St Albans City lost their second pre-season friendly in the space of 24 hours when they were beaten 2-0 by neighbours Watford at Clarence Park this afternoon.

Goals from midfielders John Eustace and Stephen McGinn completed an expected win for the Championship outfit, but the hosts would have been pleased the scoreline represented an improvement on the 5-0 defeat to Leyton Orient the evening before.

Saints boss Steve Castle used the game to give a run-out to 20 outfield players – keeper Paul Bastock was the only member of the home side to play the full 90 minutes – but the hosts were rarely able to offer an attacking threat and Watford stoppers Scott Loach and Rene Gilmartin were never tested.

Watford dominated the opening period, with at least 80 per cent of the game played in the opposition half, but all they had to show for their supremacy was a goal from captain Eustace in the 34th minute.

The visitors had more of the play after McGinn had doubled the Hornets’ advantage following the restart but, by that stage, the game had become disjointed following the predictable rash of substitutions.

Only five of the players who featured in St Albans’ 5-0 defeat to Leyton Orient last night – Mark Peters, Ryan Frater, James Fisher, Inih Effiong and Drew Roberts – initially lined up against City’s Championship neighbours less than 24 hours later.

Watford, meanwhile, who opened their pre-season with a 5-0 victory at Boreham Wood last Saturday, started with arguably their strongest team.

The Hornets had a good chance inside the opening two minutes when they awarded a free-kick on the edge of the Saints box, but Adrian Mariappa blasted the set piece into the wall. Then Danny Graham got clear on the left side of the area and pulled the ball back to Ross Jenkins, but his goal-bound effort was also blocked.

However, the visitors were forced into a tenth-minute substitute when Gavin Massey replaced Graham, who headed down the tunnel with his nose bleeding after sustaining a blow to the face.

Watford should have taken the lead in the 17th minute when, from their first corner of the match, keeper Bastock failed to deal with the ball into the box and Eustace came in round the back to nod back into the danger zone, but Mariappa somehow contrived to put the ball wide with the goal at his mercy.

The Hornets continued to apply the pressure, with Massey firing into the side netting before Jenkins tamely shot at Bastock. Another opportunity came and went when Massey released Will Buckley on the left side of the area and his cross was met by the head of McGinn, but the Scottish midfielder couldn’t direct his effort on target.

The visitors went closer still on the half-hour mark when young striker Massey closed in on goal from the right side of the area, but Bastock did well to block at his feet. Don Cowie was the next visiting player to chance his arm, from a 25-yard free-kick, but he curled the set piece narrowly over the target.

But it was only a matter of time before the Hornets’ dominance told and the opening goal came in the 34th minute.

A searing break from Buckley took him clear of right-back Joe Climo and, although Bastock parried the Watford striker’s cross, it broke for Eustace to emphatically fire home from ten yards to make it 1-0.

It could have been two, two minutes before the break when a cross from right-back Lloyd Doyley was sliced over his own bar by Peters, and then Eustace fired straight at Bastock from 25 yards.

Watford boss Malky Mackay did not make any outfield changes at the interval, although keeper Loach was replaced by new signing Gilmartin, Steve Castle opted to change more than half his side, with only Bastock, Climo, Ryan Frater and Rob Magwood remaining from the starting line-up.

But the substitutions did not initially affect the pattern of the game, with Watford again on the front foot from the restart.

The Hornets’ first two outfield changes came in the 57th minute, with substitute Massey replaced by Marvin Sordell and Michael Bryan coming on for Jenkins. And Bryan’s impact was to be instant, because with his first touch he crossed for McGinn to head past Bastock and double Watford’s advantage.

After City had made another three changes, with Climo, Frater and Magwood making way, Mackay introduced Rob Kiernan for Eustace in the centre of the park.

Adam Thompson and Dale Bennett then replaced Doyley and Mariappa before, in the 65th minute, Bryan curled a left-footed effort not too far wide of Bastock’s right-hand post.

Changes eight and nine for the Hornets came midway through the second period, with new recruit Tom Aldred and Liam Henderson replacing Martin Taylor and Buckley.

St Albans did force Gilmartin to make a save in the 68th minute – albeit a straightforward one – when he had to gather an inswinging Aidy Chaves free-kick at his far post. Then a Tom Ahmed long-range effort cleared the bar.

Watford made more changes in the 70th minute – Cowie and McGinn making way for Matthew Whichelow and Piero Mingoia – and the latter’s first meaningful involvement was to pull the ball back for Sordell to hit a shot on the turn into the ground and wide.

Whichelow nearly added a fine third in the 75th minute when he collected the ball on the edge of the area and turned before hitting a left-footed effort wide.

Watford created another opening four minutes later when Sordell toyed with Chris Davis on the right flank before laying the ball into Henderson, but the big striker mis-hit his left-footed effort.

The visitors completed their changes seven minutes from time, with Eddie Oshodi coming on for Lee Hodson, while Leon Simpson fired high and wide at the other end.

With time running out, Bastock did well to block a well-struck Whichelow effort following more eye-catching work by the young midfielder. But the City keeper literally saved his best for last, plunging to his right to superbly keep out a Kiernan shot after the Hornets had worked a clever corner routine.

There was still time for Sordell and Whichelow to have further chances to increase their side’s lead, but St Albans were able to keep the margin of defeat to two.

St Albans City: Bastock; Climo (Wheeler 58), Peters (Urquhart 46), Frater (Mortimer 58), Smith (Chaves 46, Climo 88); Sinclair (Ahmed 46), Magwood (Baronet 58), Fisher (Davis 46), Kweme (Perrin 46); Effiong (Simpson 46), Roberts (Dixon 46).

Watford: Loach (Gilmartin 46); Doyley (Thompson 64), Mariappa (Bennett 64), Taylor (Aldred 67), Hodson (Oshodi 83); Jenkins (Bryan 57), McGinn (Whichelow 70), Eustace (Kiernan 59), Cowie (Mingoia 70); Buckley (Henderson 67), Graham (Massey 10, Sordell 57).

Attendance: 925.