Watford striker Darius Henderson was guilty of a remarkable miss as the Hornets lost ground on Coca-Cola Championship leaders Stoke with a goalless draw against spirited Preston.

Henderson cleverly rounded North End goalkeeper Andy Lonergan and looked certain to open the scoring early on but he inexplicably put his shot into the side-netting.

The Hornets struck the post and had a late goal chalked off for offside but Alan Irvine's strugglers hit the crossbar thanks to a strike from captain Paul McKenna and were the better side in the closing stages as they recorded their first draw since early November.

North End rode their luck at times as they soaked up a lot of pressure but in the end they looked dangerous on the break and merited a point - their first draw under Irvine - which could prove decisive in their battle to escape relegation.

The game started brightly and Henderson's moment arrived in the eighth minute.

The bright Jobi McAnuff played a deft one two with Nathan Ellington and, after collecting the return, burst through the middle.

The winger played in Henderson on the left-hand side of the penalty area and, as Lonergan went down, the striker cleverly delayed his shot before rounding the prone stopper.

Henderson was left with an open goal but somehow shanked his left-foot finish into the side-netting.

It was a huge let-off for the visitors and they nearly took advantage with a spectacular opener of their own in the 14th minute.

McKenna advanced forward and unleashed a swerving drive from 25 yards which hit the angle of post and crossbar with Richard Lee well beaten.

It was a superb effort but the Hornets instantly launched a counter-attack and went straight down the other end where Ellington lashed over from the edge of the area.

An incisive run from Tommy Smith then teed up McAnuff with another good opportunity but Lonergan was alive to the danger and got down well to tip his low drive around the post.

Lonergan was at fault however on the half-hour mark when he came for a deep Mat Sadler corner and got nowhere near the ball.

John Eustace was left with a free header and as he diverted the ball goalward but it was cleared off the line with Eustace appealing in vain for handball.

The promise of the game's bright start quickly faded as some stout Preston defending nullified a succession of Watford set-pieces.

Lilywhites striker Karl Hawley had the only effort on goal in the opening quarter of an hour of the second-half but his tame 20-yard effort was comfortably held by Lee.

Danny Shittu then came within inches of opening the lead in the 62nd minute.

The huge defender rose to meet McAnuff's corner and his header hit the inside of the post before the recovering Lonergan managed to scoop the ball up and away to safety.

Shittu then headed on a long throw from Leigh Bromby but the arriving Ellington was unable to stab home under pressure.

Boothroyd's men were piling on the pressure and John-Joe O'Toole joined the list of sinners when he wastefully fired over from 12 yards after a fine run and pass from McAnuff.

Neil Mellor - who scored the winner as substitute when the sides met in January - was then brought on by Irvine as the visitors began to exert some pressure of their own.

Youl Mawene should have done better with a free header from a corner before Richard Chaplow's mis-hit shot nearly crept into the bottom corner and forced a good save from Lee.

Chris Brown then got a toe onto Simon Whaley's low cross to force Lee into another save before the unlucky Shittu had an effort ruled out in stoppage-time for offside as he followed in Ellington's low shot.

But North End survived a late flurry of corners to claim a vital point.

Teams:

Watford Lee, Mariappa (DeMerit 81), Sadler, Shittu, Bromby, Smith (Ainsworth 85), Eustace, O'Toole, McAnuff, Henderson, Ellington.

Subs Not Used: Stewart, Williamson, Kabba.

Preston Lonergan, Jones, Chilvers, Mawene, Davidson, Sedgwick, Chaplow (Hill 89), McKenna, Whaley (St. Ledger 84), Hawley (Mellor 72), Brown.

Subs Not Used: Chris Neal, Nicholls.

Booked: Davidson, Mellor.

Att: 16,798

Ref: Tony Bates (Staffordshire).