WATFORD boss Chris Wilder says Patrick Roberts' stunning equaliser for Sunderland was a "goal worthy of getting something out of the game".

Roberts struck in the fifth minute of added time to complete a two-goal comeback and deny Wilder's Hornets a win at the Stadium of Light.

Wilder had no complaints with the result and felt his side "ran out of steam" in the final stages as the Black Cats pushed for a leveller.

"I’ve talked before about there’s certain things from the players' point of view about their conditioning,” said Watford's boss.

“It was the same after the Wigan game. We really should be coming on strong in the last 10 or 15 minutes, and going toe-to-toe with them.

“They’re a young, energetic team with a lot of legs in the team, and you need that. But we ran out of steam and also our quality, for me, went a bit and we got sloppy.”

Watford got themselves in front in the first half through Christian Kabesele's header and doubled their lead through Ryan Porteous 21 minutes from time - but Luke O'Nien halved the deficit just 60 seconds later.

Sunderland pushed for an equaliser and Watford held on until deep in stoppage time.

Wilder said: “We defended well and we looked like we wanted to defend.

“We got two goals up but I said to the players, when you do that at a place like this you can’t then turn it over straight away.

“At 2-0 we needed to see out a five or 10-minute period, which we didn’t do. That gave their players more energy, and then they’ve found a fabulous finish right at the end.

“The gap between our second goal and their first was too short for our own good. You need to take the heat out of the game and we didn’t. We basically handed them a route back into the game.”

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What did irk Wilder was the fact seven minutes was added on at the end of the game - not because he thought that was too much stoppage time but because of what he deems to be inconsistency with officiating in the division.

He explained: “I’m not a professional at wasting time. I’m not someone who is into game killing.

“There is game management though, and you’ve seen games this season where we’ve been chasing it and been on the receiving end.

“We’ve had four or five like that – QPR away and Cardiff at home, where teams are taking game management to the next level. That led me to speak to the League Managers’ Association and also the referees.

“I’m alright today with seven minutes being added on – but where were the seven minutes in the four or five games we’ve had? There wasn’t.

“So I’m a bit aggrieved by that, but the neutrals and certainly the home fans will say they deserved something given their second-half performance and pressure.

“Plus you can’t get away from the fact it was a fabulous finish by Roberts. A brilliant bit of individual skill and a goal worthy of getting something out of the game.”