A point at Turf Moor is never a bad result but Watford will feel frustrated after they let a two-goal lead slip this afternoon and were pegged back to a 2-2 draw by Burnley as the new Championship campaign got underway.

The Hornets looked set to make it an opening day victory for the second successive season when Mark Yeates doubled the lead given to the Hornets by another new arrival, Craig Forsyth, at the end of the first half.

But Burnley were soon back in it thanks to substitute Charlie Austin and another player off the bench, Keith Treacy, equalised for the Clarets with six minutes left.

Both sides had other good chances – John Eustace coming the closest for Watford with an effort cleared off the line – but that was no surprise, given an amazing 39 goals had been scored in the previous seven league meetings between the two sides in Lancashire.

Despite being pegged back, the result means Watford have not lost on the opening day of the season for five years.

Sean Dyche gave a debut to four of Watford’s summer signings – Carl Dickinson, Yeates, Forsyth and Clarets old boy Chris Iwelumo – while another, David Mirfin, was on the bench.

The Hornets bossed the opening exchanges and had the first attempt after two minutes but Forsyth scuffed a shot into the ground and Lee Grant was easily able to gather.

Burnley were soon on the front foot though, playing a couple of dangerous balls into the box before Dean Marney wasn’t too far away with a well-struck half-volley from the edge of the 18-yard box.

The Hornets spurned a potentially great opening in the ninth minute though, when Iwelumo fed Marvin Sordell in space on the right side of the area but the striker got caught in two mins and looked to try and pick out a team-mate, when going it alone was probably the better option, and the chance went begging.

The hosts immediately countered and the ball was worked to Jay Rodriguez on the left side of the area and he checked back inside Lloyd Doyley before connecting well with a shot that Adrian Mariappa blocked, with Scott Loach already poised to try and save behind him.

The Hornets keeper also had to be alert to pluck a dangerous Wade Elliott cross off the head of Rodriguez soon after as the Clarets continued to generally have the better of the opening 15 minutes.

Burnley continued to look the more threatening and their opponents were nearly the architects of their own downfall in the 20th minute when Loach fluffed a clearing kick and Elliott and Martin Paterson combined before the latter tested the Hornets keeper with a well-struck drive.

The opener almost arrived for the hosts in the 25th minute when Kieran Trippier’s delivery from the right was met on the volley by Rodriguez, but he guided his effort narrowly wide of the far post, leaving Loach to quite rightly berate his defenders after the striker was not picked up.

Having almost fallen behind, Watford very nearly went in front moments later.

Mark Yeates’ initial free-kick from the left was poor but the Hornets kept the ball alive, Forsyth headed it into the danger zone where Iwelumo shielded it through to Sordell, who stabbed wide on the turn from inside the six-yard box.

The Hornets weren’t too far away again after 35 minutes when, from a patient build-up, Ross Jenkins gave the ball to Yeates on his right and he found Sordell on the edge of the box. As he has done before to good effect, the striker immediately spun and hit a left-footed piledriver that Grant could only palm up into the air but the keeper was able to claim the ball before the advancing Jenkins as it dropped.

The visitors continued to look better as the half came to a close – and that improvement was rewarded in the last minute of the opening 45.

A ball down the right fed Sordell and he capitalised on a promising opening half to the campaign by riding one challenge and looking up before standing up a pin-point cross for Forsyth to confidently head in his first goal for the Hornets and give them the interval lead.

Clarets boss Eddie Howe made a change at the interval, with Charlie Austin replacing Paterson, but, again, it was Sordell who almost created an opening three minutes after the interval – showing good strength and pace to burst clear on the left before sending in a low cross that Grant got to just before Iwelumo.

Marney warmed Loach’s gloves with a long-range effort at the other end but the hosts went closer when Elliott delivered a superb cross from the right and Austin met the ball at the far post, but put it narrowly wide.

Andre Amougou picked up the game’s first yellow card after 53 minutes for a foul on Sordell and, from the resultant free-kick, Yeates hit a rising near post drive that Grant had to push behind.

The chances kept coming as, following the deep corner from the left, Eustace stole in round the back and guided an effort though a crowded goalmouth, only to see it cleared off the line by Trippier.

Watford were looking more settled than for much of the first half, although Loach had to tip over an unintentional over-hit cross from Trippier that was going dangerously close to the top corner.

New Clarets signing Treacy entered the fray at the expense of Elliott after 65 minutes and almost made an instant impression with a stinging right-footed drive that Loach let squirm from his grasp before the ball was cleared.

Iwelumo’s debut ended two minutes later when he was replaced by Troy Deeney and he arrived in time to see his side put clear daylight over the home side.

When the ball was played forward, the Hornets found themselves with a man over on the right side of the area as Sordell ran at the defence before knocking the ball into the path of Yeates, who had time to control, look up and pick his spot before calmly dispatching it past Grant to give the Hornets a 2-0 lead in the 70th minute.

Watford were looking well set at that point but the hosts were back in the contest six minutes later when Austin was adjudged to have got the decisive touch to a shot that was powered in by Treacy and seemed to take a deflection on its way through to the Burnley substitute.

It almost got worse for the visitors with ten minutes remaining when Treacy hit a low swerving effort with the outside of his right foot from the left side of the area that Loach did well to push out.

But the Hornets did heed the warning and in the 84th minute Burnley were level.

Good as though Rodriguez’s deep in-swinging left-footed cross from the opposite flank was, the Hornets will still be disappointed by the manner in which Treacy was able to come in unmarked round the back and head back across Loach to make it 2-2 – making him the third debutant to score in the game.

Burnley; Grant, Trippier, Amougou, Mee, Fox; Elliott (Treacy 65), McCann, Marney, Wallace; Paterson (Austin 46), Rodriguez. Not used: Jensen, Edgar and Bartley.

Watford: Loach; Doyley, Mariappa, Taylor, Dickinson; Eustace; Yeates, Jenkins, Forsyth; Iwelumo (Deeney 67), Sordell. Not used: Gilmartin, Mirfin, Mingoia and Massey.

Bookings: Amougou for a foul on Sordell (53); Doyley for a foul on Rodriguez (89).

Attendance: 14,617.

Referee: Mark Brown.