WATFORD'S winless start to life in the Premiership extended to 10 matches after they were held at home by Tottenham.

Watford did enough to have won the game, but Tommy Smith produced one of the misses of the season when he shot over an open goal from three yards, and Ashley Young had a goal ruled out for a marginal offside decision.

Spurs' only source of inspiration came from Aaron Lennon, but he was denied four times by goalkeeper Ben Foster to ensure Martin Jol's men are still without an away win in the league this season.

Watford made a flying start to the match, and came close to taking the lead inside 15 seconds. From the kick-off, Gavin Mahon released Tommy Smith on the right, and the winger eluded Benoit Assou-Ekotto before sending in a cross that Michael Dawson did superbly to hook away from the head of Darius Henderson.

Only Smith will know how he failed to put Watford 1-0 up in the eighth minute. After Lloyd Doyley had volleyed Jordan Stewart's left-wing cross back into the danger zone, but Smith somehow managed to shoot over the crossbar from three yards with the goal at his mercy.

Watford had the ball in the net four minutes before the interval but Young was ruled to have been offside at the moment Bouazza released him through the middle.

Just as they had done at the beginning of the first half, Watford began the second period by creating a chance.

But as in the opening 45 minutes, they failed to take it, Smith inches away from applying a decisive touch to Young's low ball from the left across the face of the goal.

Spurs came even closer to scoring the game's opener in the 53rd minute.

Ghaly's clever pass from the right found Keane, who rounded Foster before volleying the ball back into the middle where Jay DeMerit produced a superb backheeled clearance to concede a corner.

In the 76th minute, Jermaine Defoe replaced Keane in attack for Spurs as Jol tried to add the impetus that his side had lacked up front.

But try as they might, the visitors could nopt snatch a late win.