Josh Sargent's brace made this a night to remember for Norwich City as they recorded an impressive 3-0 victory over relegation rivals Watford.

The American international, who has been criticised for his performances since his move to City in the summer, scored twice before Juraj Kucka's own goal sealed an important victory for Dean Smith's men.

A second-half blitz from City saw them wipe away the Hornets - much to the delight of their vocal travelling support.

The victory is their fourth of the campaign and second successive Premier League win. Belief has seemingly returned to those occupying the terraces and, crucially, those on the pitch do as well.

Any survival bid will need to see these results followed up, but it marks a giant step forward with optimism aplenty as City head into their winter break.

Watford

(4-3-3)

SUBS:

35 Elliott (GK)
2 Ngakia
12 Sema (on for Kamara, 84)
17 Fletcher
18 Tufan
29 Hernandez (on for Cleverley, 59)
31 Sierralta
33 Kucka (on for Femenia, 89)
42 Morris

Head coach: Claudio Ranieri

- Bookings: Dennis (foul on Lees-Melou, 37)

- Red card: Dennis (foul on Aarons, 79)

Norwich City

(4-4-2)

SUBS:

33 McGovern (GK)
3 Byram (on for Pukki, 86)
10 Dowell
11 Placheta (on for Rashica, 90+5)
15 Kabak
18 Tzolis
23 McLean (on for Sorensen, 21)
30 Giannoulis
46 Rowe

Head coach: Dean Smith

- Bookings: McLean (foul on Cleverley, 38)

- Added on time: 2 mins/ 15 mins

- Venue: Vicarage Road

- Referee: Mike Dean

- VAR: John Brooks

KEY MOMENTS

2 - Idah's early run through the heart of Watford's midfield ended with the Irish striker being bundled over by Sissoko. Rashica's following free-kick hit the man laying behind the wall

12 - Sorensen steals possession from Sissoko's pass. Sargent does well to twist and turn before teeing up Rashica on the edge, only for his shot to fly over the bar

31 - Femenia's ball in is testing and Gibson has to get across the near post to nod it behind for a corner. Samir's free header is collected routinely by Gunn

39 - Penalty appeals for Watford after Dennis goes down in the area. Replays show Hanley made no contact and the striker made the most of little contact

45+1 - Joao Pedro makes his way through the Norwich defence too easily but Gibson does enough to put the striker off balance and his stab at goal is tame

45+2 - King gets in behind the Norwich defence and delivers a low cross to Sissoko, who fails to make solid contact with the ball and scuffs his effort wide

HALF TIME – WATFORD 0-0 NORWICH CITY

47 - Lees-Melou is shoved off the ball too easily by Sissoko before Pedro's piledriver rises over the bar

51 - GOAL NORWICH (SARGENT) - Pukki wins possession off Kamara after McLean's loose pass. His cross is slightly behind Sargent, who improvises well to make contact and the ball just crosses the line. 0-1

60 - A long stoppage in play followed after one of the floodlights in the right corner of the ground went out

70 - After a 12-minute stoppage, both coaches and players agree to continue with the fixture whilst the maintenance team work on the floodlight in question

74 - GOAL NORWICH (SARGENT) - City double their advantage after Sargent rises highest to nod Rashica's cross into the net. 0-2

78 - Dennis is shown a second yellow card after catching Aarons late

79 - Sargent's shot from the edge of the box is blocked behind for a City corner

81 - Gunn fails to claim the ball and nearly gifts Watford a ball. Hernandez' header is cleared off the line by Lees-Melou

86 - Watford hit City on the counter after Rashica is dispossessed but Pedro curls an effort over the bar

90 - Sissoko latches onto a deep cross to volley into the net, but celebrations are cut short by the linesman's flag. Replays show the Watford captain was marginally offside

90+2 - GOAL NORWICH (KUCKA OG) - City seal the points with a third goal. Idah does well to hold up the ball and spin before his low cross is turned in by the Watford sub. 0-3

FULL TIME – WATFORD 0-3 NORWICH CITY

SNAP RATINGS:

Gunn 7; Aarons 7, Hanley 7, Gibson 7, Williams 7; Sargent 9, Lees-Melou 6, Sorensen 6, Rashica 7; Pukki 7, Idah 7 Subs: McLean 7, Byram N/A, Placheta N/A

MATCH STATS:

(Watford – Norwich City)

Possession: 68% - 32%

Shots: 16 - 7

Shots on Target: 4 - 2

XG: 1.42 - 1.13

Corners: 5 - 1

Fouls: 16 - 11