Huddersfield Town 0-2 Watford: Joao Pedro double earns Hornets win at Terriers
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Joao Pedro's double at Huddersfield takes his goal tally for the season to eight
Joao Pedro scored a second-half double as Watford beat bottom side Huddersfield Town to move up to fourth in the Championship.
A fierce finish past Lee Nicholls at the near post and a neat late header from the Brazilian ensured Slaven Bilic's side avoided a third successive goalless draw with a hard-earned three points in West Yorkshire.
Penalty appeals at both ends had defined a first half that lacked attacking quality at John Smith's Stadium.
Watford were right to feel aggrieved when referee Leigh Doughty failed to award a spot-kick after Michal Helik wrestled Keinan Davis to the ground, while Huddersfield had their own claims ignored when Hassane Kamara appeared to handle a cross from Jack Rudoni.
Pedro's thumping low shot from inside the box set Watford up for their fifth win in eight games, with his header from a Ken Sema corner sealing their triumph four minutes from the end.
Victory temporarily sent Bilic's side, who started the day in fifth place, third above Blackburn and Norwich who met in the late kick-off, but victory for Rovers took them above the Hornets again.
The defeat leaves Mark Fotheringham's Terriers five points adrift at the foot of the table.
Senegal forward Ismaila Sarr started on his return for Watford after the World Cup, with his appearance coming a week after he failed to make himself available for their goalless draw against Hull City.
Experienced midfielder Leandro Bacuna was also ushered straight into the side by Bilic, having only arrived as a free-agent signing three days earlier.
Fit-again captain Jonathan Hogg made his first start for three months for a struggling Terriers side who started brightly against the high-flying visitors.
They controlled the majority of first-half possession but failed to produce a shot on goal, while their claim for a penalty - when Kamara blocked a cross from Rudoni - brought howls of disapproval from the home supporters when waved away in 35th minute.
The Hornets had already had their own appeal ignored when Davis was brought down after cutting into the box.
It was not until the 32nd minute that Sarr produced the first shot on goal - a speculative long-range strike for a Hornets side growing in confidence.
Pedro then wastefully sent a close-range effort wide before Kamara tested goalkeeper Nicholls from a tight angle.
A determined run from Tom Dele-Bashiru set Pedro up for the opener after 54 minutes and, while Nicholls did well to keep the Terriers in the game with an excellent point-blank save from Sarr, the deserved victory was completed by the Brazilian forward.
'Pedro a game-changer' - reaction
Huddersfield Town boss Mark Fotheringham told BBC Radio Leeds:
"I'm absolutely gutted with the result. We know Watford are a big club who have just come out of the Premier League with incredible finances. But it doesn't matter, if you are organised and fit and an aggressive team, you can cause any teams problems in this league.
"In the first half it felt like we really dominated them and it was clear to see. You could see the buy-in from the players in the way they were going about their business with real energy and determination.
"But the game just slipped away from us in the second half and it was the bigger moments in the game, we didn't take our chances or handle their individual class. That is what money buys, the individual players they have got in their front five.
"I'm really gutted because I wanted to bring three points to this great crowd here today. They backed us ever so well again."
Watford boss Slaven Bilic:
"Pedro, if you talk about him, it is sometimes scary when you know he is only 21. To play so consistently at that high a level, it is great for us.
"He is good in the air. When the keeper is hitting a long ball, he is winning those balls, he is doing well in the midfield.
"He's this kind of player, the way he's improving on a weekly basis. The game-changers are always the ones who are deciding the game."