Watford and Everton have ended their run of defeats by sealing a 1-1 draw at Vicarage Road in Saturday afternoon's Premier League clash.

A lacklustre start to the first half ended with a goal apiece inside three minutes of stoppage time, but neither side could find a winner before the full-time whistle.

James McCarthy opened the scoring one minute into stoppage time of the first half, but Jose Holebas responded immediately to give the home side an equaliser.

A handful of visiting supporters made their feelings known with a 'Martinez out' banner, which they unfurled prior to kickoff, and in the early stages of the game, the supporters did not receive much inspiration from their team.

It was a slow start from both sides, with the first real chance of the game coming in the 17th minute when Jose Jurado showed some skill with a swift turn on the edge of the box before shooting towards the top corner.

Joel Robles managed to get fingertips on the ball to send it behind for a corner, and a few minutes later, the opposing keeper Heurelho Gomes was in action to deny Gerard Deulofeu's curling effort.

Romelu Lukaku saw little of the ball in the first half and his one solo effort resulted in a 30-yard shot blazing over the crossbar and into the stands.

Both Ben Watson and Ross Barkley got themselves in and around the respective boxes, but both unleashed shots straight into the goalkeepers' hands.

It was in stoppage time of the first half when the tone of the match changed as McCarthy put Everton into the lead after capitalising on an error from Miguel Britos.

The defender was too casual on the ball and allowed McCarthy to brush him aside before slotting the ball past Gomes and into the back of the net.

Everton's lead was short-lived, though, as Watford bounced back two minutes later with an equaliser that once again came from poor defending from the opposing team.

John Stones failed to show conviction in clearing the ball and needlessly conceded a corner, which was delivered towards the back post to find Holebas, who headed into the net.

After the break, both teams ramped up the pressure as they went all out for a winner, and it was Aaron Lennon who caused some trouble early on.

Deulofeu showed quick feet and dodged defenders before sending a through-ball to Lennon, who cut inside and unleashed a shot, which was deflected wide for a corner.

Gomes was called into action a few minutes later when Lennon drove into the box again and scuffed a shot aiming towards the corner, but the keeper managed to keep him out.

Lukaku attempted to rush on to the rebound, but Gomes did well to claw back the ball and prevent the Belgian forward from slotting home.

The striker was involved again as he managed to fool his marker before teeing up Lennon with a back-heel, but the winger's shot was parried away by Gomes.

Lukaku had an opportunity to grab the winner in the 97th minute when he latched on to the rebound of Kevin Mirallas's free kick, but his close-range effort deflected onto the top of the crossbar.

Watford also had an opportunity through Watson in the first of four minutes of additional time, but his 25-yard shot towards the far post was stopped by Robles.

Everton are 14th in the league table on 39 points, while Watford sit 15th, 11 points from the relegation zone.