Odion Ighalo was on target once again as Watford made it back-to-back wins and ended West Ham's unbeaten away Barclays Premier League record with a 2-0 triumph at Vicarage Road.
West Ham entered Saturday's contest riding high in third place having beaten Chelsea 2-1 at Upton Park to add to notable away wins at Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal already this season. However, Slaven Bilic's men could not hit those same standards and a first-half own goal from Aaron Cresswell and Ighalo's sixth of the season helped Watford to an impressive win.
Andy Carroll was West Ham's hero in scoring the winner against Chelsea last weekend but the England striker's indecisiveness when making a clearance led to Watford's opener in the 39th minute.
It was a deserved lead for Watford and the home fans were celebrating again early in the second half thanks to Ighalo's emphatic finish.
James Collins was dismissed towards the end to cap a disappointing outing for the Hammers, who have taken one point from matches against the three promoted sides in the league this term.
A dominant Watford side were well worth the full three points, however, and could have led as early as the eighth minute when Nathan Ake's header from Ben Watson's corner drew a fine point-blank save from Adrian before Ighalo forced the Hammers goalkeeper into another smart stop.
But the pressure finally told. Carroll - making his first BPL start since February - dawdled in the area and Ake stole in before squaring across goal for Ighalo, who pressured Cresswell to turn into his own net.
Another West Ham mistake helped the Hornets three minutes after the interval. James Tomkins could not deal with Ikechi Anya's low cross from the left allowing Ighalo to take a touch out of his feet before hammering his shot into the left-hand corner.
Adrian was equal to Ighalo one-on-one as Watford turned the screw and Deeney miscued from the edge of the box after Etienne Capoue did well in midfield.
Carroll sliced a volley wide and Enner Valencia hit the post as Bilic's men tried to mount a late comeback. But their momentum was checked as Collins was sent off for a foul through the back of Ighalo in the 84th minute, helping Watford secure a first home win over West Ham in the league since 1985.
Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores: "The boys did really well. Everyone knows how important Ighalo is but a lot of players have the opportunity to score. We are defending well and keeping the ball with confidence and a lot of players have ability to score. Was it our best performance? Yes, probably. I like it when we play football, and we defended well and played football with confidence. We are a tough team when we play like this."
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic: "It was a collective bad day. I told the players it was unacceptable and to make sure it was a one-off. You are going to lose games in this league but we weren't good today, apart from in the first ten minutes. We gave them the win. Watford were full of respect for us - but when they smelt that we weren't penetrating enough, and that our movement and passes were slow and backwards, they smelt the opportunity to go at us. We learned a lesson, and I see no reason why we won't come back and play like we did before."
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