Tom Cleverley believes Watford "deserved the three points" after an improved second-half display saw them beat Oxford United 1-0.

Vakoun Bayo scored the only goal of the match in the 54th minute after he turned in the rebound of his own saved shot.

It is the fifth goal he has scored in three games, having also netted four times in the Hornets' 6-2 victory over Sheffield Wednesday last weekend.

The hosts registered 12 shots, seven of which were on target, as they upped the pressure after the break. They only had four attempts in the first half, though Ciaron Brown had to clear an in-swinging Watford corner off his own goal line on the stroke of half-time.

The three points lift Watford up to fourth in the Championship table ahead of the rest of the weekend's fixtures, and Cleverley was pleased with the marked improvement he saw in the second 45 minutes.

"I thought the second-half performance was really good until the last five minutes really," he told Sky Sports.

"I thought we didn't manage the game as well as we could do and a few refereeing decisions - dubious one that went against us - meant they could get the ball in our box.

"So, it felt a bit hands to the pump at the end, but I thought for the first 35 minutes of the second half, we were absolutely fantastic and were unlucky not to make it two, three.

"Understandably flat performance in the first half, probably from both teams with it being such a demanding week.

"But I thought our second-half performance in the main deserved the three points and our supporters helped us through."

Meanwhile, Oxford remain 16th and have now won just one of their last 10 matches in the Championship.

They failed to register a single shot on target in the first half, and are yet to win a game when conceding the opening goal in the league this season, with this the fifth such match they have gone behind.

It was Oxford's sixth defeat of the season and while manager Des Buckingham said there were positives to take, he was left frustrated by their lack of a clinical edge.

"I'm extremely proud but extremely frustrated," he said.

"I'm disappointed we haven't come away with something. I felt we created enough, we just haven't taken them. If we keep playing that way, we will be fine.

"We speak about being a together group. We did well, but Watford took their chance."

Chris Wilder cut a relieved figure after Sheffield United managed a long-awaited victory at Bramall Lane on Sunday.

The Blades battled for a 1-0 win over Watford in the Championship, remaining unbeaten through the first four games before the season's first international break.

Callum O'Hare, signed on a free transfer from Coventry City prior to this campaign, proved the difference as his dazzling run forced an own goal from Watford goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann after just two minutes.

Victory marked United's first win at home in league action since overcoming Brentford in the top flight last December.

Wilder was understandably pleased for his side to get off the mark in front of their home fans, with many of his new signings – and those who struggled in the Premier League last term – yet to taste the winning feeling at Bramall Lane.

"In our pitch [to Jesurun Rak-Sakyi], I said how important Bramall Lane was, there were two £15million bids for him and three-quarters of the Championship sides in for him," Wilder said after Sunday's win.

"Part of the pitch was him feeling what he felt today. For him, for [Jamie] Shackleton, for [Michael] Cooper it was big and hopefully they've enjoyed their first win in a red-and-white shirt.

"If it was important for the players, it was for the fans too, incredibly important.

"Sky are talking about us not winning for however long and you have to accept that is a fact but this is a brand new team playing in a different way with new players."

Wilder's Blades, who also missed a penalty from Kieffer Moore in the first half, remain among the favourites for promotion in the early stages of the season.

The veteran manager acknowledged it will take time to knit together his new charges, however.

"The disappointing thing is we didn't nail it down [against QPR], but the good thing is that it's a group who want to learn and listen and want to be coached.

"They're a proper team. It was a proper team performance right the way through."

Eight yellow cards were shown during a hard-fought encounter in Sheffield, with tensions rising at full-time after Gustavo Hamer's late tackle, with former Blade Daniel Jebbison also coming to blows with Harry Souttar.

Watford manager Tom Cleverley had no arguments about the frenetic finale, nor the result with United the better side on the day.

"If you summarise the result I think it was a fair one," Bradford-born Cleverley added. "It was a poor start to the game and then both teams had their share of good chances.

"They kept possession well and knocked us out of rhythm."