An own goal by Heurelho Gomes proved to be the difference as Stoke City secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Watford in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

Stoke started better to threaten Mark Hughes’ side early on, with Gomes pushing away efforts from Bruno Martins Indi and Xherdan Shaqiri as the hosts struggled to deal with a free kick.

Daryl Janmaat and Etienne Capoue had shots saved by Grant at the other end, but the visitors continued to press forward and Giannelli Imbula came close to scoring when his long-range effort just missed the top corner.

Stoke went ahead when Watford goalkeeper Gomes deflected the ball into his own net after Charlie Adam’s header bounced off the post to make it 1-0.

However, Stoke City went into half-time with a 1-0 lead.

Stoke came close to doubling their lead early in the second half when Marko Arnautovic overhit his pass as he attempted to tee up Jonathan Walters.

Michael Britos had a chance to level matters, but his looping header was punched away by Grant before Janmaat blazed his effort over the crossbar.

Watford captain Troy Deeney had a chance of his own but his header was guided off target in the final minutes of the match.

The Hornets were dealt an even further blow when Britos was shown a red card (his second bookable offence) for tugging back Shaqiri in the last minute of the match.

However, Stoke City held on to their 1-0 lead until the final whistle and walked away with all three points.

Image: Premier League website