Watford 1 Sunderland 0

On a day when their relegation rivals Hull, Crystal Palace and Leicester all won, the Black Cats failed to pick up anything as Miguel Britos’ second-half header condemned them to their 19th defeat of a season that now looks all-but-certain to end in a drop to the Championship.

Sunderland would have suffered an even heavier defeat had it not been for three excellent saves from Jordan Pickford, and their failure to beat Heurelho Gomes in the Watford goal means they have now scored in just one of their last eight matches.

Their latest defeat means they find themselves seven points adrift of safety with nine games remaining, a gap that will increase to ten if Swansea claim a home win over Middlesbrough tomorrow.

David Moyes made one change from the side that had claimed a goalless draw against Burnley in the Black Cats’ previous outing, with Lamine Kone returning from injury. The centre-half replaced Seb Larsson, with Jason Denayer stepping out of the back four to take up a place in midfield.

Denayer’s presence in the central area helped ensure Sunderland could stand up to the physical threat posed by an imposing Watford line-up, and if anything, it was the visitors who shaded the opening period.

Jack Rodwell saw an early shot deflect narrowly over the crossbar, and Gomes was called into action in the opening ten minutes to tip Adnan Januzaj’s dangerous cross-cum-shot around the post.

Sunderland hadn’t been threatened at that stage, but it didn’t take long before Jordan Pickford was coming to their rescue with an impressive double save that once again accentuated his importance to the ongoing relegation fight.

The first stop, which saw the goalkeeper parry M’Baye Niang’s low shot, was a relatively routine save, but the second was a magnificent effort as Pickford threw himself to the ground to tip Abdoulaye Doucoure’s 14-yard strike around the post.

Doucoure drilled wide from distance shortly after, and as the first half wore on, Watford began to pose more of a threat, largely thanks to the effective midfield probing of Etienne Capoue.

Capoue’s 20th-minute cross was headed over by Stefano Okaka, and the pair traded roles ten minutes before the interval as Okaka teed up Capoue for a curling effort that drifted just past the post.

Watford were forced into a defensive reshuffle shortly before the break, with former Sunderland centre-half Younes Kaboul sustaining a hamstring injury that immediately ended his afternoon, and the Black Cats came close to claiming a first-half advantage when Januzaj’s  deflected effort trickled inches wide of the post with Gomes beaten.

The subsequent corner came to nothing, or at least did from a Sunderland perspective. Watford almost profited from it, with a break that covered the length of the field ending with Nordin Amrabat setting up Niang for a driven strike that Pickford tipped around the post.

Sunderland suffered an injury scare at the start of the second half when Jermain Defoe went down clutching his knee, but thankfully the England international was able to continue after some treatment.

Defoe was crying out for an opportunity in the penalty area, but instead it was Watford who dominated the early stages of the second period.

Substitute Isaac Success went close with a shot that was deflected narrowly wide, but the hosts finally made a breakthrough in the 59th minute.

Sunderland thought they had escaped when Fabio Borini glanced Okaka’s header from a corner onto the crossbar, but Watford recycled the ball to the back post, and an unmarked Britos had the simple task of heading home.

It was poor defending from the Black Cats on both occasions, with their inability to mark players in the box once again proving costly.

The concession saw Moyes immediately change things, with Didier Ndong coming on for the ineffectual Darron Gibson. Given Sunderland’s lack of midfield drive, it was hard to see why Ndong hadn’t featured in the starting line-up.

His introduction did little change to the general flow of things, with Watford continuing to dominate. Jose Holebas saw a long-range shot deflect narrowly wide, before Wahbi Khazri came off the bench to replace Januzaj, who was booed by the travelling support as he left the field.

The changes added a bit of energy to the visitors’ ranks, but in truth, Sunderland never really looked like getting back on level terms.

They came closest with seven minutes left, but while Borini’s 20-yard effort was on target, Gomes got down well to tip the ball around the post.

Watford (4-1-4-1): Gomes; Cathcart, Kaboul (Janmaat 42), Britos, Holebas; Doucoure; Niang (Zuniga 86), Cleverley, Capoue, Amrabat (Success 53); Okaka.

Subs (not used): Pantilimon (gk), Prodl, Mariappa, Deeney.

Sunderland (4-3-3): Pickford; Jones, Kone, O’Shea, Oviedo; Rodwell, Denayer, Gibson (Ndong 61); Januzaj (Khazri 70), Defoe, Borini.

Subs (not used): Mannone (gk), Manquillo, Djilobodji, Cattermole, Larsson.