Chris Eagles' extraordinary winning goal from the halfway line stunned everybody at Withdean, everybody that is except Paul McShane.

The young Albion centre half was the one man inside the ground who knew his fellow Manchester United loanee was going to score, even before he took aim.

McShane feared the worst when, in the final minute of a first half commanded by the Seagulls, Wayne Henderson dashed out of his area to head clear from Marlon King as the Championship's top goalscorer chased a long pass.

Eagles, collecting the ball just inside Albion territory, struck the sweetest of right-foot shots beyond the retreating Henderson, McShane and Gary Hart into the vacant net.

It was appropriate that a player wearing No. 7 on the back of his red shirt and golden boots should score in such a memorable manner.

The goal was reminiscent of that famous effort by Eagles' hero, David Beckham, from the halfway line at Wimbledon during his early days at Manchester United.

McShane revealed: "Chris is probably one of my best mates at Manchester. We have grown up together and I know him like the back of my hand.

"Before it reached him I knew it was a goal, because his idol is David Beckham. He always goes on about him.

"He used to try it in academy and reserve games, so I said to myself 'if that goes to him he's got a sweet right foot on him, that's a goal'. He hit it as sweet as a nut and it absolutely flew. I tried my best to get back, so did Gary Hart, but he just hit it so nice it had too much pace and went by all of us.

"If you are going to get beat you want it to be by a goal like that. It's hard to take because we were the better team but, fair play to him, he won the game for them. I just wish he could have saved it for somebody else!"

So Albion's perpetual season of misfortune goes on. Again they were the better team against a Watford side back up to third following their seventh win out of eight, again they failed to make their superiority count.

Bad luck? Not this time, according to manager Mark McGhee. He left it to others to judge whether defeat was deserved and concentrated instead on some bad finishing.

He's right. Albion had enough chances to win and have only themselves to blame for not putting them away.

The biggest culprit was Seb Carole. The talented French winger, returning from an ankle injury, spurned a chance in the ninth minute which, if taken, would surely have led to at least a point and probably all three. A left-wing cross from compatriot Alex Frutos drifted beyond Colin Kazim-Richards and a Watford defender into the path of the unmarked Carole.

He should have buried it but his shot was blocked for a corner with his legs by 41-year-old keeper Alec Chamberlain, deputising for the banned Ben Foster. Carole was unfortunate not to make amends midway through the first half, when he hit the bar from 20 yards.

Kazim-Richards, running clear after robbing Jordan Stewart, was also acrobatically foiled by Chamberlain before Eagles soared.

McGhee, reflecting on Carole's early profligacy, said: "If there was one guy we wanted that chance to fall to it was Seb. In training every day he despatches those with ease.

When the ball arrived to him I expected him to score. That was a big disappointment.

"It's becoming a bit repetitive. When you don't take your chances and the other team do you are going to lose games. We had enough chances in the first half to put ourselves ahead and weren't up to it.

"That is ability really, some players score, some players don't. We don't have somebody at the moment who is a goalscorer. We have people who can play, who have good ability in lots of areas, but we don't have a goalscorer. It's a special ability, that's why most teams pay most money for the player that puts the ball in the back of the net."

Oh for somebody on Albion's side with Eagles' accurate eye for goal. They created less in the second half, despite remaining on top, and had Henderson to thank for keeping them in contention right to the end.

He blocked a fierce shot by King with his chest before denying King again, Ashley Young and sub James Chambers, all in the last five minutes.

There was still time for the Seagulls to rescue the point their approach play and spirit merited but Hart headed narrowly over from a Frutos freekick deep into stoppage time.

Eagles' outrageous matchwinner was rough on Henderson. He arguably should have stayed put, although King was threatening to latch onto the ball and the keeper could hardly have expected to then be beaten from so far out.

McGhee said: "At the time I felt Wayne probably shouldn't have been there but Wayne will probably tell me something different, that the boy was clean through. I'd need to look at it again.

"It was a fantastic goal. It wasn't lucky, it showed great ability. I was right behind it and he measured it and struck the ball beautifully. As soon as it left his boot I could see it was going straight in the back of the net."

McGhee had to change the team he intended to field when Richard Carpenter hurt a calf in the warm-up. Kazim-Richards was drafted into the starting line-up and Chris McPhee onto the bench, with Adam El-Abd moved to leftback, Hart to rightback, Kerry Mayo into midfield and Carole to the right wing.

"It was a pity, because we had set out with Adam El-Abd at rightback, Kerry Mayo at leftback, Richard Carpenter in midfield, Seb Carole up front and Gary Hart on the right," McGhee explained. "We were forced to shuffle it around but it wasn't Richard Carpenter missing that cost us the game, it was the lack of finishing ability."

Albion have been stuck on 4,999 League goals now for the last two games. They desperately need to reach the landmark figure in Saturday's basement battle at Crewe.

Six wins in 46 matches would cost many managers their job but the vast majority of fans evidently appreciate McGhee is in no ordinary job and that change would achieve nothing, given the financial and ground disadvantages and the promising young squad he is assembling.

Albion (4-4-2): Henderson 8; Hart 7, McShane 7, Butters 7, El-Abd 7; Carole 6, Hammond 8, Mayo 7, Frutos 7; Kazim-Richards 8, Gatting 7. Subs: Reid for Carole (withdrawn 74), Robinson for Gatting (withdrawn 79), Nicolas, Martin, McPhee.

Watford (4-4-2): Chamberlain; Doyley, Mackay, DeMerit, Stewart; Eagles, Mahon, Spring, Bouazza; King, Young. Subs: Chambers for Eagles (withdrawn 69), Bangura for Bouazza (withdrawn 69), Carlisle for Stewart (withdrawn 87), McNamee, Ma-Kalambay.