Hull 1-2 Watford: Wesley Hoedt scores from 40 yards as Hornets sting Tigers

Wesley Hoedt watched on as his effort sailed over Hull goalkeeper Ryan Allsop to give Watford the lead

An extraordinary goal by Wesley Hoedt clinched victory for Watford at Hull.

Edo Kayembe gave the visitors an early lead, Scott Twine equalised almost immediately and Watford's Ben Hamer saved Jaden Philogene's second-half penalty before Hoedt's brilliant winner.

The Dutch defender audaciously lobbed keeper Ryan Allsop from 40 yards to secure a win which moved his side closer to the Championship play-off places.

Watford have endured a difficult start to the season under boss Valerien Ismael but have lost just one of their past nine matches.

Their win moved them up three places in the table, to 10th - now just three points behind Hull, who remained sixth despite their defeat.

Kayembe opened the scoring after eight minutes, finishing off a slick team move by firing in his second goal of the season.

Hull, who had won their previous three home matches, hit back with a well-worked goal of their own just two minutes later.

Liam Delap's fine solo run was eventually halted by Hoedt but the loose ball fell to Twine, who coolly slotted home the equaliser.

The Tigers were handed a chance to go ahead just before the hour mark when Jacob Greaves was fouled in the area by Jake Livermore.

But Hamer superbly kept out Philogene's spot-kick and the save proved to be a vital one.

Watford boss Valerien Ismael told BBC Three Counties Radio:

"I'm not surprised that we scored like that. We work on those patterns, especially when we face an opponent where the keeper takes a lot of risks in the build-up.

"We knew when we win the ball that we had to try it. Wesley thought of it straightaway because it's a drill that we face all the time.

"You could see the tiredness in the second half. The two key moments in the second half (Hamer's penalty save and Hoedt's goal) allowed us to get the three points.

"We wanted to be more strong, to show that we can fight and that we can win duels and a desire to not concede. It's a great feeling to get the reward for our performance.

"Now we face a tough period of the season for everyone in the league. It's all about staying stable and pushing as we have been doing."

Hull boss Liam Rosenior told BBC Radio Humberside:

"It's a sickener in terms of the result. In terms of the performance - I'm tired of saying it - I don't want to be that manager who lies, or is disingenuous, but we were so much better than them in every aspect of the game.

"It's painful to lose. I would have been frustrated to draw. We missed a penalty and had so many opportunities.

"Again, it comes down to that we're not clinical enough. Then we make 'young' mistakes - we're a young team and that's the down side to having an exciting young team.

"But I love working with this group. It's a great group. I've got a really good feeling.

"If we learn from our mistakes and improve certain aspects of our game then we're a very good team at this level."