Three fine goals from Gerard Deulofeu, Jose Holebas and Domingos Quinas saw Watford cruise into a comfortable lead, with their opponents proving no match for the Hornets for much of the game.
Watford manager Javi Gracia said his side had been taught a “good lesson” after they held off a late Cardiff comeback to seal their first Premier League win since October.
But with 10 minutes remaining at Vicarage Road, Junior Hoilett pulled back a seeming consolation goal before Bobby Reid added a second to give Cardiff a sniff of an unlikely point.
“The end of the game was different than the most part of it. We dominated the first 70 minutes, we created a lot of chances and we could have got a better victory today,” Gracia told BBC Sport.
Neil Warnock’s side would have been dead and buried early on were it not for the acrobatics of goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, who produced a string of stunning saves either side of half-time to keep Cardiff in the game – which marked the first top-flight meeting between these two sides.
Watford looked to have done enough to seal all three points at a canter yet Cardiff’s comeback came out of the blue following a performance that lacked any real energy.
“I am disappointed with the individual errors for the goals, but I am pleased with the way we kept going,” Warnock told BBC Sport. “We set ourselves up to be difficult to break down and I cannot legislate for individual errors. We cannot keep playing like this every week and losing – we need to get results away from home.”
Watford survive a scare
Watford had lost their two previous home games before the visit of Cardiff but their performance was far superior to that of a side who, prior to kick-off, had picked up just nine points from their past 12 games.
Deulofeu was at the heart of much of their play and his goal – described by Garth Crooks on Final Score as ‘Diego Maradona-esque’ – was richly deserved as Cardiff struggled to contain their opponents.
In a moment of magic, he jinked his way past two defenders before neatly placing the ball past Etheridge.
Roberto Pereyra – Watford’s top scorer this season with five goals – was not without his chances either and went close not long after Deulofeu’s opener, a poor final touch letting him down.
Watford went into half-time having enjoyed 75% of the first-half possession and, with moves straight off the training ground, added two more goals after the break, the second, a stunning curling effort from Holebas the pick of the bunch.
But they quickly became complacent after Quinas’ third – his first Premier League goal – and Cardiff made them pay for the change in pace with two quickfire goals.
Watford could have had a fourth in added time but for another late save by Etheridge.
Etheridge proves Cardiff’s hero
Just two places separated Watford and Cardiff in the table before kick-off but the first half demonstrated a real gulf in class between the two sides.
But despite the defeat, Cardiff head home with a lot to thank goalkeeper Etheridge for. He produced save after save, single-handedly preventing Pereyra from scoring a hat-trick with less than an hour played.
Despite their lacklustre first-half performance, they weren’t without their chances though and Harry Arter almost played Josh Murphy in on goal with a sliding cross midway through.
A rare moment of Watford carelessness was capitalised on by the visitors as Quina played the ball straight into their possession and Hoilett was able to put in a cross, which floated just high of Callum Paterson in the box.
It was in the second half that they found another gear with some slick play involving Nathaniel Mendez-Laing putting the pressure on the hosts.
Hoilett had a chance on goal before his and his side’s perseverance was rewarded when he curled the ball in past Ben Foster, before Reid capitalised on a scramble in the box to poke home.
Watford ‘taught a good lesson’ – what Gracia said
The stats
- This was Watford’s first win in seven Premier League games (D2 L4), since beating Huddersfield 3-0 in October.
- Cardiff scored twice in an away Premier League game for the first time this season, last doing so in March 2014 vs West Brom (3-3).
- Watford (2) vs Cardiff (1) was the first Premier League match to see three goals scored from outside the box this season.
- At 19 years and 27 days, Domingos Quina became Watford’s youngest ever Premier League goalscorer.
- Abdoulaye Doucouré registered his fifth Premier League assist this season – only Troy Deeney in 2015-16 (7) has provided more for Watford in a single campaign.
- Watford’s José Holebas has been directly involved in more goals than any other Premier League defender this season (7 – 3 goals, 4 assists).
- Gerard Deulofeu both scored and assisted in the same Premier League game for the first time with Watford, last doing so in November 2015 for Everton against Sunderland.
- Cardiff’s Junior Hoilett has scored two goals in his last four Premier League games – more than he’d managed in his previous 61 in the competition (1).
What’s next?
Watford travel to West Ham in their next Premier League outing on Saturday, 22 December (15:00 GMT), while Cardiff welcome Manchester United to Wales (17:30 GMT).
Source: BBC News