It says everything about the dog-eat-dog nature of the Championship that Watford have gone three months since winning a league game at Vicarage Road, yet were still able to clamber back into the automatic promotion places after being held to a 1-1 draw by Hull City.
Hull were the last team to be seen off by the Hornets on home territory back on October 20, but it looked like the eight-match search for the next three points would end when Nathan Ellington ended his own disappointing sequence just shy of the hour mark.
This was the 19th appearance by Watford's record signing - the majority of which had, admittedly, been from the bench - and he had yet to break his duck, but that all changed when he found himself unmarked in the penalty area to calmly convert Darius Henderson's low centre that was cleverly dummied by Damien Francis.
Aidy Boothroyd would have expected his team to kick on from the platform, but this was a game that ebbed and flowed throughout and Charlton were worthy of a point, although their equaliser owed much to a howler from Richard Lee.
The Hornets keeper had every reason to ask Lloyd Doyley why he did not close down Darren Ambrose when the left-sided midfielder advanced forward into a central position, but RLee would still have expected to deal with a well-struck, but not particularly dangerous-looking drive from the edge of the area.
However, Lee - who has established himself as Watford's number one in recent months - inexplicably dived too early and could only parry the ball past himself as his manager looked on in horror, before burying his head in his hands.
That goal did prove that perseverance does pay off though, as it was the former Newcastle man's sixth attempt of the match and he would have been keen to make up for a far more straightforward first-half opportunity that he dragged wide of the post.