A fine solo effort by substitute Yaser Asprilla in the final 10 minutes proved the decisive moment as Watford defeated Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 at Vicarage Road.
The Colombian had only been on the pitch for four minutes before he ruined the first game in charge for Owls boss Danny Rohl, who was able to put back Josh Windass and captain Barry Bannan into the Wednesday first XI.
The hosts made three changes from their previous game against Cardiff, with Tom Ince, Ryan Porteous and Imran Louza starting.
Jeremy Ngakia had the first effort after 11 minutes, his shot inside the area clearing the bar.
It was otherwise a dull opening half an hour, although the visitors were slightly in the ascendancy.
Indeed, it was Wednesday who went closest to opening the scoring. A cross by Jeff Hendrick found the head of Windass, who headed over from just over six yards out.
The move seemed to put some life into the contest, and Wesley Hoedt fired over from 30yards out in the 34th minute.
The half petered out after that flurry, although Porteous was booked for tripping up Windass before the half-time whistle.
Watford were looking to respond in the second half, and head coach Valerien Ismael made two changes at half time – Mileta Rajovic and Ismael Kone coming on for Vakoun Bayo and Tom Dele-Bashiru.
However, it was the the visitors who had the first opportunity five minutes after the interval. A curled free-kick from Windass found the head of Hendrick, who flicked his effort just over the bar.
Wednesday appeared to receive a boost in the 54th minute when Anthony Musaba was seemingly upended by Jamal Lewis in the box. However, after consulting with his official, referee Dean Whitestone overturned the decision.
The away side pressed for the opening though, although John Buckley could not keep his effort down just after the hour mark.
Watford started to press their way into the contest, putting Sheffield Wednesday more on the back foot, although without creating much in the way of a clear-cut opportunity.
However, with eight minutes remaining, Asprilla gave the hosts the lead with the best piece of skill in the match.
He picked the ball on the right flank from Ismael Kone and was able to work his way towards edge of the area where he fired his shot past the diving Cameron Dawson.
If anything, it was Watford who looked more likely to add further goals to the scoresheet, but they were able to see the game out with a single goal victory – and leave Wednesday without a win in 12 games.
Plymouth Argyle 2-2 Watford: Two-goal Gray rescues point for Rooney's side
Andre Gray scored twice against his former club to salvage a point for struggling Plymouth Argyle as they drew 2-2 with Watford on Friday.
Gray curled in an equaliser in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time to seal a crucial point for Wayne Rooney's side in their bid for survival in the Championship.
The visitors made a quick start at Home Park when Ivorian striker Vakoun Bayo bundled in a cross from Yasser Larouci only eight minutes in.
Plymouth did, however, equalise against the run of play in the 23rd minute when Lewis Gibson's long ball into the box was met with a spectacular volley from Gray.
Watford regained the lead before the break when Imran Louza's free-kick was knocked back by Mattie Pollock, with centre-back Ryan Porteous on hand to steer the ball home.
But just as it looked like Watford would go home with all three points, Gray picked up the ball on the edge of the area and fired home a stunning effort beyond Daniel Bachmann.
Tom Cleverley's Watford sit in fifth place and trail leaders Sunderland by five points, while Plymouth are 17th with 17 points from 16 matches.
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
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