Heurelho Gomes has been one of Watford’s most consistent performers this season but he endured a horror moment as Watford suffered a 2-1 defeat at high-flying Leicester City this afternoon.

The Hornets keeper let a routine N’Golo Kante strike squirm through his grasp and then conceded a penalty as the visitors saw their hopes of a third straight top-flight victory dashed.

Although a Troy Deeney spot-kick gave the visitors hope and they continued to battle away, the Golden Boys were unable to create another real chance to try and rescue a point after Foxes striker Jamie Vardy had continued his remarkable run by scoring for the ninth consecutive game.

The first half had ebbed and flowed throughout with both sides having promising spells in the opposition third. Clear-cut chances were thin on the ground, although Odion Ighalo came closest to making the breakthrough on his 50th appearance in all competitions for the Hornets with an angled right-footed shot that beat Kasper Schmeichel but rebounded back out off his far post.

But Watford found themselves up against it in the 52nd minute when Gomes' howler allowed a Kante strike to go through his gloves and give the Foxes the lead.

Gomes’ afternoon was to get worse 13 minutes later when he upended Vardy just inside the penalty area and the England international doubled his side’s lead from 12 yards to move within one match of matching Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of netting in ten consecutive Premier League games.

But it was then Kante’s turn to blot his copybook and give the Hornets the chance to get back into the game; the midfielder bringing down Juan Carlos Paredes in the 18-yard box and Deeney did what was required from 12 yards to make it 2-1.

It has been a rarity for Watford to name an unchanged line-up for consecutive games in recent seasons but following the wins against Stoke City and West Ham United Quique Sanchez Flores opted to leave well alone for a third consecutive match. The last time that happened was February 2012.

Leicester went into the game third in the table and unbeaten in their last five fixtures but Claudio Ranieri did make one alteration from the team that beat West Bromwich Albion 3-2 last time out as Christian Fuchs came in to the defence and striker Leonardo Ulloa dropped to the bench. That change resulted in Jeffrey Schlupp moving up into wide midfield and the dangerous Riyad Mahraz taking a more advanced role playing off Premier League top scorer Vardy.

Both sides sough to get on the offensive from the outset but it was the Foxes who had the first sight of goal in the fourth minute. Ben Watson was penalised for handball around 35 yards out, Marc Albrighton knocked the free-kick into the box where Craig Cathcart got some distance on his attempted clearing header which fell to Schlupp, but he was unable to keep his left-footed strike down.

The Hornets’ first effort of the afternoon came in the ninth minute when Ikechi Anya cut the ball back from the right to Etienne Capoue. The Frenchman connected well enough with his effort towards the far corner from around 20 yards but Kasper Schmeichel always had it covered.

The visitors though, had started confidently, although Gomes had to make his first save of the contest in the 14th minute, diving to his left to hold into an Albrighton snap shot after Watford had been unable to clear their lines on the left side of the penalty area.

Leicester were getting to the loose balls marginally the quicker of the two sides and that led to Almen Abdi conceding a free-kick around 30 yards out. Albrighton intelligently drifted it over the defence and both Robert Huth and Wes Morgan narrowly failed to connect with it before Gomes plunged to his right to parry the ball away, although by this stage the assistant’s flag was raised for offside.

But one of the sub-plots going into the game was the battle between the Premier League’s three top scorers – Vardy, Mahrez and Ighalo – and it was the latter who went so close to giving Watford the lead in the 20th minute.

Deeney started the business end of the move with a little clip into his teammate and behind the defence and Ighalo took one touch before hitting a right-footed shot that beat Schmeichel but clattered out at pace off the foot of the far post. The rebound fell invitingly for Abdi, who connected well with his right-footed strike but Schmeichel had recovered his ground and was able to push it over.

Capoue hit another shot wide from distance as the Hornets continued to have a decent spell, only for the Foxes to then get back on the front foot as Albrighton saw another effort gathered by Gomes.

What followed around the half-hour mark was a three or four-minute period of Hornets keep-ball, patiently keeping possession as they stroked it around the pitch slowly trying to prise an opening. This almost came off when Ighalo tried to work a quick-one two with Deeney but the captain’s return pass in the area was well read by Huth and intercepted.

Vardy had been kept on a tight leash for the most part but he did have his first opening in the 38th minute, finally managing to wriggle away from Cathcart and Miguel Britos to strike a low right-footed effort from the edge of the 18-yard box which Gomes again dealt with.

But the Hornets were not far away again two minutes before the interval when Abdi’s lay-off found Ighalo, whose quick feet allowed him to create the space for a left-footed cross that was destined for the head of Deeney in the six-yard box until it was flicked away from his direction through some very good defending from Morgan.

That was to be the last opening of a goalless first half as the Hornets maintained their record of not being behind at the interval of any Premier League game to far this season.

Ranieri opted to make a change at the start of the second half as Schlupp made way for Shinji Okazaki and it was the hosts who had the first opening after the break as Albrighton burst forward onto a pass, but Allan Nyom managed to get back at his opponent, meaning he was unable to get decent purchase on a shot which Gomes again held.

Leicester maintained their positive start to the second half though, and it was to be rewarded in the 52nd minute with a moment that Gomes will want to forget as quickly as possible.

The danger originated from an Albrighton cross from the right and Watson failed to get sufficient distance on his attempted clearance, hitting it straight to Kante near the edge of the area. The midfielder eventually struck a low right-footed shot that should have been routine for Gomes, but he let it squirm horribly through his grasp and the ball rolled into the back of the net to make it 1-0.

Watford quickly sought to dust themselves down from that setback but a wayward Nyom strike from distance apart, they were unable to threaten Schmeichel’s goal.

Indeed they could have fallen further behind in the 61st minute when Vardy burst forward but Britos made a fine sliding interception to block the England’s striker’s well-struck shot out for a corner. Then from Fuchs’ resultant set piece from the right, Morgan attacked the near post but headed over.

But Watford – and Gomes’ afternoon – did get worse in the 65th minute when Vardy raced onto a ball forward as the Hornets keeper was stranded near the edge of his penalty area and he then upended the forward. The Brazilian was perhaps fortunate to escape with a yellow card but after Mahrez had initially picked up the ball, it was handed to the Foxes’ hit man who rifled home his 12th of the season from the spot to score for the ninth successive game.

Flores made his first change with 20 minutes remaining as Capoue made way for Paredes but it was the hosts who were looking the more likely to add to their tally rather than the Hornets finding a way a back into the contest at this stage of the proceedings.

But with 15 minutes to go the Hornets got the break they needed when Kante miscontrolled the ball on the edge of his area and in trying to recover his mistake, compounded it by bringing down Paredes.

Referee East had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and Deeney calmly did the rest, sending Schmeichel the wrong way to score his second of the season and make it 2-1.

Alessando Diamanti was already waiting to enter the fray at this point and he replaced Nyom before play restarted. But within moments of reducing the deficit to one goal, it could have been two again as Mahrez was allowed to curl in a left-footed shot which needed a good save from Gomes to keep it out.

Paredes was now looking to maraud down the right at every opportunity and it was from one of his runs that the Hornets had their next opportunity, the ball breaking to Deeney to strike a first-time right-footed shot from 20 yards which Schmeichel held.

Nathan Dyer came on for Mahrez with six minutes of normal time and then Andy King replaced Danny Drinkwater as the visitors kept plugging away to try and get the equaliser but without being able to create the clear opportunity they needed as the Foxes held on to maintain their superb start to the season.

Leicester City: Schmeichel; Simpson, Morgan, Huth, Fuchs; Albrighton, Drinkwater (King 90), Kante, Schlupp (Okazaki 46); Mahrez (Dyer 84), Vardy. Not used: Schwarzer, Ulloa, Benalouane, Inler.

Watford: Gomes; Nyom (Diamanti 75), Cathcart, Britos, Ake; Watson, Capoue (Paredes 70); Anya, Deeney, Abdi; Ighalo. Not used: Arlauskis, Prodl, Behrami, Guedioura, Holebas.

Bookings: Gomes for a foul on Vardy (65).

Attendance: 32,029 (3,299 away fans).

Referee: Roger East.