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Manager Mauricio Pochettino said it was "so important to smile" again after Tottenham bounced back from two cup exits with victory over Watford at Wembley.
After Craig Cathcart's 38th-minute opener, Spurs scored twice in the final 10 minutes - Son Heung-min, back from the Asian Cup, equalising before Fernando Llorente nodded in an 87th-minute winner.
"I think we fully deserved the victory," said Pochettino, whose side lost their Carabao Cup semi-final to Chelsea and were then dumped out of the FA Cup by Crystal Palace.
"It arrived late, but we kept pushing. It was a fantastic second-half performance. The first half, it was difficult to create chances - we dominated, but didn't create.
"It's fantastic to win again. After a difficult week it's so important to smile. The mentality is perfect."
His mood was very different when Cathcart headed home Jose Holebas' out-swinging corner seven minutes before the break.
Tottenham increased the pressure in the second half. Llorente, deputising for injured leading striker Harry Kane, twice had great opportunities to score but missed from close range before Son Heung-min lifted the home support when he thrashed home from 12 yards out.
But with full-time fast approaching, Llorente finally hit the target when he guided Danny Rose's hanging ball past Ben Foster.
Spurs remain in third but are now only two points behind defending champions Manchester City and seven behind leaders Liverpool.
Watford stay in ninth.
Llorente was set to hog the headlines for the wrong reasons before his late winner.
The 33-year-old has largely been ineffective as a 'Plan B' for Spurs' attack since his £12m move from Swansea in 2017, and after missing two glorious opportunities against Watford it seemed that this would be another day to forget.
The first of those saw him knee a shot over the bar after his initial strike was superbly blocked by Foster, and the second was a header from four yards that he directed into the side-netting.
But Pochettino chose to persevere with him, and three minutes before the end of normal time Llorente hit the sweet spot with an angled header that found the far corner.
Llorente's fellow forward Son, in contrast, is becoming one of the team's more consistent performers. The South Korean produced yet another energetic performance, which was all the more impressive because he only returned from the United Arab Emirates on Saturday.
He made the most sprints of any of his team-mates - 17 - with the most crucial coming in the 80th minute when he latched on to the loose ball after Llorente lost control and thumped home a ferocious shot. It was his 13th goal of the season.
He had earlier gone close with a superb turn and shot from 20 yards in the first half, which whistled past Foster's right-hand post.
Lloris might not be as jubilant as Llorente and Son following another mistake which resulted in Cathcart's opener.
His error in July's World Cup final was the most high profile, but he has experienced lapses in judgement since - against Barcelona and then PSV Eindhoven. This latest mistake might have some Spurs fans questioning whether he is the right number one for their team.
Lloris was all at sea when he failed to fully commit himself to meeting Holebas' corner, which gave Cathcart the simple task of nodding into an unguarded net.
Watford were a little more than 10 minutes away from their first league double over Tottenham.
Aside from Cathcart's effort, they rarely threatened Lloris' goalmouth in a match where their defensive qualities were tested.
Both full-backs Daryl Janmaat and Holebas impressed both at the back and in attack, while centre-half Ben Wilmot produced the block of the match when he deflected Rose's shot off the line having only been on the pitch for a minute.
