From Rob Lee, Obafemi Martins & Fabrice Pancrate: Five memorable meetings between Newcastle United and Watford

Newcastle United head into yet another key clash with Watford today as they look to move out of the Premier League relegation zone.

NewcastleWorld took a look back at some eye-catching meetings between the two sides over the three decades as the likes of Robert Lee, Fabrice Pancrate and Obafemi Martins made their mark at St James Park:

21/11/1992: Newcastle United 2-0 Watford

Kevin Keegan’s Magpies looked well on their way to the Division One title after taking maximum points from their first 11 games of the 1992/93 season.

They suffered a mini-blip with defeats against Grimsby Town, Leicester City and a home draw with title rivals Swindon Town.

But a 3-1 win at Charlton Athletic restored some confidence as United prepared to welcome Watford to a wet and windy St James Park.

A tight and nervy first-half saw both sides go close with Robert Lee denied at the near post by Hornets keeper Perry Suckling and Magpies number one Pavel Srnicek produce a smart save from a flicked header from Ken Charlery.

But two quickfire yellow cards saw the visitors reduced to ten men as Gerard Lavin was sent-off and that gave Keegan’s side the momentum they needed to go on and claim a win.

Gavin Peacock broke the deadlock six minutes into the second-half as he rounded off an intricate passing move involving Liam O’Brien, Lee Clark, Paul Bracewell and Barry Venison.

A handball by Lee Nogan gave Peacock a chance to double his tally and secure the points from the penalty spot.

Suckling kept out of the spot-kick - but Robert Lee pounced to fire home his first St James Park goal and give United the second of four consecutive league wins.

NUFC: Srnicek, Venison, Beresford, O’Brien, Scott, Howey (Kilcline), Lee (Carr), Peacock, Kelly, Clark, Bracewell

Hornets: Suckling, Putney, Drysdale, Dublin, Holdsworth, Ashby, Hessenthaler, Nogan (Porter), Furlong (Willis), Charlery, Lavin

16/12/2006: Newcastle United 2-1 Watford

Glenn Roeder was in charge of Newcastle’s first season without long-term number nine Alan Shearer - and it was the current wearer of that famous shirt that saw off Watford in December 2006.

United’s underwhelming performances had been dictated by a raft of injuries to key players and inconsistent performances.

Former Inter striker Martins had recently struck his first Premier League goal for the club in a 3-2 home win and followed it up with a brace in a 3-1 victory at Blackburn Rovers three weeks earlier.

With academy products Steven Taylor, Paul Huntington and Peter Ramage all in the side, the Magpies edged in front four minutes after half-time as Martins headed a James Milner cross beyond Hornets keeper Richard Lee.

The visitors got back on level-terms just before the hour-mark when an Ashley Young corner-kick was converted at Hameur Bouazza - but Martins had the last laugh as he crashed a powerful effort into the roof of the net inside the final five minutes of the game.

After the game, Roeder hailed his number nine saying: “He was asked what shirt he wanted and he wanted to wear the number nine.

“There was not any reason why he should not wear it. As we know, it is probably the most special shirt any Newcastle player could ever wear.”

NUFC: Given, Huntington, Babayaro, Butt (Parker), Taylor, Ramage, Milner, Dyer, Emre (Duff), Martins, Siberski Subs: Srnicek, Pattison, Rossi

Hornets: Lee, Chambers (Mariappa), Stewart, DeMerit, Mahon, Henderson, Young, Shittu, Bouazza, Bangura, Smith (Francis) Subs: Chamberlain, Powell, McNamee

05/12/2009: Newcastle United 2-0 Watford

The name of Fabrice Pancrate will only ever conjure up one memory for Newcastle United supporters - and it came against Watford as Chris Hughton’s Magpies claimed a hard-earned win against the odds at St James Park.

United made a fine start and took a deserved lead on 20 minutes after Marlon Harewood challenged Hornets keeper Scott Loach just outside the visitors area.

The loose ball deflected to Peter Lovenkrands and the Danish striker tapped the ball into the empty net from around eight yards.

United were reduced to ten men four minutes into the second-half when Kevin Nolan received a second yellow card after a coming together with Henri Lansbury.

But the togetherness fostered in a tight United squad saw them hold on until the closing-stages when a stunning turn and finish from Pancrate gave him his first and only goal for the club and secured an invaluable three points for his side.

Hughton praised the Frenchman after the game, saying: “It was a wonderful goal and a wonderful time to score.

“Watford were certainly putting us under pressure and probing with their extra player, and we had to have an outlet.

“Fabrice turned out to be a good enough outlet and scored a super goal. He hadn’t played too many games this season, but we knew he came fit and free of injury.

“He’s certainly excited the crowd in the periods he’s come on, and the next step for him is to start games.”

NUFC: Harper, Simpson, S Taylor, Coloccini, Enrique, Nolan, Guthrie (Pancrate), Smith, Gutierrez, Harewood (Carroll), Lovenkrands (Butt) Subs: Krul, Khizanishvili, R Taylor, Ranger

Hornets: Loach, Mariappa, Hodson, Cathcart, Doyley, Lansbury, Cleverley, Cowie, Eustace, Helguson, Graham (Ellington) Subs: Lee, Harley, DeMerit, Bennett, Severin, Henderson

25/11/2017: Newcastle United 0-3 Watford

A clinical display from Watford and an abysmal defensive display from Newcastle allowed the Hornets to claim an easy three points from their November 2017 visit to St James Park.

The visitors always looked the more likely of the two sides to get in front and they took the lead on 19 minutes as England Under-21 midfielder Will Hughes fired home at the Gallowgate End.

Things went from bad to worse for the Magpies as their visitors doubled their lead in comical circumstances in first-half injury-time.

A cross from Marvin Zeegalaar caused problems for the United defence and full-back DeAndre Yedlin deflected the ball beyond Rob Elliot and inside his near post.

A third goal arrived just after the hour-mark and killed off any hopes of a comeback as Richarlison broke down the left-hand side and allowed Andre Gray to volley past Elliot from close range.

The result had the Magpies looking nervously over their shoulders at the Premier League relegation zone and left manager Rafa Benitez to deliver an honest assessment on his side’s performance.

He said: “We have a team of young players and they are working hard but we are playing against good teams who are organised.

“After the game I just said to them what we did wrong.

“If you lose a game through lack of character or passion, but here we made mistakes. This team has the passion and character to come through this.”

NUFC: Elliot, Yedlin, Lejeune, Clark, Manquillo, Ritchie, Shelvey, Diame (Merino), Murphy (Perez), Gayle, Joselu (Mitrovic) Subs: Darlow, Mbemba, Aarons, Gamez

Hornets: Gomes, Mariappa, Kabasele, Britos (Prodl), Femenia, Hughes (Carrillo), Doucoure, Cleverley, Zeegelaar, Richarlison (Pereyra), Gray Subs: Karnezis, Janmaat, Watson, Copoue

03/11/2018: Newcastle United 1-0 Watford

A challenging start to the 2017/18 season saw the Magpies head into their early-November meeting with Watford without a win to their name in any competition.

With memories of a poor defensive display against the Hornets during the previous season still fresh in the mind, Javi Garcia urged his side to take advantage of any uncertainty in their hosts backline.

United, despite heavy pressure, held firm during the first-half, but had to readjust as injuries to Jamaal Lascelles and Jonjo Shelvey saw them robbed of two key players.

There were some narrow escapes as Roberto Pereyra struck the crossbar for Watford and Stefano Okaka lashed over the bar from close range.

The decisive moment arrived on 65 minutes when Magpies substitute Ayoze Perez diverted a cross from fellow replacement Ki beyond Hornets keeper Ben Foster much to the relief and delight of the vast majority of those inside St James Park.

The goal also brought the debut of Ayoze’s fingers in his ears celebration, which was seen as a reaction to criticism both he and his team-mates had received following several poor displays.

"We knew we needed to win,” said Benitez after the game.

“If we continue winning, maybe this will be one of my biggest results.

“What I will say is that it is a little bit difficult when you are doing well, but you cannot win.

“Then you go to the next game, and you can feel that confidence is low.”

NUFC: Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles (Schar), Fernandez, Dummett, Ritchie, Shelvey (Ki), Diame, Kenedy, Muto (Perez), Rondon Subs: Darlow, Manquillo, Atsu, Joselu

Watford: Foster, Femenia, Mariappa, Cathcart, Holebas, Doucoure, Capoue, Hughes (Okaka), Pereyra, Deulofeu (Gray), Success (Chalobah) Subs: Gomes, Kabasele, Masina, Sema