Watford would have beaten Hull City comfortably on another day but they were left wondering quite how they lost 2-1 at Vicarage Road this afternoon to leave their play-off hopes hanging by a thread.

The Tigers won thanks to goals at the start and end of the game but in between they were made to show exactly why they have now gone a remarkable 15 games unbeaten away from home.

The hosts were the better side in the first half and dominated after the break, creating numerous chances in the process but all they had to show for their efforts was Martin Taylor’s late consolation.

Malky Mackay made three changes from the side that lost 2-0 at Coventry City seven days previously.

The fit-again Lloyd Doyley, Adrian Mariappa, following his suspension, and Will Buckley all returned at the expense of Adam Thompson and Matty Whichelow, who were on the bench, but Dale Bennett missed out.

The Tigers opened the brighter and had the first effort inside 90 seconds when Robert Koren fired over from the edge of the area.

But with their next attack barely a minute later, they took a big step closer to extending their fantastic away record.

Attacking right-back Liam Rosenior was somehow allowed to squeeze the ball in from the right by Doyley, who should have cleared, and Evans appeared to get the final touch at the near post, taking the ball across the diving Scott Loach.

Evans then forced Loach to go to ground to save another shot in the ninth minute before John Eustace had the hosts’ first attempt but Brad Guzan was not extended.

Watford gradually began to take the game to the Tigers thereafter but did not create anything of note until the 20th minute when Andi Weimann picked up the ball in a central position and ran at the defence before firing a right-footed shot wide of Guzan’s right-hand post.

The Hornets went closer with their next effort in the 27th minute when Mariappa clipped a free-kick forward from halfway, Martin Taylor won the header and Weimann hit an angled left-footed half-volley beyond the dive of Guzan but narrowly wide of the keeper’s far post.

The on-loan Aston Villa striker was proving a real handful for the Hull backline, but it was then Danny Graham’s turn to almost take centre stage, running on to a through ball in the inside right channel before checking inside on his left foot and producing a fine curling effort which Guzan did well to tip away and behind.

This led to the Hornets’ third corner of the half and from Don Cowie’s set piece, Eustace headed down and wide at the far post.

There was then a spate of three yellow cards in a little over a minute, started by a Weimann foul from behind on Anthony Gerrard. The Austrian Under-21 international was rightly booked, as was the Hull centre-half for his petulant over-reaction, and then Aaron Mclean joined the pair in referee Dave Phillips’ notebook for a late challenge on Taylor.

Watford deserved to be level terms going into the interval and the equaliser almost arrived in the 42nd minute when Graham’s clever lay-off found Weimann in space in the area ten yards out, only for the young striker to blast a great opening wide of the near post.

But while the Hornets were unfortunate to go into the break a goal down, it almost got worse for them in first-half injury-time.

Koren was not picked up on the left side of the area when a corner came in from the other side and he knocked the ball towards the near post where Matty Fryatt headed goalwards, only to see his effort blocked on the line.

The Hornets looked to make the early running at the start of the second period but the Tigers were perhaps fortunate in the 51st minute when Mclean escaped a second yellow card for catching Loach with a late challenge, even though the striker came off worse in a collision that left both players requiring treatment.

Watford continued to press though, and in the 55th minute Eustace looked certain to get on the end of a long Doyley throw that was not dealt with defensively, only for Weimann to get in his team-mate’s way.

Nigel Pearson made the first change a minute later, bringing on Jay Simpson for Mclean, but it was the hosts still pressing, with Taylor heading a cross from the right over just before the hour.

The equaliser looked to be coming and it so nearly did in the 62nd minute when the ball was again played in from the right and Graham laid it back to Buckley, whose right-footed shot beat the dive of Guzan, only to rebound out off the keeper’s right-hand post.

Richard Garcia replaced Fryatt four minutes later as the visitors were increasingly unable to get out their own half, and Weimann was the next to go close with a hooked volley that went wide from Eustace’s ball in.

Taylor was the next to have a chance, appearing to have done the hard part when he brought down a Mariappa free-kick and did well to open up a shooting opportunity, only to slice it badly wide before Buckley made way for Marvin Sordell after 71 minutes.

Another opening came and went three minutes later when Sordell played Graham in with a delightful pass and the Championship’s leading scorer seemed destined to add to his tally, only to see his right-footed effort touched behind by Guzan.

Graham then headed the resultant corner over before Cowie connected well with a right-footed effort that also cleared the bar.

Hull did briefly threaten when Andy Dawson set up Koren to fire an angled effort over before Weimann’s eye-catching shift was brought to an end when he made way for Matty Whichelow.

As is so often the case though when a team is completely on top, they almost paid the price for a lapse and that so nearly happened in the 84th minute when Loach dallied as he looked to clear and was challenged by Evans, with the ball trickling inches wide of the keeper’s right-hand post.

Troy Deeney came on for Ross Jenkins for the last four minutes but it was the visitors who seemed to have had the last laugh when they broke and substitute Tom Cairney sent over a precision cross from the left for the unmarked Koren to head home.

However, the hosts did themselves a late glimmer of hope that they could get something out of the game when, after Mariappa had seen one effort cleared off the line, Taylor firmly converted a Cowie cross to make it 2-1.

And the opportunity to snatch a dramatic equaliser so nearly came in the fifth minute of injury time when Graham got clear on the left side of the area but his low centre was always running away from Sordell, who couldn’t get a touch on the ball before it ran beyond the far post.

Watford: Loach; Hodson, Mariappa, Taylor, Doyley; Eustace, Buckley (Sordell 71), Jenkins (Deeney 86), Cowie; Graham, Weimann (Whichelow 79). Not used: Gilmartin, Mingoia, Thompson and Drinkwater.

Hull City: Guzan; Rosenior, Hobbs, Gerrard, Dawson; Chester; Evans, Harper (Cairney 84), Koren; Mclean (Simpson 56), Fryatt (Garcia 66). Not used: Duke, Devitt, Amoo and Belaid.

Bookings: Weimann for a foul on Gerrard after 39 mins; Gerrard for retaliation after 39 mins; Mclean for a foul on Taylor after 40 mins; Garcia for a foul on Loach after 88 mins.

Attendance: 13,355.

Referee: Dave Phillips.