Watford 2-0 Norwich: Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo on target

Troy Deeney's first-half penalty and Odion Ighalo's late strike helped Watford see off Norwich 2-0 on Saturday.

Deeney stepped up to finish past Declan Rudd after Alexander Tettey had fouled Ighalo in the area.

And Ighalo netted his ninth goal of the season in second-half stoppage time after combining well with Deeney.

Victory sees Quique Sanchez Flores' side climb into the top half of the Premier League table, while Norwich remain three points above the drop zone. 

Watford started the better of the two sides, but it was a game of few chances early on in difficult, windy conditions at Vicarage Road.

Norwich were happy to sit deep and let the home side play and Alex Neil's side looked fairly comfortable in defence until Tettey's error on the half-hour mark.

The midfielder dawdled on the ball in his own half and Etienne Capoue nipped in to steal it off his toe before playing in Ighalo. 

And in trying to rectify his error, Tettey eventually brought down the Watford forward before his strike partner Deeney stepped up to send Rudd the wrong way.

Norwich goalkeeper Rudd, who was starting in place of the dropped John Ruddy, looked nervous throughout the first half and was beaten again in the 37th minute when Ighalo got onto the end of Allan Nyom's header across the area and finished from close range.

It was, however, ruled out after the assistant referee deemed Ighalo to be in an offside position, and Watford boss Flores looked aggrieved on the touchline as it appeared to be the wrong decision.

Norwich improved after the break, but it was always Watford who looked more likely to score, particularly with the superb combination of Ighalo and Deeney up top.

Ighalo, in particular, was an absolute menace, particularly to Sebastian Bassong who he terrorised all afternoon. The Nigerian striker could easily have had a couple more were it not for a mixture of misfortune and poor control when presented with opportunities.

Finally, though, in the 91st minute Ighalo got the goal he deserved to seal the win for Watford, combining with Deeney before beating Bassong for the umpteenth time and finishing low underneath Rudd.

Player ratings

Watford: Gomes (6), Nyom (7), Britos (7), Cathcart (7), Ake (6), Capoue (7), Watson (6), Anya (6), Jurado (6), Deeney (7), Ighalo (8)

Subs: Paredes (5), Abdi (6), Guedioura (5)

Norwich: Rudd (5), Wisdom (5), Bennett (5), Bassong (4), Olsson (4), Redmond (4), Tettey (4), Dorrans (5), Brady (6), Howson (5), Grabban (4)

Subs: Mbokani (5), Jerome (5), Odjidja (5)

Man of the match: Odion Ighalo