Watford boss Adrian Boothroyd hailed Anthony McNamee after the winger inspired his side to a 3-0 win over 10-man Gillingham in tonight's Carling Cup first-round tie.

Tamas Priskin, Douglas Rinaldi and substitute Alex Campana were on target for the Hornets, but it was McNamee's performance on the left flank which was the highlight of the evening.

McNamee has rarely found the consistency to claim a regular starting place for the Coca-Cola Championship side, and Boothroyd admitted the wide man could be frustrating.

"He teases you," admitted Boothroyd. "He is capable of doing so many things.

"He was playing against an experienced full-back in Nicky Southall, but he twisted him, turned him and gave him all kinds of problems.

"He can win games on his own when he is on song.

"It was a wonderful performance, but now he has to go and do it next week as well.

"He has the talent to go past anyone and deliver a cross, but there are also periods when he is out of the game."

Watford, who made 10 changes from the weekend win at Wolves, would have fallen behind in the 11th minute had Gary Mulligan not missed a penalty.

The League One club were quickly punished, Priskin and Rinaldi putting Watford 2-0 up by half-time, before Efe Sodje was shown a straight red card for appearing to elbow Rinaldi in the 52nd minute.

Campana's 71st-minute header completed the scoring for the youthful Hornets, and Boothroyd added: "I was enthused and excited by what I saw tonight.

"We had a very young back four, but they still managed to keep a clean sheet."

The one low point for Boothroyd was the injury to veteran defender Matt Jackson, who was forced off in the first half with concussion.