Forget the Nou Camp, the most important match last night was at Vicarage Road, where two teams fighting for survival in the Barclays Premiership scrapped for victory in a contest that was the definition of a relegation six-pointer. Watford’s need was more desperate than Wigan Athletic’s and Adrian Boothroyd’s side will be dejected that they did not win against opponents who had to play with ten men for 70 minutes.

“We were 1-0 up against ten men and we should have won the game,” Boothroyd said. “We had the opportunities and the possession but we did not make enough use of it.”

Belief is Boothroyd’s favourite word, but for once the Watford manager had some evidence to back up his faith in his side’s ability to avoid relegation. His team may have the poorest attack in the top flight, but they had won their previous two matches without conceding a goal and victory against Wigan, who remain seventeenth, would have lifted the Hertfordshire club off the bottom of the table for the first time in 2½ months.

“To get a point in the circumstances was vital and it was well earned,” Paul Jewell, the Wigan manager, said. “There is still a third of the season to go and it will give us heart.”

Jewell’s side were coping with their opponents’ direct approach when a controversial decision by Rob Styles, the referee, handed the initiative to Watford after 20 minutes. A two-footed tackle by Fitz Hall on Johan Cavalli owed more to over-zealousness than malice, but Styles showed the Wigan defender a red card while Jewell shook his head in disbelief on the touchline.

Jewell has already had a high-profile spat with one referee this season after Phil Dowd’s erratic display during Wigan’s 2-1 defeat away to Arsenal 11 days ago and Styles is likely to be joining his colleague in the doghouse after this performance. “I was surprised when the red card came out but I don’t want the controversy to overshadow my team’s performance,” Jewell said.

A sense of injustice may have reduced Jewell to apoplexy on the touchline, but his side played better with ten men and clawed their way back into the game after Darius Henderson had given Watford the lead. The former Swindon Town forward scored his first goal from open play for ten months by bundling in a cut-back by Jordan Stewart from close range after 24 minutes, but any illusions that the Vicarage Road crowd had that this was going to be a stroll in the park were shattered as Jewell’s side poured forward in search of an equaliser.

Ben Foster, the Watford and England goalkeeper, had to be at his best to tip over a header by Matt Jackson and parry low strikes by Caleb Folan and Denny Landzaat, but Folan made no mistake after 40 minutes when he beat Jay DeMerit to a clearance by Lee McCulloch and flicked the ball past Foster.

“We only have ourselves to blame for not winning but we will make sure that we are up for it in our remaining 11 games,” Boothroyd said. “If someone had told me beforehand that we would be 1-0 up after 25 minutes against ten men, I would have been doing cartwheels.”

Despite Foster being hampered by a leg injury and the Watford defence struggling to cope with Emile Heskey, chances were at a premium after the interval as both sides realised one point was better than none. Kevin Kilbane tried his luck from 25 yards and John Filan had to be at his best in the Wigan goal to tip over a left-foot strike by Hameur Bouazza but neither side had the courage to press forward with conviction in search of a winner.

“We are six points clear of the relegation zone and we are looking resilient,” Jewell said.

Watford (4-4-2): B Foster - A Mariappa, J DeMerit, M Mackay, J Stewart - T Smith, D Francis, G Mahon, J Cavalli (sub: H Bouazza, 46min) — D Henderson, S Kabba (sub: W Hoskins, 62). Substitutes not used: L Doyley, A Bangura, T Priskin.Booked: Bouazza.

Wigan Athletic (4-4-2): J Filan — E Boyce, F Hall, M Jackson, L Baines — R Taylor, D Landzaat, J Skoko, L McCulloch — C Folan (sub: K Kilbane, 55), E Heskey. Substitutes not used: C Nash, H Camara, L A Valencia, D Unsworth. Booked: McCulloch. Sent off: Hall.

Referee: R Styles.