Abdi down the right, the Watford winger’s cross was teed up for the African striker to finish following some neat link up play from Troy Deeney and Etienne Capoue. Ighalo took a touch before shooting between Janmaat’s legs and inside Tim Krul’s bottom right corner.

And 18 minutes later he grabbed his second by rounding Krul and finding the empty net when he was put through by Deeney, who had embarrassed Fabricio Coloccini deep in the Newcastle half.

After the restart McClaren introduced Siem de Jong for Cisse, with Ayoze Perez asked to play centrally, and that did spark Newcastle in to life.

But it was Dutch defender Janmaat who was the most dangerous player for the home side and he got his reward for ambition by pulling a goal back. He tucked a finish beyond Heurehlo Gomes after Moussa Sissoko rolled him in on 62 minutes.

Gomes also had to make a flying save to his right to deny Janmaat a second, as Watford dug deep to try to keep out a Newcastle team which spent the majority of the second half in possession and in the visitors’ half.

Newcastle had waited 464 minutes for a league goal and it was hoped that it would lead to a second and then a third, but it was not to be and the relegation zone is already proving hard to climb out of for McClaren.

 

NEWCASTLE UNITED (4-2-3-1): Krul; Janmaat, Mbemba, Coloccini, Haidara (Aarons 79); Colback; Thauvin (Obertan 87), Sissoko, Wijnaldum, Perez; Cisse (De Jong 46, 5). Subs (not used): Elliot (gk), Williamson, Anita, Lascelles.

WATFORD (4-4-2): Gomes; Nyom, Prool, Cathcart, Anya; Abdi (Berghuis 76), Capoue, Watson (Guedioura 87), Jurado (ake 79); Deeney, Ighalo. Subs (not used): Ibarbo, Diamanti, Arlauskis (gk).