A second-half brace from João Pedro ensured Watford signed off for Christmas with a Sky Bet Championship win, as Slaven Bilić’s charges deservedly saw off bottom club Huddersfield Town 2-0 at the John Smith’s Stadium.

While there were chances at both ends throughout an eventful first 45 minutes, João Pedro and Ismaïla Sarr both went close to putting the visitors in front, and Keinan Davis saw his calls for a spot-kick come to nothing.

The Golden Boys’ defence had to continue to hold firm after the break, but it took just nine minutes for the Boy from Brazil to make up for his earlier misses, and he then took his season’s tally to eight with an expertly-guided header late on.

Three points in West Yorkshire lifts Watford up to third in the second-tier standings, with a home clash against Gary Rowett’s Millwall next up back at Vicarage Road on Boxing Day (12noon KO).

Head Coach Bilić made two changes to the XI that had earned a point against Hull City last time out (December 11), with midfielder Leandro Bacuna being handed his debut in place of the injured Hamza Choudhury, and Sarr returning for Yáser Asprilla.

Following a vibrant start to proceedings, in which the hosts enjoyed a good spell of possession, forward Danny Ward unleashed the first shot of the afternoon before Sorba Thomas’ trickery earned the Terriers an early corner kick.

The Hornets were quickly on the attack themselves, though, and while Ken Sema and Sarr both made nuisances of themselves down either flank, they were unable to force a chance to really test home stopper Lee Nicholls.

Huddersfield teenager Brahima Diarra was shown the game’s first yellow card shortly after the quarter-hour mark, for stopping João Pedro in his tracks after the Brazilian produced a trademark nutmeg.

But the home side responded with a couple of chances in quick succession, Ward seeing another shot deflected out for a corner, from which Josh Ruffels’ bouncing header drifted narrowly over Daniel Bachmann’s woodwork.

Back at the other end, good defending kept a Davis drive from troubling Nicholls in the 21st minute, and then the visitors’ penalty appeals were waved away by referee Leigh Doughty when Watford’s number seven was felled in the box.

With heavy tackles quickly becoming commonplace in the encounter, and the crowd becoming increasingly vocal, Bacuna became the first Watford player to be booked for a cynical challenge close to halfway.

The subsequent set-piece nearly delivered an opening for the Yorkshiremen, close to 30 minutes, but Sarr delivered a reminder of the Golden Boys’ threat moments later with a stinging effort from range that Nicholls couldn’t hold.

As the clash headed towards half-time, João Pedro squandered a great chance to break the deadlock from point-blank range, with the 21-year-old just skewing his attempt wide after Sarr had flicked on a Jeremy Ngakia cross from the right.

Bilić’s charges continued to pile on the pressure with the break looming, and Hassane Kamara forced a smart stop from Nicholls at a tight angle before Davis could only shoot wide after setting himself up with a neat stepover.

A deflected Sema strike earned Watford a corner in first-half stoppage-time, but there was no way past Nicolls before referee Doughty duly brought the game to a temporary close.

A couple of looping Huddersfield crosses kept Bachmann and his backline on red alert in the early stages of the second period, though the Hornets again went close to notching the first goal when Sarr met Bacuna’s teasing cross at the back post but could only shoot at Nicholls.

The travelling supporters didn’t have to wait much longer though, as a marauding Tom Dele-Bashiru run split the Huddersfield defence before he unleashed João Pedro on the right, whose fizzing drive proved too hot for the Terriers’ keeper to handle.

Substitute Ben Jackson spearheaded the home response with a right-footed curler from range, that drifted over with roughly 25 minutes remaining, but it was Watford who went closest to netting again when Nicholls reacted brilliantly to a close-range Sarr header.

Senegal’s World Cup star Sarr was again the architect of a Watford chance, when he cut in from the left and shot at Nicholls with 10 minutes left, but not long after forward partner João Pedro put the result beyond doubt with a looping header not dissimilar to the one seen in Wigan earlier this season.

The Hornets controlled possession for much of the remainder of the 90 minutes, and though Mark Fotheringham’s hosts continued to hustle and harry, they couldn’t breach a defence that has now kept four consecutive clean sheets in the league.