Another day , another baton change , another away defeat for Middlesbrough . Aitor Karanka would surely have made his defenders walk home from Watford were it not for the probability they ’ d spend most of the journey travelling in circles . This was that kind of game , a top-of-the-table occasion when Middlesbrough needed to deliver but ultimately failed on every scale – they did not create , they did not contain . They might have survived with deficiencies in one department , but not both . What a cruel time to deliver one of their worst performances of a brilliant season . What a cruel time for the Championship ’ s best defence to explode at the seams . Odion Ighalo 's shot flies into the top corner of Dimi Konstantopoulos ' net on 65 minutes . Watford ( 3-5-2 ) : Gomes ; Cathcart ( Connolly 60 ) , Angella , Hoban ; Paredes , Guedioura ( Layun 90 ) , Watson , Tozser , Anya ; Deeney , Ighalo ( Vydra 69 ) . Subs not used : Bond , Pudil , Munari , Abdi . Booked : Guedioura , Layun . Goals : Deeney 37 , Ighalo 65 . Middlesbrough ( 4-2-3-1 ) : Konstantopoulos ; Tiendalli ( Kalas 63 ) , Woodgate , Amorebieta , Friend ; Leadbitter , Clayton ( Forshaw 84 ) ; Adomah , Tomlin ( Kike 62 ) , Reach ; Bamford . Subs not used : Ripley , Gibson , Whitehead , Vossen . Booked : Reach . Referee : Mike Jones ( Cheshire ) Attendance : 19,656 . They gifted Troy Deeney his 20th goal of the season and they contributed significantly to Odion Ighalo scoring his 19th in the second half . With that , Watford rose and Middlesbrough fell . That has been the way of this remarkable season in this peculiar division , for which everyone and no-one has staked a claim . The Championship lead which Boro held at the start of play has now changed hands 16 times , with Watford back in prominence and Karanka sounding like a man searching for a positive note . Karanka said : ‘ The players are completely destroyed but I am very proud of them . We have players who have come from League One and other teams in the Championship , a lot of young players , and we are fighting with the best teams in the Championship . No one could have expected this position . ‘ The people who know me and this team know we will fight to the last second . I don ’ t want to forget our position is amazing. ’ True enough , but the reality is Boro have a chance to turn a good season into multi-million pound jackpot . They were woeful in falling at Bournemouth last month and have now lost four of their past five away games . Jonathan Woodgate slides in vain to try and block Troy Deeney 's opening goal . The Watford captain managed to slide the ball under Boro keeper Dimi Konstantopoulos . Deeney celebrates with his team-mates after giving Watford a first-half lead . But their misery has been Watford ’ s gain . What a luxury to have two strikers as effective as Deeney and Ighalo . They were , as Karanka said , ‘ the difference ’ . And in the context of the season , their combined 39 goals are pulling the sleigh . Here , they had help . In the first instance , for Deeney ’ s 37th-minute opener , Jonathan Woodgate and Dwight Tiendalli made a hash of the basics . Adlene Guedioura was given too much time to cross from the right and Woodgate misread the flight , allowing the ball to fall in the space behind him . Tiendalli could have covered but was out of position . At this level , in that situation , there can be fewer worse sights for a pair of defenders than Deeney . His touch was perfect and so was the finish - ruthless brilliance from a striker who has now scored 20 goals in each of his past three campaigns . He is the only Watford player in history to do that ; he more than most deserves a chance to see what he can do at the higher level . ‘ He ’ s a Premier League player , ’ said Watford manager Slavisa Jokanovic . ‘ It ’ s just a question of whether we are all together as a Premier League team. ’ Watford made it 2-0 with 25 minutes to go . Again , the ease with which Ighalo turned Woodgate will have bothered Karanka , as will Grant Leadbitter ’ s sloppy concession of the ball in the build-up . But , really , it was all about the finish , the striker ’ s shot hitting the top corner from the edge of the area . Ighalo said he only joined Watford for the prospect of Premier League football . He might just get it . Jokanovic said : ‘ I expect this victory can help us to win points a little bit more easily in the future . But in front of us is a very serious job. ’ Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes gets a boot to the face from Middlesbrough forward Patrick bamford . Gomes points to the heavens after Ighalo 's goal put Watford 2-0 up and settled the game .
Middlesbrough started the day top of the Championship on 75 points . Troy Deeney opened the score before Odion Ighalo 's brilliant strike . Watford end the day in 20th place after Bournemouth and Norwich win .