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A game with very few chances for either side, it seemed that it would either be a moment of magic or a set piece that would be the undoing in the game.

Five minutes into the second half, Tom Barkhuizen was adjudge to have fouled Joao Pedro as the winger tracked back.

The Brazilian picked himself up and dispatched the penalty, which proved to be the only goal of the game.

Frankie McAvoy (left) with manager Alex Neil (right).

"We've seen it back and to be honest, we'd have been looking for it if it had happened in the other box," McAvoy said.

"We don't really have any complaints on that. The boy stuck it away well.

"Daniel is a little bit unfortunate, he guesses the right way and it's just a good strike from Joao Pedro who sticks it away right into the corner."

Watford created little else aside from the penalty, but PNE continued to falter on home turf.

The Hornets came into the game off the back of a 6-0 win, North End winning away at Blackburn Rovers on Friday night.

In that game, the Lilywhites used a three at the back system but that was swapped out for their usual 4-2-3-1, which McAvoy felt worked well despite the result.

He said: "We're disappointed we came away with nothing from the game.

"I thought it was a tight affair, we knew it would be, they've got quality all over the pitch.

"I thought the manager's tactics were really spot on tonight. The penalty kick is the defining factor in the game.

"I thought we had the best couple of chances in the first half, both from Ched.

"It's a fantastic pick out from Ben Whiteman, a great diagonal run from Ched and he's just a little bit unfortunate that he gets a bit too much on it to lift it over the goalkeeper.

"All in all, we're disappointed.

"We had a few chances, I'm not sure that either 'keeper was really worked but there were clear chances.

"At the end of the day you maybe get one that maybe sneaks in."

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'No complaints' on deciding moment in PNE match from Frankie McAvoy