Deeney misses penalty as Watford and Spurs draw 0-0

WATFORD (Agencies): Watford stretched their unbeaten run in the Premier League to six matches but missed out on a fourth successive win when Troy Deeney’s second-half penalty was saved in a 0-0 home draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

Skipper Deeney stepped up to take the spot kick in the 69th minute after Jan Vertonghen handled Gerard Deulofeu’s shot, but his effort was saved by Spurs keeper Paulo Gazzaniga. Tottenham, who are now winless in four league matches, edged a scrappy first half with Lucas Moura having their best chance, but Watford came back strongly after the break.

Abdoulaye Doucoure fired wide shortly after halftime although Spurs did threaten on occasions too with Dele Alli heading one half chance over. Tottenham almost nicked three points late on when Erik Lamela’s close-range effort was shown to have been cleared off the line.

Watford have now taken 14 points from seven games under new manager Nigel Pearson, and they moved up a place to 16th in the table while Tottenham, who recorded their first league clean sheet on the road this season, moved up to seventh.