They simply do not draw games , and that ’ s something which could see Watford over the line in this season ’ s race to the Premier League . Not since late October , 21 fixtures ago , have the Hornets shared the points . It ’ s very much boom or bust under Slavisa Jokanovic and the pendulum is swinging in their direction at the moment . Against Fulham Troy Deeney ’ s 15th of the season secured their eighth win in the last ten . The signs are ominous for the rest and one of the first words out of the manager ’ s mouth afterwards was ‘ champion ’ . Why not ? They are just one point behind Middlesbrough . Troy Deeney ( centre ) fires home to give Watford the lead and send them third in the Championship . The Hornets captain celebrates as his side continued their quest for an automatic promotion place . Watford starting XI ( 3-5-2 ) : Gomes 6.5 ; Cathcart 7 , Angella 7.5 , Hoban 6 ; Motta 6 , Abdi 8 ( Forestieri - 86 ) , Watson 7 , Guedioura 7 , Pudil 6.5 ( Layun - 58 6 ) ; Deeney 7.5 , Vydra 7 ( Ighalo - 68 6 ) Subs not used : Bond , Paredes , Anya , Tozser , . Goals : Deeney 9 . Booked : Guedioura . Fulham starting XI ( 4-3-3 ) : Bettinelli 6 ; Richards 6 , Hutchinson 6 , Bodurov 6 , Stafylidis 6.5 ; Tunnicliffe 6 , Fofana 7 , Kavanagh 6.5 ( Kačaniklić , - 76 6 ) ; Ruiz ( Smith - 76 7 ) , Woodrow 6.5 ( Rodallega - 66 6 ) , McCormack 7 . Subs not used : Kiraly , Hoogland , Amorebieta , Dembélé . Booked : Richards , Fofana . ‘ It ’ s nice winning 5-0 or 3-2 but sometimes it is difficult , ’ Jokanovic said . ‘ If you have a champion ’ s mentality you must suffer together and get through games like this . ‘ They caused us problems . It ’ s positive for us because we were working all together . It wasn ’ t a brilliant game but you ’ ve got to be optimistic if you win these. ’ It ’ s only six months since managerial turmoil looked to undermine the foundations previously laid when Billy McKinlay left after a matter of days but Watford will take some stopping from here . When all is said and done in two months ’ time , they will make sure not to hold any regrets . The winner came on nine minutes after Fulham goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli , rather bizarrely , opted to travel away from his goal to retrieve a ball for Almen Abdi to whip in a wicked corner ; from that Craig Cathcart ’ s header was partially saved but Deeney was on the spot to smash in the rebound . ‘ Disappointing ’ was Kit Symons ’ summation . ‘ It ’ s the second phase of a corner. ’ Jokanovic ’ s side are top scorers in the division - netting 16 in their last five at Vicarage Road before this - but are occasionally susceptible to pace and Ross McCormack might ’ ve drawn the visitors level soon after , only for his half-volley to be thwarted by former Tottenham stopper Heurelho Gomes . Ryan Tunnicliffe ( centre ) tussles with Almen Abdi for the ball during his side 's defeat to Watford . Match winner Deeney fights with Kostas Stafylidis for possession during the first half at Vicarage Road . Despite Fulham looking bright , it was the Hornets who could ’ ve sewn the points up before half-time . Abdi is afforded the freedom to roam from his central berth and that gives Watford an added dimension . Capped by Switzerland , he buzzes in possession and isn ’ t afraid of bypassing Deeney and Matej Vydra in pursuit of goals . Here the two strikers combined brilliantly to tee Abdi up and he thumped just wide . Make no mistake , this was not vintage Watford but you sense they don ’ t need to be weekly , such is the quality stacked up in a well-stocked squad . Vydra crashed an effort against the bar after sparkling Adlene Guedioura footwork before Jazz Richards only saw yellow for raising his hands to the striker off the ball . Ben Watson ( centre ) climbs higher than Bryan Ruiz during his side 's crucial victory over Fulham . Symons saw Cauley Woodrow head over from a corner and Seko Fofana ’ s vicious strike was deflected wide . Fulham failed to build a real period of sustained pressure until introducing giant striker Matt Smith ; his knockdown fell to McCormack but Gomes rushed out , spread himself and superbly blocked the Scot ’ s certain equaliser . ‘ Matt did well when he came on , ’ Symons said . ‘ He ’ s a physical presence up there and we can play a bit more direct . There was a chance at the end when Hugo Rodallega and Ross got in each other ’ s way . We deserved a point. ’ Watford might usually be a pleasure to watch , but they ’ ll be thankful for that mad Brazilian between the sticks - this ended up being as gritty as they come .
Watford move into third in the Sky Bet Championship following the win . The Hornets have won their last two games and are now just one point behind leaders West Ham United with five matches remaining.