Watford were held to a goalless stalemate by Real Sociedad on a day which saw Vicarage Road come together to remember the late Graham Taylor.

A game of few chances played second fiddle to Taylor, and the occasion will likely be remembered for the emotional scenes before kick-off and during the half-time break rather than the match.

Half-time sub Stafano Okaka went closest to providing a breakthrough when he had the ball in the net with 52 minutes played, but saw his header ruled out for offside.

There were touching tributes to Taylor in the build-up to kick-off, with Jon Motson perhaps summing up his impact at Watford best when addressing the crowd.

The legendary commentator struggled to a recall a manager who has done more for a single club than Taylor did for Watford.

It was a sentiment shared by the Watford faithful, who revealed a flag in the rookery end adorned with the statement he put the heart in this club, he made the town proud.

While the occasion took centre stage, the game still served as a final opportunity for Marco Silva to assess his side before the real business gets started against Liverpool next Saturday.

The early signs offered some promise, with Daryl Janmaat getting forward to good effect on the right and the fluid Roberto Pereyra having some joy in possession.

Nonetheless, it was the visitors who had the better of the opening exchanges and Heurelho Gomes was almost left with egg on his face with 10 minutes played.

The Watford number one, who is prone to the occasional lapse in concentration, misread a routine pass over the top and saw the ball skip off the turf and over his head.

Sergio Canales was fast closing in to pick up the scraps, before the Brazilian’s blushes were spared by the linesman’s flag.

Gomes made amends for his error with 25 minutes played, producing an acrobatic stop to deny Kevin Rodrigues’ rising drive from 20 yards.

He had to be alert once more just after the half hour as a corner fell to Mikel Oyarzabal and he looked to catch the Hornets stopper out at his near post.

His effort was well-struck, but Gomes reacted smartly to get down and ensure parity remained at the interval.

The Hornets were presented a golden chance to go ahead with less than a minute of the second half played.

Tom Cleverley, who was peripheral throughout, stole possession in midfield and had a clear run at goal some 30 yards out.

A heavy touch saw the ball race away from the Watford number eight and allowed Sociedad keeper Geronimo Rulli to collect and dispel the danger.

Moments later, Pereyra, who had been one of the hosts most threatening asset, picked up the ball wide on the left and cut inside.

Unchecked he let fly from 25 yards but his fine effort curled just wide of the far post.

From there the game lost its rhythm as a number of changes to both line ups disrupted the flow of play, and it would take until 13 minutes from time for Watford to fashion another clear chance.

A sweeping break down the left ended with Kiko Femenia picking out a fine cross – a promising feature of his game throughout pre-season – to find Okaka at the near post.

The burly forward did well to fashion a sharp shot from the pacey cross but could only fire high over the bar.

Isaac Success should have provided the perfect finale to the day late on when Ben Watson’s free-kick was flicked on.

The ball broke to the winger in acres of space at the back post but, with the goal at his mercy, he somehow volleyed over.

It proved to be the final meaningful act of the game as the inaugural Graham Taylor trophy was shared between the two sides.