Report: Armstrong's late leveller rescues a replay

Russell Martin made a host of changes to his starting line-up and saw his side fall behind inside five minutes, as Matheus Martins’s low free-kick gave the hosts the perfect start.

It took a long time for Saints to find their usual rhythm, but a quadruple substitution in the 63rd minute breathed new life into the tie.

Saints pushed for a late leveller and it duly arrived in the 89th minute when Armstrong shaped to curl one inside the far corner and instead whipped a clever low shot inside the near post to secure a replay.

Martin made nine changes in total, just as he did in the third round against Walsall, with only Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Ché Adams keeping their places from the team that dominated Swansea, particularly in a flawless first hour, eight days ago.

Of those coming in, there were full debuts for 17-year-old Tyler Dibling and recent recruit Joe Rothwell, while Jayden Meghoma was also given another start in the cup after impressing against the Saddlers.

But the changes did seem to affect Saints, and the usual fluency was missing from their game.

Mason Holgate went into the book for tripping Yáser Asprilla near the left corner of the penalty area and Martins took advantage, taking the low road to beat Joe Lumley down by his near post with a clever free-kick.

Dibling was involved for the first time soon after when his cross was met by Carlos Alcaraz, whose header forced a first save from goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann.

Tyler Dibling, 17, in action on his first senior start

Watford would threaten from another free-kick when former Saint Wesley Hoedt, now captaining the Hornets, tested Lumley, whose handling was again up to the task when Jamal Lewis fizzed a low drive down to the keeper’s right.

The Saints stopper came flying out of his box but was beaten to the ball by Vakoun Bayo, leaving the visitors with an unguarded net as Bayo crossed from the byline, but Saints had bodies back to diffuse the danger.

Then Harwood-Bellis, one of the few regular fixtures on the field, showed his sharpness to shut down Asprilla with a crucial last-ditch tackle to keep Saints in the game.

Martin’s side were struggling to get anything going, but Alcaraz led a counter-attack shortly before half time, finding Dibling to his right, who resisted the urge to shoot and instead tried to return the ball to the Argentinian as the move broke down.

Rothwell showed his set-piece prowess with an inviting free-kick, crossed in from the right and met by Harwood-Bellis on the penalty spot, but his header was off target.

The defender had been Saints’ best player in a below-par first period, but even he had a moment when he hesitated and then slipped in trying to deal with a right-wing cross, and Bayo stole in only to shoot wide in stoppage time.

There was a bit more life about Saints after the restart, who showed more willingness to test Bachmann from long range, though Alcaraz was twice off target after Harwood-Bellis sent one into the keeper’s chest from 35 yards.

But Watford continued to carry a threat, particularly down their left, as first Jack Stephens and then Lumley were forced to intervene as crosses flashed across the box.

Stuart Armstrong's 89th-minute equaliser extended Saints' all-time club record unbeaten run to 22 matches in all competitions

Martin turned to his bench just after the hour mark, introducing no fewer than four of his regulars at once, as Will Smallbone and Ryan Fraser joined the two Armstrongs in entering the fray.

There was fresh impetus about Saints straightaway, but Martins was only a post’s width away from doubling his tally – and Watford’s lead – when his deflected shot beat Lumley but not his upright.

Alcaraz headed wide and Holgate smashed one goalwards from 20 yards, forcing a spectacular Bachmann save, before Adam Armstrong saw a shot blocked as Saints forced the issue in the closing stages.

The equaliser finally arrived with just a minute of normal time remaining, as Armstrong gave Bachmann the eyes from 20 yards, finding a gap down by the keeper’s near post to level the scores and send more than 4,000 travelling Saints fans into raptures behind that goal.

There was still time for Saints to threaten a winner, with Harwood-Bellis denied by the increasingly busy Bachmann, but both sides will have to settle for a replay in around ten days’ time.

Watford: Bachmann, Andrews, Pollock, Sierralta, Hoedt (c), Lewis (Morris 62), Koné (Ince 76), Chakvetadze (Porteous 86), Martins (Dennis 76), Bayo, Asprilla (Sema 62).

Unused substitutes: Roberts, Livermore, Grieves, Rajovic.

Goal: Martins (5’).

Yellow cards: Chakvetadze.

Southampton: Lumley, Holgate, Harwood-Bellis, Stephens (c), Meghoma (Amo-Ameyaw 78), Alcaraz, Charles (Smallbone 63), Rothwell (S Armstrong 63), Dibling (A Armstrong 63), Adams (Fraser 63), Mara.

Unused substitutes: McCarthy, Bednarek, Walker-Peters, Manning.

Goal: S Armstrong (89’).

Yellow cards: Holgate, Alcaraz.

Referee: Michael Salisbury.

Attendance: 16,688 (4,029 away).