Watford beat Barnsley to go third in the Championship

The victory also allows the Hornets to claim back-to-back wins for the third time this season, a race they have yet to pass in the current campaign. They will be hoping for a three-game winning streak for the first time when they face Stoke City on Friday.

Ahead of the game, a selection of club supporters took to social media to express their frustrations over the announcement of the starting XI, with the failed Andre Gray recaptured alongside Deeney in place of Joao Pedro, as he ‘there was still no room for new signing Philip Zinckernagel.

Will Hughes’ return has brought some positivity to fans, with Nathaniel Chalobah falling to the bench to welcome the returning midfielder who made his first league start since relegation.

Hughes’ introduction seemed to pay off early on, as he regularly broke Barnsley’s possession in the middle and almost created an opening with a smart brace with Deeney on the edge of the box in the seventh minute, only for Mads Andersen to clear the ball away from him as he was about to pull the trigger.

The former Derby then played its part in creating another half-chance as his overhit corner was gathered by Tom Cleverley, who recycled possession well and found Kiko Femenia, whose mishit cross nearly caught up with Jack Walton in the Tykes’ net, only for the ball to fly over the bar.

Barnsley’s best chance of the opening trade suffered a similar fate with Conor Chaplin delivering from the good looking goal by Cauley Woodrow, only for Daniel Bachmann to watch him fly over the goal frame behind him.

It was as close as both teams had arrived by the time the first half midpoint had arrived, creativity lacking in both teams’ attacking ranks. However, the Hornets were treated to a game opener when Callum Brittain reached out to block a Deeney cross inside the penalty area, leaving referee Tim Robinson with little choice but to point towards the place.

Deeney stepped up and executed his usual trick of blowing up the penalty spot with such venom that there was little the goalkeeper could do to prevent him from ending up in the net.

The goal put Watford in the ascendancy and Gray almost produced a moment to silence his skeptics after combining well with Deeney and getting around Walton, only for his shot to be cleared after he swung to the vacant goal under a tight angle. Femenia then tried her luck from the edge of the penalty area shortly after, but put her effort just above the top.

Two more chances presented themselves to Gray before the end of half-time, the first of which was created by Ken Sema, who made the most of the slippery surface of the pitch created by a constant barrage of fine rain and drizzle, with a zipped pass behind. Barnsley’s defense, but Walton was quick out of line and blocked the shot from close range.

Then in a Reds corner, Watford quickly snapped as Cleverley found Ismaila Sarr walking away on the right wing. His cross on Gray’s path couldn’t have been more inviting, but the attacker’s cut attempt tucked away on the wrong side of the post.

Perhaps grateful that they had only conceded once in the first half, Barnsley looked the most dangerous at the start of the second. However, Watford’s solid defensive work reduced them to half chances and their first shot on goal was sort of a wet squib with Callum Styles moving away from the edge of the box.

The visitors then felt grateful again as Gray managed to put the ball in the net, only for the linesman’s flag to rule out the goal. A Watford corner was clearly led by the Tykes, only up to Hughes, who returned the ball towards the goal by hitting the foot of the post. Gray activated the rebound, but from an offside position.

At the other end, Woodrow attempted an acrobatic effort from the edge of the area which flew wide before another of his shots was blocked by Adam Masina as the Hornets continued to defend well and limited the number of shots. chances that Barnsley was able to create.

Still, all of their hard work was almost undone in an instant, and by one of their own men as well, as Francisco Sierralta led Alex Mowatt’s whipped cross from the left towards his own goal and Bachmann had to produce a impressive dive stop to his left to keep his clean sheet intact.

Another Watford defender almost put the game out of doubt on the other end when William Troost-Ekong secured the delivery from substitute Zinckernagel from the right, but his shot temptingly turned away.

Still, it wasn’t necessary and Watford saw a nervous end to the game to claim three more points.