Watford

1

Barnsley

0

Troy Deeney said just before Christmas that it would take a brave goalkeeper “to stand there and take one in the dish” when he was questioned about his no-frills penalty-taking technique.

Jack Walton, in the Barnsley goal, opted to do just that when Deeney lined up the 41st spot-kick of his Hornets career after 27 minutes of the Championship game between fifth and tenth at Vicarage Road. The 22-year-old knew what was coming, stood there and even got two hands to the right-footed penalty, but he was just overpowered and could only palm the ball into the back of the net. It's really difficult to stop them when you hit them as hard and as true as that. How the captain must rue going away from his script against Tottenham Hotspur around this time last year.

There is a flimsy argument knocking around on social media that Deeney only scores penalties, but his 103 from open play suggest otherwise. He won't really care how they arrive as there is no asterisk next to his or indeed anyone's name in any leading-scorer charts. They all count the same and he's now just 18 shy of Luther Blissett's all-time league goal record at this club. He'd have taken that when he signed from Walsall ten years ago. They also count more for Deeney when they come in a victory and this thankfully was the case here.

There were certainly no frills about this victory, the tenth at home this season, but anybody who has achieved the difficult feat of getting out of this league will tell you it is not about style at this hectic and demanding stage of the campaign: it's about getting the job done and no-one is better at that than Deeney, who now has 85 goals in this most awkward of divisions.

His strike partner Andre Gray, who he was paired with from the off for only the fourth time this season, could have had a hat-trick in the first half. He had a go from a difficult angle with his left foot, saw one with his right saved from close range and then lifted one over the bar after a length-of-the-field break inspired by the excellent Ismaïla Sarr. Gray will be disappointed he didn't put one of those away, but the encouraging sign was his movement enabled him to be in the right place at the right time. Gray did have one in the net on 56 minutes but it summed up the way things are going for him right now that it was ruled out for offside.

Kiko Femenía, in the form of his Watford career, was also something of an unlikely goal threat in the first half. He landed one cross-shot on the roof of the net and then flashed one on 36 minutes that he caught really sweetly. He is largely paid for his work at the other end and it was a very smart covering clearance from the right-back after five minutes that meant his side didn't have to come from behind. His mate Francisco Sierralta also took one in the mush from a well-hit free-kick in an act that summed up why Barnsley joined Huddersfield in failing to muster a shot on target in the first half.

The first one that troubled Dan Bachmann came on 72 minutes – and even then it came from a Watford player, Sierralta almost directing a flying header past Bachmann only for the Austrian to pull off an instinctive flying save to his left. It is now 297 minutes since they last conceded one here. It helps when you've got the captain back for a set-piece and throwing himself in front of a shot by Callum Styles early in the second half. Others tend to follow the lead when they see the leader doing things like that.

With strapping on his thigh, Deeney exited the stage along with Ken Sema just past the hour. His job was done, although he didn't stop encouraging from the sidelines, and Xisco Muñoz knows how important his captain is going to be on what is always a tricky night in the Potteries on Friday. Tom Cleverley joined Deeney in the stands soon after in a sign not only of how much the Head Coach values his two senior pros, but also the faith he has in the depth of what is a very talented squad. Nathaniel Chalobah, Philip Zinckernagel, João Pedro, Jeremy Ngakia and Craig Cathcart all came on to close this game out rather professionally and rather comfortably in the end. The Hornets are now up to third on the back of two home wins in four days. They are, slowly but surely, starting to build a bit of momentum and consistency.

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