Watford got their Championship campaign off to the perfect start by securing a 1-0 win against Birmingham City at St Andrew's.

The visitors broke the deadlock after just 11 minutes thanks to Troy Deeney after withstanding some early pressure from Lee Clark's side.

However, after weathering the storm Lewis McGugan saw his free kick stopped by Blues goalkeeper Darren Randolph just before half time as they threatened to double their lead.

Wade Elliot went close for the hosts just after the hour mark as his deflected shot struck the crossbar, with the chance coming just minutes after the midfielder had a goal-bound effort blocked by Lloyd Doyley.

Despite a number of changes in the closing stages of the game as well as six minutes of additional time, Clark could not find a way past the Watford backline as his side suffered an opening-day defeat.