The Republic of Ireland under 21 international came off the bench to send his side through to the third round of the Carling Cup, with his winner against Darlington coming in the final minutes of extra time.

Aidy Boothroyd named a young team to take on the League Two outfit at Vicarage Road, with Lewis Young lining up for his full debut as well as the returning Damien Francis, who started alongside Ross Jenkins, Lionel Ainsworth and Lewis Young in midfield.

The threat of strikers Will Hoskins and Tamas Priskin was blunted by the Darlo defence in the first half an hour, and it was left to 29-year-old Francis to put the Hornets ahead.

With 37 minutes on the clock, the ex-Wigan midfielder popped up 10 yards out to pounce on a loose ball and put the home side ahead with a crisp strike, much to the dismay of the Darlington players who appealed in vain for offside.

The second half saw both sides engage in a battle of attrition in the middle of the park, with Darlington more than holding their own against the Championship side.

O'Toole was introduced to the fray 15 minutes into the half, with Liam Henderson following him off the bench with 15 minutes to go.

The visitors had chances to get back into the game, with young keeper Scott Loach having to be on-form to keep Watford ahead.

But he could do nothing about their late, late equaliser which stunned the Watford faithful.

With almost all of the allotted four minutes of injury time played, Gregg Blundell popped up to send the game into extra time with a dink which evaded the 20-year-old Loach.

There were chances aplenty in the opening minutes of extra time, but Watford had to wait for the second period to seal their place in the next round of the cup.

With penalties looking likely, O'Toole latched onto a perfect knock-down from substitute Henderson to smash a shot beyond Simon Brown and into the corner of the Darlo net.

It finished 2-1, with boss Aidy Boothroyd happy overall with his young side's performance.

"We didn't play particularly well tonight," said the Yorkshireman.
"But sometimes that happens when you change a team around and you wonder what you're going to get from youngsters, but there were certainly some pluses tonight that's for sure.

"That's why these evenings are valuable, you just hope you can get through and win them.

"We're in the next round and that's the main thing."

Tuesday night's win was a welcome result for Watford after they went down 3-2 at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Tommy Smith proved his worth once again by getting Watford back into the game twice with his brace, only to see Nathan Tyson net the winner for Forest.

The loss, which was their first of the season, leaves Watford 13th in the Championship table having earned four points from three games.
They take on Ipswich at Vicarage Road this Saturday, kick off at 5.20pm.