Striker Darius Henderson missed his second penalty in five days and it cost 10-man Watford a vital win over Championship promotion rivals Stoke, who went top with their point.

Henderson had a spot-kick saved in the 0-0 draw at former leaders Bristol City on Tuesday and was denied by Potters goalkeeper Carlo Nash after referee Rob Styles had harshly penalised captain Andy Griffin.

Styles had already incensed the home crowd when he dismissed Hornets skipper John Eustace against his former club midway through the first half.

Eustace caught Richard Cresswell with a high challenge that looked clumsy rather than malicious but Styles produced a red card that left both sets of fans stunned.

Adrian Boothroyd's side were the better throughout but could only muster a sixth successive draw and it was the dogged visitors who claimed top spot thanks to Bristol City's defeat at home to Plymouth.

Stoke were without influential midfielder Liam Lawrence through suspension and boss Tony Pulis took the decision to counter Watford's physical presence by fielding three central defenders.

Both sides were playing one-touch football in a frantic opening though with the emphasis on distance rather than precision the quality of the game was remarkably low for two sides chasing promotion to the top flight.

Collins John forced Nash into his first save with a glancing header from Mat Sadler's cross as Boothroyd's side dominated the early territory.

The game was then ignited by Styles in the 22nd minute when he sent-off Eustace.

Cresswell exchanged passes with Griffin on the right-hand side but took a heavy touch which saw the ball run away from him.

The forward stretched to toe the ball away from Eustace and, while the midfielder's challenge was ugly, the red card shown by Styles appeared harsh.

Ricardo Fuller then forced Richard Lee into his first save in the 45th minute when he shrugged off John-Joe O'Toole and fired in a low effort as the visitors threatened to press their numerical advantage home.

Pulis brought on Paul Gallagher for Leon Cort at the break as he sacrificed the extra centre-half while Boothroyd introduced midfielder Lee Williamson for John.

Referee Styles again made a huge call in the 55th minute when he awarded Watford a penalty.

Chris Riggott needlessly headed the ball up and away when Nash could have claimed and O'Toole did well to retrieve it on the byline.

The youngster appeared to have taken too long to release the ball and Griffin made a sliding challenge to dispossess him. The full-back clearly won the ball but Styles pointed to the spot to give Henderson the chance to put the hosts ahead.

Henderson struck the ball firmly with his left-foot - just as he did at Ashton Gate - but Nash flung himself to his right to palm the ball to safety and ensure justice was done.

Watford remained the more threatening as Leigh Bromby launched countless long throws into the six-yard box but both sides were woefully short of quality in the final third and neither goalkeeper was called into serious action.

Tommy Smith had the best chance in the dying seconds when Danny Shittu's back-post header fell to him eight yards from goal but he could only hook the ball high into the stand.

Teams:

Watford Lee, Bromby, Shittu, DeMerit, Sadler, Smith, Eustace, O'Toole, McAnuff, Henderson, John (Williamson 46).

Subs Not Used: Poom, Stewart, Kabba, Ellington.

Sent Off: Eustace (23).

Booked: Henderson, McAnuff.

Stoke Nash, Riggott, Cort (Gallagher 46), Shawcross, Griffin, Cresswell, Delap, Dickinson (Pugh 53), Whelan, Fuller, Bothroyd (Diao 59).

Subs Not Used: Simonsen, Parkin.

Booked: Fuller, Shawcross, Gallagher.

Att: 18,338

Ref: Rob Styles (Hampshire).