The fact that it took Watford until the 88th minute to register their one and only attempt on target spoke volumes as their hopes of staying in the Premier League suffered another huge blow with a 2-0 defeat at home to Brighton & Hove Albion.

Goals from Neal Maupay and Adam Webster secured the points for the Seagulls whose performance was a level above their beleaguered opponents for most of the contest.

Roy Hodgson again chose to deploy four central midfielders in a bid to keep the game tight in the first half, but his charges were too passive for the most part and Brighton had already threatened on several occasions before they made the breakthrough shortly before the interval when Maupay capitalised on some awful defending from the hosts to score a superb opener.

The Watford manager responded by bringing on Ismaila Sarr and Imran Louza and while there was some more urgency to the performance, Robert Sanchez’s goal remained largely untroubled except when Emmanuel Dennis clipped the top of the bar with a rising drive.

A last roll of the dice saw Joao Pedro sent on with 20 minutes remaining, but apart from Sarr’s late effort Watford were largely on the back foot in the closing stages as Brighton utilised their greater numbers in midfield to positive effect, having gone 2-0 up when Webster scored from a corner.

Hodgson opted to keep faith with the same starting XI that was narrowly beaten at West Ham United in midweek for his first match in charge at Vicarage Road.

The Hornets were boosted by the return of Sarr following his near four-month lay-off and fresh from helping Senegal to AFCON glory, but there was no surprise the winger was among the substitutes having only returned to London Colney yesterday.

The Seagulls’ last appearance saw them knocked out of the FA Cup following a 3-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur and Graham Potter chose to make two changes to his side, Joel Veltman and former Hornets striker Danny Welbeck replacing Yves Bissouma and Solly March.

The hosts had some early defending to do when Brighton won a corner inside the opening minute, but any danger was seen off courtesy of a foul on Ben Foster as he sought to claim Pascal Gross’ in-swinging delivery.

However, the first five minutes were played almost exclusively in the Watford half as their opponents, wo had started with three at the back, dominated the early possession.

There was a sense of inevitability that Foster would be tested sooner rather than later and that is exactly what happened in the eighth minute when he had to dive sharply to his right to get down to Jakub Muder’s shot on the turn, Craig Cathcart reacting first to the rebound to clear to safety.

Watford did win their first corner soon after, but Kiko Femenia’s deep delivery from the right was comfortably dealt with, and that was followed by another a couple of minutes later after Hassane Kamara’s incisive pass almost put Dennis in behind.

This time Femenia’s delivery from the left did cause the Seagulls more problems, keeper Sanchez unable to clear properly under pressure from Juraj Kucka and Joshua King fired over a dropping ball over the top.

The Hornets looked a little better after that for a spell, but Brighton then had two good chances.

First Gross headed Moder’s clipped delivery from the left back across goal and wide, before the hosts were undone by Adam Lallana’s pass through the heart of midfield and Maupay had the time to turn and advance before hitting a 20-yard right-footed shot which Foster dealt with going to his right.

There was a growing sense of frustration among the home faithful at what was a largely passive display by their side, but in the 25th minute Tom Cleverley did well to dispossess an opponent in the left-back area and passed forward to Dennis, who dummied Veltman sending him clear on the left and in a two-on-one situation. The Nigerian chose to get it alone, rather than feed the ball to King inside, and was fouled by Lewis Dunk on the edge of the 18-box, earning the central defender a yellow card. However, the Hornets’ top scorer couldn’t make the most of the free-kick opportunity, firing wide of Sanchez’s left-hand post.

The Brighton keeper wasn’t tested by a looping header from King following a Kucka cross from the right, but that came after a seemingly better position had been passed up when Dennis had been unable to set Femenia away behind the defence with what a relatively straightforward pass.

Foster caused some palpitations amid the home faithful when he came out of the left side of his penalty area to clear a ball and then carried it forward up the touchline, only to slice it to an opponent, but the hosts were able to regain possession.

There were more alarm bells ringing four minutes before the break when a deep corner from the left picked out Dunk completely unmarked beyond the back post, but he headed over the top rather than back into the danger zone.

The Hornets were unable to hold out until half-time though, as Brighton made the most of some dismal defending from the home side.

Tariq Lamptey was under no pressure when he crossed from the right and Maupay had the freedom of the heart of the penalty area to make the breakthrough in superb fashion, sending a first-time right-footed shot on the turn to give the Seagulls a deserved lead at the break.

Hodgson reacted by making a double change at the start of the second half and they were positive substitutions, bringing on Imran Louza and Sarr for Edo Kayembe and Kucka.

The Hornets looked more purposeful after the resumption, biting into challenges and trying to make things happen with more urgency than they had done for much of the opening period.

Dennis picked up his side’s first yellow card in the 56th minute for persistent fouling, before Sarr sent an ambitious effort into the stands from fully 30 yards.

Watford were still to test Sanchez though, and they still hadn’t by the 63rd minute, despite coming very close to taking the lead when Dennis crashed a shot against the top of the bar after stepping inside a couple of challenges on the left side of the area after a Femenia free-kick from the right had been partially headed away.

Brighton had been readying a double change at that point as Bissouma and Alexis Mac Allister replaced Welbeck and Gross.

Moussa Sissoko saw yellow for a sliding challenge on Lamptey soon after and the resultant free-kick caused big problems in the hosts’ defence, Moder eventually seeing his shot blocked behind by Femenia.

Pedro entered the fray with 20 minutes of normal time remaining in place of Cleverley but it was the visitors who were having the better of the exchanges at this point, Foster doing well to hold a stinging angled drive from Marc Cucurella after Bissouma had embarked on a storming run through the centre.

Lamptey was booked after 75 minutes after going through the back of Sarr, but by now Brighton had the numbers in midfield and were using them to their advantage.

The Hornets were fortunate to escape conceding a second when Veltman delivered a low cross from the right and Moder’s first-time effort on the run was deflected narrowly wide.

The stay of execution was shortlived though, as the Hornets failed to deal with the resultant corner and Webster was afforded a second bite of the cherry from barely six yards out and the big defender gleefully slammed the ball home, the signal for many of the home faithful to head for the exits.

Watford had failed to register a single effort on target but the grim statistic did at least change in the 88th minute when Sarr hit a shot on the run from the right side of the area which Sanchez blocked with his legs.

It was far too little, too late though, as the hosts finished beaten, without a goal since Hodgson has taken charge and with just two points to show from the last available 33 as a sense of resignation filled the air at full-time.

Watford: Foster; Femenia, Cathcart, Samir, Kamara; Kucka (Sarr 46), Sissoko, Kayembe (Louza 46), Cleverley (Pedro 70); King, Dennis. Subs not used: Bachmann, Ngakia, Masina, Sema, Kabasele, Hernandez.

Brighton & Hove Albion: Sanchez; Veltman, Dunk, Webster; Lamptey, Gross (Mac Allister 64), Lallana (Duffy 90), Moder, Cucurella; Maupay, Welbeck (Bissouma 64). Subs not used: Steele, Trossard, Alzate, March, Caicedo, Ferguson.

Bookings: Dunk for a foul on Dennis (25); Dennis for persistent fouling (56); Sissoko for a foul on Lamptey (65); Lamptey for a foul on Sarr (75); Louza for a foul on Mac Allister (90).

Referee: Jonathan Moss.