Watford kept their Championship play-off hopes alive while denting those of Wrexham by beating the Red Dragons at Vicarage Road.

The Hornets deservedly went ahead through Marc Bola's deflected strike in the 18th minute - his second goal of the campaign.

They doubled their lead before half-time as Edo Kayembe's curling shot beat Arthur Okonkwo.

Having been lacklustre in the opening half, Wrexham gave themselves a lifeline in the 49th minute as Max Cleworth's header - his third goal of the season - cut the home side's lead.

But, despite a significant improvement, they were unable to find a late leveller, with Edoardo Bove bagging a third for Watford in added time as Wrexham's six-game unbeaten run away from home ended.

Victory lifts Ed Still's side up to ninth, five points adrift of Wrexham who remain sixth with eight games remaining.

The Hornets were on the front foot from the word go and twice came close to taking an early lead, with Giorgi Chakvetadze curling against the crossbar after Luca Kjerrumgaard had headed wide from close range.

But after Ollie Rathbone appealed in vain for a penalty, Watford broke in lethal fashion.

A clever back heel from Chakvetadze - the man who challenged Rathbone in his own box - rolled into the path of Bola whose drilled strike clipped Cleworth and flew beyond the helpless Okonkwo.

Chances kept coming for Watford as captain Imran Louza and Kjerrumgaard both had efforts.

And just as Wrexham started to find their feet in the contest, the hosts doubled their lead as Kayembe curled beyond Okonkwo from the edge of the 18-yard box.

Time and time again, the Welsh side looked vulnerable from counter attacks, and they were relieved to see Nestory Irankunda lash an effort just over from an acute angle in first-half added time.

But Wrexham needed just four minutes after the restart to claw themselves back into the game as Rathbone's corner was met by Cleworth who nodded beyond Egil Selvik - his side's first effort on target.

They went close to equalising from another corner as Dom Hyam flicked Lewis O'Brien's delivery goalwards, only for Mattie Pollock to clear the danger.

Both sides got into threatening positions as the game became stretched in the latter stages.

And after Bola rattled the crossbar with a thumping hit, Bove had the simple task of prodding into an empty to seal victory in added time as Still's men earned just a second win in six home games.

Wrexham have been formidable on the road this season, with no side losing fewer away Championship matches than the Red Dragons prior to this contest.

Parkinson's men had also collected 16 of the past 18 away points on offer.

But the Hornets - who themselves came into the match on the back of three successive away outings - swiftly made a mockery of those statistics as they created Wrexham heaps of problems from the word go.

Irankunda ran riot on the right flank while Louza's class showed throughout, as did that of Chakvetadze. Momentum shifted in the second-half, but sufficient damage had been done.

It may well be a case of too little, too late for Watford as far as their top six hopes are concerned, but they have crucially kept themselves in the hunt.

Wrexham were way off the pace in the opening half, and, as was the case in their 2-1 loss to Hull City earlier this month, they left themselves with too much work to do late on.

They will welcome back George Dobson for Saturday's trip to Sheffield United (15:00 GMT) in what will be a welcome boost to their midfield department.

However, Parkinson and his coaching staff could be forgiven for eagerly awaiting the upcoming international break as they look to regroup and go again for one last push as they go in search of a secure a fourth consecutive promotion.

Watford boss Ed Still:

"I'm delighted with the performance and the result also. To have only picked up a point out of the last two games, it's probably not fair based on what we did and the chances we created.

"To have such a quick turnaround since the Stoke game and to see how the team and players have taken on board the lessons, I think that's the really big positive.

"I've said to them from the start, it's a work in progress. We'll take the positives, but there's still things to work on."

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson:

"I think we just gave the ball away cheaply against a counter-attacking team which we knew on the transition, the pace they had - if you look at the two goals, the first one, Ollie's [Ollie Rathbone] just about pull the trigger on the edge of the box. Did he get a touch? It's hard to say. Next thing the ball's in the back of the net.

"The second one we're in an unbelievable position and Zak's [Zak Vyner] turned the lad in midfield, Broady [Nathan Broadhead] has that ability to dance between players but he just makes the wrong decision and they break on us.

"Second half we've pinned them in we're in a great shape when we're attacking - we didn't get counter-attacked. We've had all the play in the second period, they're (Watford) cramping up all over the pitch and that's a great credit to the lads, the way they came back into it because they're a good side."