Troy Deeney praised Watford’s professionalism after they safely came through the third round of the FA Cup with a 2-0 victory at Woking.

The captain came off the bench to make sure of the Hornets’ place in the next round when he tapped home a cross from fellow replacement Ken Sema after Will Hughes had fired the visitors into an early lead.

While the margin of victory was not as comprehensive as some may have expected against a team playing in the sixth tier, it was a comfortable win and Heurelho Gomes’ goal only came under real threat from one opportunity towards the end of the contest.

Speaking to BT Sport after the match, Deeney said: “It was all about mentality and we want to give a massive respect and well done to Woking, they gave us a good fight and stayed in it until the end but I think the professionalism of our boys showed over the course of the game.

“This guy (Hughes) was fantastic obviously with the goal, but you can look at (Isaac) Success, (Adalberto) Penaranda, many people all throughout the team who did really well. They set the tone and then obviously when I came on, I tried to stick with it or add a little bit more.”

Hughes, who swept home from a corner to make the breakthrough, believes the Hornets can enjoy a good run in the competition this season, but also praised their non-league opponents.

He said: “I’ve been playing a lot this season, I’m enjoying it. I think we’ve said as a group of players that we want to go far in the cup and we’ve given ourselves a platform today.

“Like Troy said, Woking played really well today and especially in the second half they gave us a run for our money, but luckily we came out on top.”

Asked about his goal, Deeney said: “I like a little tap in. To be fair that’s something I’ve worked on a lot this season. Getting back into the six-yard box was what I was known for in the Championship, but in the Premier League I’ve kind of come away from it, trying to be a bit more of a player. Now I’ll let these boys be the players and I do what I do.

“It’s nice obviously to continue the run, that’s three two games (following his brace in the 3-3 draw at Bournemouth) so I’ve just got to carry on. I’m not going to get carried away because this is football and you can go on a drought very quickly, but I’ll enjoy this moment and back to work tomorrow.