A second-half João Pedro strike helped power Watford to a first win in five Sky Bet Championship outings, as the Hornets eased past Bristol City 2-0 at Vicarage Road.

The hosts got off to a fast start when the Boy from Brazil’s hopeful effort was diverted past Max O’Leary by away forward Harry Cornick, and with young defender Ryan Andrews shining on his home debut, Chris Wilder’s charges were good value for their 1-0 lead at the break.

City were further pushed onto the back foot when João Pedro etched his name onto the scoresheet nine minutes after the interval, and the Golden Boys comfortably saw out the game to earn a welcome three points and clean sheet.

The result keeps Watford 12th in the second-tier standings with four games of the 2022/23 campaign remaining, three points off the play-off places and with a midweek home clash against Cardiff City next in store (Wednesday April 19, 7.45pm KO).

Head Coach Wilder made two changes to the XI that started the draw at Coventry City last time out (Monday April 10), with Daniel Bachmann returning from suspension in place of Ben Hamer, and the fit-again Keinan Davis coming in for Britt Assombalonga.

The visitors perhaps started on the front foot under the Hertfordshire sunshine - with Matty James shooting tamely at Bachmann, and then Sam Bell causing problems down the left-hand side - but it didn’t take long for the Hornets to edge their noses in front.

A cleverly-worked Imrân Louza free-kick found João Pedro in space to the right of the Robins’ penalty spot, and the Brazilian’s driven strike across goal bundled into the net via Cameron Pring, and then Cornick, to make it 1-0 in the sixth minute.

Watford signalled their intent to capitalise on their winning momentum when a dangerous-looking Ismaïla Sarr cross was denied entry into the box by a last-ditch block, but City gradually worked their way back into the contest and Bachmann was needed to turn a goalward Cornick header away to safety.

Cornick - looking to make up for his own goal - wasted another chance from close range when he was picked out in space but couldn’t find the target in the 16th minute, and then Nahki Wells evaded his marker but failed to get enough pace on his looping header to trouble Bachmann.

After weathering the storm of that pressure, the Golden Boys were soon back on the attack, and a silky one-two between Sarr and Hamza Choudhury - after the former had done well to beat Jay Dasilva in the air - resulted in the Senegal international producing a stinging effort that required a strong O’Leary hand.

O’Leary kept his gloves warm when collecting a deflected João Pedro shot just after the half-hour mark, before his teammate Pring should maybe have done better with a wild header after being picked out unmarked at the back post.

Following a largely uneventful end to the first half, Ismaël Koné was introduced at the start of the second - in place of Leandro Bacuna - and the Hornets burst out of the blocks, João Pedro’s deflected header winning a corner within seconds of the restart.

City provided a quick response and went close to grabbing an equaliser in the 50th minute, when Bachmann had to stretch to keep out a curling Wells attempt, but then back at the other end a last-ditch interception was required to keep out Davis on the six-yard line.

With the swing of the game appearing to be in the balance, home skipper João Pedro duly popped up with his 11th of the season to provide Watford with a two-goal cushion, his strike from the edge of the box deflecting through O’Leary’s legs in the 54th minute.

Wells did his best to inspire a Robins fightback when he crashed a free-kick onto the crossbar shortly after the hour, but the away side were soon forced to defend desperately when a good advantage played by referee Dean Whitestone led to a chance for a second for João Pedro.

An off-target Louza effort from a tight angle was as close as Watford came to a third in the subsequent 15 minutes, and the Morocco international tried his luck again to no avail after Andrews had left the pitch to a standing ovation with five minutes left.

João Pedro continued his search for a brace with an audacious chipped attempt close to the death, and Watford quelled any threat posed by Bristol City until ref Whitestone brought the game to a close after five minutes of added time.