Watford boast plenty of attacking flair but their gritty ability to cling on to slender leads could prove just as crucial in any promotion bid this season.
Here was an excellent example. Having gone ahead through Tom Cleverley on the stroke of half-time, they were already weathering mounting Burnley pressure when Hassane Kamara was sent off with nine minutes left.
But the way Watford defiantly put bodies on the line to safeguard the three points will greatly encourage their new manager Rob Edwards as he strives to return them to the Premier League.
Burnley, who tumbled down into the Championship alongside the Hornets in May, took an awful long time to get going here and couldn’t profit from their numerical advantage despite openings late on.