Heurelho Gomes saved one of his best performances of the season for his return to former club Tottenham Hotspur as Watford lost 1-0.

Mauricio Pochettino's side were in control throughout as the Hornets failed to work keeper Hugo Lloris in one of their poorest displays of the season.

Quique Sanchez Flores' side were second best in every department but thanks to the excellence of Gomes restricted Spurs to a slender margin of victory.

Here's how the Golden Boys rated in north London –

Heurelho Gomes – 8.5: The former Spurs keeper had a point to prove back his old stomping ground and he did just that, preventing Watford – not for the first time in recent weeks – from taking a battering against the title contenders.

In the first half the Brazilian denied Spurs left-back Ben Davies on three occasions and had to be alert to push away Erik Lamela’s low strike from a corner.

He was, however, lucky not to concede a penalty 11 minutes into the second half and replays suggested he made contact with Harry Kane. Referee Roger East had a poor view of the incident and waved away the hosts' appeals.

Kane was then denied more legitimately by Gomes who sprang up off the turf to flick the ball away from Christian Eriksen as the Dane looked to pounce on the rebound.

Allan Nyom – 5: The right-back was given a hard afternoon’s work as Spurs had joy down the flanks.

In the first half it was Lamela who proved his tormentor with the adventurous Davies also getting forward at will to give Nyom another headache.

The second half followed a similar pattern and the introduction of Dele Alli did nothing to ease Nyom’s woes as the England international picked up where Lamela left off.

Nyom hardly covered himself in glory for Kieran Trippier’s winner, getting caught out of position to leave Alli in enough space to cut the ball back for a simple finish.

On more than one occasion he was left for dead by the relentless Davies who ghosted past him into the penalty area for at least one of his first-half chances.

Miguel Britos – 6: The loss of Britos to what appeared to be a thigh injury early in the second half will be of concern after his replacement, Sebastian Prodl, endured a torrid afternoon.

Spurs were camped in Watford’s penalty area for a considerable amount of the first half but Britos, alongside Craig Cathcart, always did just enough to bail the Hornets out.

Replaced after 54 minutes.

Craig Cathcart – 6: The defender, who turned 27 today, was given a stern examination by the fluid movement of Tottenham’s front four but did his best to hold things together alongside Miguel Britos.

At times the duo looked all at sea, though.

Timely interventions on a couple of occasions stopped Spurs from building a more handsome margin of victory, particularly when he got in front of Nacer Chadli to re-direct a dangerous cross from the left over the bar as the Belgian waited to pounce.

Nathan Ake – 6: So much of Tottenham’s threat came from down the flanks and Ake was under siege throughout as match-winner Trippier got at him throughout.

The Chelsea loanee was never overrun, though, and stuck to his task doggedly. He was unable to get forward as often as he would normally and it was from his side Trippier snuck in to score the winner.

Mario Suarez – 4.5: Handed his debut as Troy Deeney was sacrificed, giving the Golden Boys an extra man in midfield, the Spanish international was duly hooked at half-time after an ineffective debut.

He kept the ball moving routinely but was bossed by Mousa Dembele and Eric Dier while failing to restrict the impact of Eriksen.

Flores said prior to Wednesday’s draw with Chelsea the former Atletico Madrid enforcer wasn’t fully up to speed with how Watford played and that was evident on the basis of this display.

Replaced at half time.

Ben Watson – 6: Usually blends into the background when he’s going about his business to great effect but on this occasion he did so for different reasons as Tottenham dominated the midfield.

He was, however, the pick of the Hornets’ central midfielders and covered every blade of grass trying to stem the flow through the middle.

He had some joy winning possession back but Watford failed to make the ball stick and, more often than not, he was soon chasing towards his own goal again.

In a game where Watford had next to no chances to get balls into the hosts’ penalty area his set pieces could have been better.

Etienne Capoue – 5: The midfielder, on his first return to White Hart Lane, again looked as though he would benefit from a rest.

Flores said afterwards Deeney, Ighalo and Valon Behrami could have done with two days longer to recover after the goalless draw with Chelsea on Wednesday. But the same could surely be said of the Frenchman.

He battled hard but ultimately made few inroads as Spurs controlled midfield. He was clearly the man asked to press from the front in the first half but had little joy forcing the hosts into errors on the ball. His decision making, much like his passing, was hit and miss at best.

Jose Manuel Jurado – 5.5: Moved back out to the left-hand side of midfield despite impressing as a number ten in his last two outings the Spaniard got on the ball more than any other Hornets player in the first half but had little joy in creating anything.

His impact faded considerably after the break when he was moved to the right and he was unable to conjure up anything of note for the Golden Boys.

Almen Abdi – 4: The Swiss midfielder was a complete passenger and offered minimal protection to the overworked Allan Nyom behind him.

He was unsurprisingly and rightly brought off at half time as he failed to take the opportunity afforded to him after his cameo against Chelsea in midweek.

He will surely be a candidate to drop out of the side at Crystal Palace next weekend.

Replaced at half time.

Odion Ighalo – 4: Starting up front on his own for the first time this season the Nigerian had little or no impact on the game and was only marginally improved after Deeney arrived alongside him.

One sniff at goal – a half chance at best – came from the tireless work of the aforementioned Deeney. His only other attempt was an audacious bicycle kick towards the end of the game which flew well over.

Substitutes

Troy Deeney (for Almen Abdi HT) – 5.5: Helped give Watford an out ball when they won possession back and roughed up Tottenham’s centre-backs more than Ighalo managed to but enjoyed a limited impact.

On the one occasion he and Ighalo were able to link up – after Deeney brought Heurelho Gomes’ long clearance under control – his strike partner shot tamely wide with a horrible contact.

Valon Behrami (for Mario Suarez HT) – 5: Showed no signs of the tiredness Flores alluded to in his post-match press conference but his arrival was too little too late as Spurs continued to boss the key areas.

He got about the field but there was more energy than end product.

Sebastian Prodl (for Miguel Britos 54) – 4: Introduced after Britos limped off the Austrian was a shadow of the player who went a long way towards taming Diego Costa in midweek.

He was largely at fault for the winner, diving in to go toe-to-toe with Kane and opening a huge pocket of space – exacerbated by Allan Nyom going AWOL – into which Alli darted to provide the assist for Trippier’s goal.