Head Coach Chris Wilder was disappointed to see his side fall to a 1-0 defeat against Hull City, but felt the Hornets deserved something from the match.

The Tigers took a first-half lead from the penalty spot as former Watford midfielder Ozan Tufan placed the ball past Daniel Bachmann, forcing the Hornets to depart the MKM Stadium empty-handed.

Looking back on the game, Wilder believes the Hornets at least matched their hosts in an even second-tier contest.

“I thought we deserved something from the game,” Wilder began. “I’ve managed a lot of Championship games, and that is a typical Championship game where someone punishes you for the mistake you make and then we don’t punish them for the mistakes they make.

“I thought we tried everything to get back into the game. There weren’t many counter-attacks or dominant spells from the opposition and I thought the attitude was good. I thought we deserved something out of today.

“From our point of view, I thought tactically we were good. We got the press right and the shape of the team right. There was nothing in it in the first half other than the scoreline.

“Maybe they will look at it as having dodged a bullet in terms of not having a penalty go against them. When it’s going against you a little bit, these things happen. We just needed a big moment and I do believe if we got that big moment through the chances that we created or a little bit more quality, then we are bang in the game. I saw a team that wanted to get something from the game which was, in my opinion, a positive.”

The Watford boss was keen to have his say on the two penalty incidents - one awarded to Hull City for a tackle from Ryan Andrews, and another waved away for Watford after the ball appeared to hit Jean Michaël Seri’s arm.

Wilder added: “I have no complaints around the [first] penalty decision. From our point of view, it’s a rash challenge from a young man who wanted to win the ball. There were a couple of mistakes before and then Ryan made a rash tackle, and they put the penalty away.

“How we haven’t got a penalty I will never know. It is 100 per cent a penalty. There was too much of a reaction straight away from everybody. I have seen it on the tablet on the sideline and I’ve looked at it afterwards, and it’s a definite penalty.”

Despite the result, Wilder felt he couldn’t fault the players for their efforts on the pitch at the MKM Stadium.

He said: “From a character and attitude point of view, I thought it was a decent effort. After Wednesday night and everything that was said, I’m not being easy on the players or sympathetic because they are professional footballers, but it is a testing time for them. They have to show through adversity what they are all about. I think we all have to.

“It’s not going for them at the moment and as I mentioned, it was a tight Championship game. Through adversity, I saw a team at half-time that wanted to get something out of the game.”