It wasn’t the first time this season that Watford’s fans, players and staff ended a game knowing points had got away, and yesterday’s 1-1 draw with Blackburn came only a week after two points clearly evaporated at Reading.

Indeed, there were definitely echoes of the last home game with Rotherham in the way the match with Rovers unfolded yesterday – the Hornets making a good start, conceding a goal, then having to chase a game against opponents who were content to protect what they had.

“Against Reading we let the game go out of our hands, we were controlling the game. This today was totally different though,” said head coach Slaven Bilic.

“Today we started well and we were constantly coming forward in good situations, either on the wings or in the final third generally.

“There was just a lack of quality when it came to crosses or reactions in the box. That is where we were lacking.

“Then we conceded a goal, which as far as I can remember came from the only attack where they looked dangerous. But even then that didn’t kill us and we made some changes at half-time.

“I thought generally we played good. When we play bad I will say it, but I thought this was a good performance.

“We didn’t score from a clear chance, but we had three good chances. You can’t expect to be creating eight or 10 chances in every game, and anyway three should be enough.”

Bilic said he thought that although the visitors’ goal came against the run of play, he didn’t think it altered how the game unfolded.

“I didn’t think the goal they scored changed the pattern of the game a lot,” he said.

“What it does do is let the opponent put men behind the ball and run the clock down.

“You want to be ahead, you want to score, you push more and then out of the blue you concede. It doesn’t kill you but it does affect you.

“The goal didn’t stop us playing and it didn’t stop the crowd getting behind us – I thought our crowd were very good today.”

What the Watford boss was unhappy about was the closing stages and the way the threat level dropped once Joao Pedro had reached his limit in terms of minutes after returning from injury.

“The last 10 minutes did disappoint me,” he admitted.

“In the last home game against Rotherham when it was 1-1 going into the last ten minutes, we finished the game on a high.

“Today the last 10 minutes were not good. They didn’t create anything, but nor did we. Unfortunately, when Joao goes off, you are missing that type of player.”

While admitting there is a need for patience, Bilic also said he was pleased that Pedro progressed from last week’s game at Reading.

“It’s going to take him a little bit of time to last the full 90 minutes.

“He was excellent in the first half and he brought what we knew he could bring, and that’s why we played him from the start.

“He brings the team together, he helps us play with confidence and of course he has the quality. Having him on the pitch enables other players to be in good positions.

“It was always in my mind, because this was only his second game back, that we didn’t exhaust him. That would have been a mistake, but there is no doubt we looked different when he wasn’t on the pitch.

“Suddenly we lost that bit of connection, and we didn’t have that player who was going to put us wide.

“But thankfully he has come through the match good. He needed that game against Reading last week to break the ice. Now we are expecting the same from Sema, Cleverley and Louza.”

There was little doubt among anyone who saw the game that the biggest positive was the way that recent signings Ryan Porteous and Wesley Hoedt performed and created a partnership that belied the fact they had never played together before.

“Both of them are very good, and very, very impressive. It’s one game but already they looked like a partnership with a good understanding,” said Bilic.

“They both look good without the ball and are good defenders. They are not afraid to go and challenge for the ball, and they are very dominant.

“On the ball they are positive and brave, their first touch is forward. They see the whole pitch in front of them, not just the full backs. They want to play progressive passes and they did it a lot of times.”