IS the great escape on? That will be the question the jubilant Watford fans will be contemplating on the way home from Upton Park tonight (Saturday) after the Hornets recorded a potentially priceless 1-0 win over fellow strugglers West Ham.

A 12th-minute penalty from Darius Henderson - his first goal since the spot-kick against Leeds United in the Play-off Final back in May - secured Aidy Boothroyd's men their first Premiership away win of the season.

The three points moved Watford to within two points of their ailing hosts and leaves them seven adrift of Wigan Athletic, who play Arsenal tomorrow (Sunday) and who are still to visit Vicarage Road.

The Hornets received more than their fair share of luck at Upton Park - Marlon Harewood missed a second-half penalty while Gavin Mahon was lucky not to see red for the foul on Nigel Reo-Coker - but Watford were at their resolute best and Boothroyd will feel the good fortune was well overdue.

Boothroyd promised changes to the side that produced such a sorry performance against Bolton and he did not disappoint. Tommy Smith was restored to the right-hand side of midfield, Steve Kabba was handed his first start since signing from Sheffield United but the biggest surprise came on the left flank. Johan Cavalli, the French midfielder signed from Istre on deadline day, was given his head on the left side of midfield after catching the manager's eye during the Reserve match with Portsmouth on Monday. Boothroyd also signaled his attacking intent by naming three strikers, Tamas Priskin, Moses Ashikodi and Will Hoskins, on the bench.

Alan Curbishley, meanwhile, was boosted by the return of Lucas Neill and Anton Ferdinand while the former Charlton boss opted for crowd favorite Matthew Etherington on the left wing instead of Luis Boa Morte.

The match followed a similar scrappy pattern to the FA Cup fourth round clash at Upton Park a fortnight ago which suited the visitors down to the ground. Watford penned the Hammers in their own half with a series of long balls and it was one such pass that led to their 12th-minute opener.

Malky Mackay picked out the run of Henderson and he looked to have lost Anton Ferdinand until the England Under-21 defender pulled him back in the right-hand corner of the box. Referee Alan Wiley had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and Henderson, of all people, slammed the ball home from 12 yards. The way Henderson celebrated his first goal of the season in front of the away fans told you how much it meant to the forward.

The goal was exactly the sort of start Boothroyd would have dreamed of and prompted a chorus of boos from the increasingly restless home support. West Ham struggled to get any rhythm and tempo to their game and the closest they came to equalising was from a free-kick that Ben Foster took off the head of Calum Davenport and a shot from Yossi Benayoun that was heroically blocked by Mahon.

The one time the Hammers did get a clear sight of goal, Bobby Zamora blazed over from six yards after a cross-shot from Reo-Coker. However, Zamora's blushes were spared by the assistant referee who deemed the former Spurs forward had strayed offside.

Indeed things look like they were going Watford's way when Neill limped off just past the half-hour with yet another injury. "What a waste of money," chorused the visiting fans.

Watford managed to keep the home side at arms length for the remainder of the half, with Foster only called into action to watch a dipping shot from Zamora drop past the post. Foster though, showed why many feel he should be the England number one by producing a flying save to tip a shot from Benayoun shot round the post for a corner.

The Hornets largely threatened on the counter-attack and from set-pieces, and from one Jordan Stewart corner in first-half injury-time the otherwise outstanding Mackay should really have headed in Watford's second at the far post.

While Watford produced what must rank as one of their best 45-minute performances of the season, West Ham were simply wretched and Curbishley sought to lift things at half-time by introducing Argentine star Carlos Tevez - much to the delight of the home fans.

And it was Tevez who had the first shot on goal of the half, curling a 25-yard free-kick over Foster's bar as Watford emerged from the tunnel seemingly content to protect their lead rather than push for that killer second.

Indeed, Tevez galvanised his team-mates and just 60 seconds after Benayoun had seen a low shot saved by Foster, the South American beat the Watford keeper to a bouncing ball and hooked his shot goalwards. He must have thought he had scored but somehow Mackay deflected the ball wide.

At the other end, Kabba was at full-stretch to deflect a Jay DeMerit flick-on from a Smith corner straight into the arms of Robert Green.

With West Ham upping the tempo, Watford then received a huge slice of luck just before the hour. Reo-Coker burst between Adrian Mariappa and Mahon and was bearing down on Foster's goal when he was felled by the Watford skipper. The visitors surrounded the referee in protest and Wiley pointed to the spot for the second time in the match but Mahon could count himself a touch fortunate to not be even shown a yellow card. However, Harewood sent the spot-kick wide of Foster's left-hand post - much to the dismay of the disgruntled home fans.

Watford survived the mini-storm from the Hammers who seemed deflated by the penalty miss, and Boothroyd opted for some fresh legs by bringing on Al Bangura and Ashikodi for the excellent Cavalli and Kabba, who worked tirelessly alongside Henderson in attack.

Although content to sit back and soak up the pressure from the home side, the Hornets almost grabbed a second on the break when Damien Francis connected with a cut back from Smith on the right but his goal-bound shot struck Ashikodi on the head.

Barring the odd scare and five minutes of injury-time, Watford held on with relative ease for a long-awaited three points on the road, sending their loyal band of supporters into raptures.

West Ham: Green; Neill, Ferdinand, Davenport, McCartney; Benayoun, Quashie, Reo-Coker, Etherington; Harewood, Zamora. Subs: Spector for Neill, 31; Tevez for Zamora, 46; Boa Morte for Quashie, 80. Carroll and Dailly not used.

Watford: Foster: Mariappa, MacKay, DeMerit, Stewart; Smith, Mahon, Francis, Cavalli; Henderson, Kabba. Subs: Bangura for Cavalli, 75; Ashikodi for Kabba, 79; Shittu for Henderson, 90; Priskin and Hoskins not used.

Ref: Alan Wiley.

Booked: Davenport (12); Ashikodi (89), Reo-Coker (89).

Att: 34,265.