Watford’s assistant coach Ruben Martinez admitted the Hornets missed the injured Troy Deeney during their 1-1 draw with Bournemouth.

The Golden Boys’ captain suffered a hamstring injury on Tuesday night in Blackpool and is set to be sidelined for weeks.

The Hornets had only managed one shot on target heading into the final ten minutes of the match at Vicarage Road this afternoon.

Their passing was sloppy in large parts but they also appeared to miss a focal point up front, which Deeney usually brings.

Martinez said: “Yes [Watford missed Deeney]. It is difficult for us because he is a very important player for us. I can’t tell you anything different.

“But I do think we have a good squad who did a good job today.”

The Golden Boys were fortunate to go into half-time level as Ian Harte missed an early penalty and Heurelho Gomes needed to produce a fine save to deny Callum Wilson just before the break.

Watford improved in the second half but were still some way from their fluent best.

The home side secured a point thanks to a fine volley from substitute Craig Cathcart with seven minutes of normal time remaining.

Martinez said: “I believe it is a good result for us when you look at Bournemouth’s chances and it was a fair result.

“But if the referee gave a penalty for the foul on Ikechi (Anya) [in the second half] then maybe the score could have been different.”

“There was a slip [from Anya] in the box and in the last moment there was a push on Ikechi. I felt it was a penalty,” Martinez added.

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe admitted Watford could have received a spot kick, describing it as a 50-50 decision.

But the 37-year-old, who used to attend Hornets matches as a boy in the 1980s, believed Gabriel Tamas should have received a red card three minutes into the match after conceding the penalty.

Martinez said: “I don’t know [if Tamas should have been sent off]. I will have to watch it again. I don’t know whether Joel (Ekstrand) was close to him or not. I will have to see if there was a defender near Tamas.”

Tamas was particularly poor until he went off injured half an hour into the contest. Head of medical Marco Cesarini, who was assisting Martinez sparingly as a translator, said it was too early to accurately assess the injury to Tamas’ right knee.

The former West Bromwich Albion defender was replaced by Craig Cathcart, for his first competitive appearance since his return to Vicarage Road.

Cathcart suffered a knee injury against Shrewsbury Town on July 19 and his only other competitive action this season was a 28-minute run-out for Northern Ireland two weeks ago.

The 25-year-old, who played for the Hornets 12 times during a loan spell five years ago, looked composed in defence and scored the equaliser with a fine volley.

Martinez said: “I think we have a big squad who can all play. They are training for these opportunities and Craig is a good example because he is a very good professional and in every training session he gives 100 per cent. I am very happy for him.”

The game opened up for a period in the second half and it was end-to-end for a while.

The Hornets finished the contest the stronger and almost grabbed a late winner as Fernando Forestieri almost reached a Vydra shot at the far post.

Martinez said: “Both teams tried to win the game but once we scored, there was one team who tried to play quick and tried to win the game. This is a good way. This is the ambition of the players.”

Martinez confirmed Forestieri and Gianni Munari were not fit enough to start the contest, following injury, and that Gabriele Angella was left out as a precaution with a foot problem.

Watford continued the trend since Oscar Garcia took charge of switching formations during matches. They began the game in a 4-3-3 and switched to a 4-2-3-1 in the second half before moving to an attacking 4-4-2 late on.

Martinez acknowledged Bournemouth’s ability to control possession was a factor in naming three centre midfielders at the start of the game.

He said: “We started with three midfielders because we knew there was a possibility [Bournemouth could control possession ] but finally when we were losing , we decided to put (Odion) Ighalo on, another striker, to change the formation and give us more options.”

Martinez and fellow assistant coach Javier Pereira again took the team in the absence of Oscar Garcia, who is currently in hospital after being admitted on Sunday with minor chest pains.

The trio have only been at the club 18 days – in contrast Howe has been at Bournemouth for two years and was there for another three prior to a nine-month spell at Burnley.

Martinez said: “We played against a good team who have two years of working with the same coach and the same players.

“It is difficult because we are building a team and have been here two weeks and without Oscar it has been difficult.”

Martinez confirmed Oscar was “much better” and expected him to leave hospital either this evening or tomorrow morning.

He said it was still unclear when the Spaniard would return to work but added “I hope it is as soon as possible”.

Martinez admitted it has been a difficult time, saying: “I hope that all the things – the injuries, the problems – finish and we can be fully focussed on the football and give the team our style. I hope in a few weeks everything changes.”

Read a match report of today's game here.