Adrian Mariappa was satisfied with a 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur, despite believing Watford were denied a stoppage-time penalty against 10-man Spurs.

The Hornets matched Mauricio Pochettino’s men for much of the clash and looked more likely to force a winner after Davinson Sanchez saw red for an elbow on Richarlison.

They hit the post through Abdoulaye Doucoure and should have had a chance to win the game from 12 yards after Eric Dier’s last-gasp handball went unpunished.

For Mariappa, the point was a welcome return for a hard day’s work, even if he accepted it could easily have been all three.

“It is football and they went down to 10 men but are still a good side and are still going to cause a threat,” he said.

“We hit the post and maybe could have had a penalty at the end. From where I was it looked like a penalty, but it is what it is.

“We will take the point, look at the positives, work on the other stuff and move on.

“I haven’t spoken to the players about it and only have my angle of it. From where I was it looked like it was a penalty and hopefully it will even itself out as the season goes on.”

Watford’s performance provided a welcome return to form after Tuesday night’s 4-2 loss at the hands of Manchester United.

That defeat was punctuated by defensive errors which Watford had eradicated in Saturday’s draw, much to the delight of Mariappa.

He said: “We always look at where we can improve and on Tuesday we were punished very clinically, so that was definitely in our minds for today.

“We are still disappointed with the goal that we conceded and will look at that and address it. All in all it is a very positive result.”