Burnley 2-0 Watford: Jeff Hendrick and Michael Keane on target for Clarets

Jeff Hendrick and Michael Keane were on target as Burnley recorded a morale-boosting 2-0 win over Watford at Turf Moor on Monday night.

Both players scored their first-ever Premier League goals for the Clarets with headers from Steven Defour corners either side of half-time.

As a result, Burnley have moved up to 13th in the table, while Watford remain in 11th.

Sean Dyche made two changes from the side that lost 3-0 at Leicester City last time out, with Sam Vokes and Johann Berg Gudmundsson coming in for the suspended Andre Gray and Scott Arfield respectively.

Meanwhile, the visitors made one enforced alteration from the team that beat Man Utd 3-1 in their last Premier League game, with Nordin Amrabat replacing the injured Daryl Janmaat at right-back.

And in what was the first-ever top-flight meeting between the two, it was the Clarets who made the better start, with George Boyd being denied by a brilliant fingertip save from Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes nine minutes in.

The home side, who have found goals hard to come by so far this season, continued to dominate the first half, albeit without ever really working Gomes in the Hornets goal.

Iceland international Gudmundsson went close with one effort midway through the first period that flew inches past Gomes' near post, but just as Watford started to gain a foothold in the contest, Burnley opened the scoring after 38 minutes.

The outstanding Defour swung a right-wing corner deep towards the far post where Hendrick, the club's record signing, rose to place a header through a posse of players in the six-yard box and into the back of the net.

The Hornets, who had beaten both Man Utd and West Ham in their previous two league outings, came out charged up after the break and very nearly equalised within four minutes of the restart.

However, England international Tom Heaton stood tall at his near post to beat away Troy Deeney's close-range effort and 60 seconds later, after a Burnley counterattack had ended in a left-wing corner, the home team had doubled their lead.

Defour, who was signed from Anderlecht in the close season, saw his initial cross cleared straight back to him, but second time round the midfielder delivered a devilish delivery from which Keane somehow managed to plant a back header past a helpless Gomes.

Watford huffed and puffed as they went in search of a goal to bring them back into the contest. 

However, the closest they came was when substitute Isaac Success dribbled his way to the left-hand byline, only for his goalbound effort from the tightest of angles to be deflected behind for a corner by the legs of Heaton.

Player ratings

Burnley: Heaton (7), Lowton (6), Keane (7), Mee (6), Ward (6); Boyd (7), Defour (9), Marney (6), Hendrick (8), Gudmundsson (7); Vokes (7)

Used subs: Kightly (6), Arfield (6)

Watford: Gomes (7); Cathcart (6), Prodl (6), Britos (6); Amrabat (6), Capoue (7), Behrami (6), Pereyra (6), Holebas (6); Deeney (6), Ighalo (6)

Used subs: Zuniga (6), Kenedy (6), Success (6)

Man of the Match: Steven Defour