A GOAL from striker Darius Henderson on the stroke of half time was enough to hand Aidy Boothroyd's team all three points as they knocked up their third consecutive victory and stayed on top of the Championship.
It was a long battle for the Golden Boys as they were reduced to 10 men in the 39th minute when John-Joe O'Toole was dismissed from the field by referee Andy Penn.
Despite the loss of the talented teenager, the home side quickly regrouped and hit back in the best possible way, scoring just before the man in black blew his half time whistle.
Boss Boothroyd made two changes from the side that beat Ipswich at Portman Road on Saturday. Tommy Smith missed out due to an ankle injury which meant wide man Jobi McAnuff came straight back into midfield.
Lee Williamson returned to the substitutes' bench after serving a one match ban at the weekend. Al Bangura dropped down to the bench with O'Toole starting alongside John Eustace.
Watford's confidence grew during the first half with Saturday's result clearly invigorating a team with plenty of new faces.
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O'Toole given his marching orders by referee Andy Penn |
However the major talking points came within the final six minutes of the first half. First, Ireland under 21 midfielder O'Toole was given his marching orders from referee Penn for allegedly tugging down Leicester's Stephen Clemence.
With other Watford defenders around the incident, the decision was harsh on O'Toole, but once he showed his card, the Irishman was already trudging off down the tunnel.
After the red card had raised the noise levels within Vicarage Road, the referee had another card out of his pocket just moments later. This time it was a yellow for Leicester captain Clemence after a rash challenge on the lively McAnuff.
With the Hornets feeling harshly done by, they responded in the best possible way by taking the lead on the stroke of half time. Left back Mat Sadler was brought down out wide and his free kick in to the 18 yard box was only cleared as far as Leigh Bromby.
The ex-Blade knocked the ball straight back in and Henderson was unmarked to tap home from a matter of yards.
Vicarage Road erupted as the Hornets scored what could be a valuable goal in the race for the top flight and it was a crucial time to score.
Boothroyd reacted to the sending off by making a tactical change and the impressive Lionel Ainsworth was sacrificed in place of Bangura, who slotted in next to John Eustace.
Up until the intervention of the referee, the Hornets had been the brighter of the two teams and were slowly knocking away at a resilient Leicester defence. They were spearheaded by McAnuff and Ainsworth who were testing the full backs to the limit.
The first action however came from ex-Hornet James Chambers, who was turning out for the Foxes at left back. His dogged and determined run was ended in the penalty area and despite the Birmingham born player going to ground there were no appeals for a spot kick.
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Eleven up... Henderson hits home as Hornets go one up |
McAnuff and Ainsworth were threats throughout from the wide positions, with the ex-Palace player looking as if the weekend off had done him the world of good.
One of Leicester's few speculative first half efforts was a long range Clemence drive which went flying over Richard Lee's upright.
With 15 minutes on the clock, right back Aidy Mariappa burst forward and caught the Foxes by surprise, but his surging run was thwarted when he was unable to keep the ball in after evading a few strong Leicester challenges.
Slowly but surely, the Hornets' grip tightened with Henderson's shot blocked by goalkeeper Ben Alnwick after excellent work again from McAnuff out wide on the left.
McAnuff tried his own luck next time as he broke in from the flank and unleashed a strong shot which went past Alnwick's left hand post.
O'Toole was soon bursting into the area, but his bundled effort went just wide after a clever knock down by Henderson from Ainsworth's deep cross.
Henderson was next up but his arrowed header went wide before McAnuff was denied a goal by a pinpoint save from Alnwck.
The Foxes made a change at the beginning of the second period by replacing Chambers and bringing on Zsolt Laczko.
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Leicester's Stearman holds out his hands in despair as Watford score |
Both sides were largely frustrated for the second 45, as the Golden Boys and the Foxes cancelled each other out.
The Vicarage Road crowd did their best to get the players going, but the game became scrappy with the 10 men of the 'Orns working hard and covering plenty of ground.
Gabor Bori had the first chance of the second period but he dragged his speculative shot wide. His replacement Iain Hume was more of a threat when he entered the fray, and one dangerous ball across the face of goal was intercepted by Lee.
However when the Foxes did see a rare sight of goal, they were reduced to long range efforts, which usually ended up in the Vicarage Road stand.
With a few minutes remaining, captain Clemence came the closest to bringing the scores level when his rasping drive flew wide of Lee's post.
A dramatic final few minutes was endured after the fourth official showed that five minutes of added time would be played.
The Hornets had to withstand a deluge of balls into the penalty box, but some heroic defending ensured the Golden Boys stayed top of the Championship pile.
They now march on to face Alan Pardew's side at the Valley on Saturday.
WATFORD (4-4-2): Lee (c); Mariappa, Shittu, Bromby, Sadler; Ainsworth (Bangura 45), O'Toole, Eustace, McAnuff (Kabba 90+3); Ellington (Stewart 61), Henderson. Subs not used: Doyley, Williamson.
LEICESTER CITY (4-4-2): Alnwick; Stearman, Kisnorbo, McAuley (Hayles 80), Chambers; Bori (Hume 66), Oakley, Clemence (c), Clapham; Campbell, Howard. Subs not used: N'Gotty, Wesolowski.
BOOKINGS: WATFORD; Mariappa (time wasting, 73), McAnuff (time wasting, 76). LEICESTER CITY; Clemence (ungentlemanly conduct, 41).
SENDINGS OFF: WATFORD; O'Toole (professional foul, 39). LEICESTER CITY; none.
GOALS: WATFORD; Henderson (45). LEICESTER CITY; none.
REFEREE: A M Penn.
ATTENDANCE: 15, 944 (1,247 Leicester City supporters)
