Watford and Preston North End recorded successive goalless draws in the Football League for the first time ever, with their hotly-contested Sky Bet Championship clash at Vicarage Road following up August’s reverse fixture with a similar stalemate.

A niggly first 45 fashioned a smattering of chances, the best of which fell to João Pedro, but the Boy from Brazil was unable to add to his nine goals for the season in his 100th game for the Hornets.

The match somewhat opened up after the break, and substitutes Keinan Davis and Yáser Asprilla added vigour to Watford’s play, but away stopper Freddie Woodman held firm to secure a second consecutive clean sheet.

A fourth draw in six sees the Golden Boys drop to ninth in the second-tier table with 11 games to go, and an away clash at Queens Park Rangers next up in a week’s time (Saturday March 11, 3pm KO).

Head Coach Slaven Bilić made two changes to the XI that started the narrow 1-0 defeat at Sheffield United last time out (Saturday February 25), with Craig Cathcart and Henrique Araújo coming in for Mario Gaspar and Davis respectively.

All inside The Vic paid tribute to the late John Motson with a minute’s applause before kick-off, and following the whistle the Hornets dominated possession in the early stages, though struggled to fashion any real clear-cut chances.

João Pedro headed tamely on target in the eighth minute, as the hosts looked to gain a foothold in the clash, but Preston demonstrated their threat when Ched Evans flashed an attempt wide five minutes later.

Former Wales striker Evans tested Daniel Bachmann with a stinging drive in the following moments, though the Austria stopper held the ball comfortably, and then at the other end a well-worked move culminated in a teasing Ismaïla Sarr cross that just evaded the on-rushing Araújo.

With the tempo of the game having quickly increased, away full-back Álvaro Fernández was next to have a go, shooting too close to Bachmann and then wildly off target with two efforts from distance near to the 20-minute mark.

A particularly scrappy period was brought to a close with a marauding João Pedro run through Preston’s midfield around the half-hour, before Greg Cunningham crucially stopped Sarr in his tracks on the right flank as the Golden Boys were breaking on the counter-attack.

Sarr would fare better in his attempts to get a cross away in the 36th minute, only for Woodman to collect convincingly, and then Lilywhites skipper Alan Browne failed in his attempt to trouble Bachmann with a poor free-kick from a good position.

Davis and Asprilla were introduced to the action at the start of the second half - in place of Araújo and James Morris - and Asprilla was involved almost immediately when his appeals for a penalty were ignored, seconds before Preston’s Evans was booked for diving deep in Watford territory.

Fellow Lilywhite Bambo Diaby was similarly cautioned in the 51st minute following a challenge on Bachmann close to the goal line, and as the clock ticked Watford gradually grew in confidence with Ryan Porteous, João Pedro and Asprilla all going close to notching an elusive opener.

Ref Gavin Ward was again uninterested in home penalty shouts when Sarr was felled in the 66th minute, before Woodman did well to deny Davis from a tight angle and keep the clash goalless.

The lively Sarr went closest to netting on the 69-minute mark when he almost finished off a smart team move in style, picking up the ball from Ken Sema and turning and volleying narrowly past the post.

With full-time looming, a series of efforts flew high and wide as both teams went in desperate search of a goal - with Asprilla and João Pedro continuing to hedge their bets for Watford - but a lack of cutting edge in the final third kept it 0-0.

Six minutes of added time gave those in attendance hope of a late winner, and while João Pedro continued to lead the push forward, and wasn’t far off with a headed effort close to the death, the Hornets were ultimately forced to settle for a point.