Watford boss Adrian Boothroyd refused to blame Darius Henderson for missing a penalty as his side failed to close the gap on Bristol City.The Hornets remain in third place four points adrift of the table-topping Robins following the goalless draw at Ashton Gate after spurning the best chance of the game five minutes before half-time.

Tommy Smith's heels were clipped by Michael McIndoe inside the area but the visitors failed to punish them as City goalkeeper Adriano Basso's outstretched hand denied the Watford frontman a 13th goal of the campaign.

"He has scored in a play-off final and has done what all penalty takers do at some point - change their mind," Boothroyd said.

"He has won us games and he has saved us games so there are no complaints."

On the balance of play a draw was a fair result after the Robins had dominated the first half, while the visitors were the more effective outfit in the second.

The result will be welcomed most by the sides' automatic promotion rivals West Brom and Stoke, who moved within a point of the Robins with a 1-0 win at Norwich.

It was a fifth straight draw for Boothroyd's side, although the Hornets are now 10 games unbeaten in the league.

Boothroyd, whose side host the Potters at the weekend in what will be another crunch clash, believes they could easily have left the south-west with three points but was content with just the one.

"We have created so many chances in other games and not taken them and I guess you could say tonight is the same," he added.

"The fact is that we are unbeaten. I didn't think that we played that well tonight. I think we had one or two players off form and sometimes you get that.

"But we have won a point and kept a clean sheet so there's a lot to be said for that."

Asked if the point was a better one for his side than their opponents, Bristol City manager Gary Johnson replied: "Of course it is. It was very important that if we weren't going to win the game we didn't lose it."

Defeats for Charlton, Ipswich and Plymouth handed the top four further breathing space at the summit - and as far as the Robins boss is concerned, the fewer teams vying for automatic promotion the better.

"We kept our position at the top of the league and other than with Stoke there have been some very good results for us with the teams that are up there trying to catch us," he added.

"If we can make it a three- or four-horse race in the last seven or eight games then that is great.

"I thought we looked strong, solid, we had to compete with their tactics and you have got to defend it.

"I thought we defended well, we just didn't open them up too many times but to be fair to them they were strong as well.

"It was a good game, it petered out a little bit when both teams realised that it was important not to get beat and there weren't that many chances.

"Of course, Adriano Basso made a fantastic save from the penalty and that's what he has been doing all season."

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