by Steve Garland & Mark Denham
Snapshot
Cardiff City romped to a 4-0 victory at Watford on Saturday to secure their first win at Vicarage Road since 1970.
Thirty-nine years of Hertfordshire heart-ache came to an end thanks to a Peter Whittingham brace and goals from Adam Matthews and Jay Bothroyd.
Whittingham gave City the lead from the penalty spot on twenty-four minutes after Craig Cathcart brought Bothroyd down inside the area. Adam Matthews doubled City's lead four minutes from the break with a spectacular fifty-yard free-kick that embarrassed Watford 'keeper Loach.
Whittingham got his second on sixty-six minutes, heading home at the end of a superb Bluebirds attacking move. Just a minute later, Bothroyd got his deserved goal with a wonderfully crafted individual strike.
Chronological Report:
Following the superb 6-1 victory over Derby County in midweek, Cardiff City faced a tough test away at Watford on Saturday - a side they have failed to beat in nine visits to Vicarage Road.
But the Bluebirds went the right way to end that record in the opening stages as they started confidently, putting the Hornets defence under real pressure.With ten minutes gone, Cardiff looked comfortable on the ball, maintaining it well in the midfield. City limited Watford to counter attacking football in the opening stages.
The Watford fans voiced their frustration at their side's early performance and it spurred the Hornets on to their first chance of the game through a Tom Cleverley free kick twenty-yards out. Cleverley curled a superb effort towards goal that looked destined for the top corner of the net; only the corner of the post stopped the Bluebirds conceding.
But the lead Cardiff arguably deserved came with just over twenty minutes gone, as Peter Whittingham scored his sixth goal of the season from the penalty spot after Jay Bothroyd had been fouled.
Some superb build up play from Cardiff put Bothroyd in behind the defence inside the penalty area and with Watford defender Craig Cathcart beaten, the Manchester United loanee could only bring him down. Referee Wollmer had no hesitation and duly pointed to the spot. Whittingham stepped up and sent keeper Loach the wrong way, as he curled the penalty into the bottom left hand corner of the net to give the Bluebirds the lead.
GOAL: Watford 0-1 Cardiff City (Peter Whittingham, 23 mins)
City looked comfortable with their lead with only another Cleverley free-kick threatening David Marshall's goal. The Manchester United loanee has already scored four goals for the Hornets this season and again tested Marshall who saved well to his right.
But Cardiff instantly responded with two superb chances within a minute. A Jay Bothroyd run and low cross from the right looked to have teed up Michael Chopra for an easy chance to grab his 13th goal of the season, but with the goal gaping, Chopra could only hit the ball wide of the right hand post.
The next chance came moments later as a Whittingham free kick from the left was met by Mark Hudson in the box. Hudson's stooping header hit the right hand post, bouncing back to Gavin Rae who from six yards out could only shoot over the bar.
But with just five minutes to go in the first half, City's second finally came in the most bizarre of fashions. An innocuous looking free kick from the half way line was lofted in to the box by Adam Matthews, which with a strong wind went further than he expected. Watford keeper Scott Loach looked to have an easy take but misjudged the flight of the ball allowing it to fly over his head and into the back of the net. It earned Adam Matthews his first senior league goal and doubled Cardiff's lead at Vicarage Road.
GOAL: Watford 0-2 Cardiff City (Adam Matthews 40 mins)
As the half time whistle sounded, the home fans made their displeasure quite clear, sending the players off to a chorus of boos. For Cardiff however, they could celebrate a quite superb first half performance and had the lead to show for it.
HALF TIME: WATFORD 0-2 CARDIFF CITY
The expected Malky Mackay hairdryer treatment failed to push his side to produce any chance of note in the early stages of the second half, as Cardiff looked comfortable in the opening ten minutes.
Indeed it took until the 56th minute for Watford to test Marshall as Tom Cleverley chipped through Danny Graham in the penalty area. Graham had keeper Marshall bearing down on him instantly and could only loft the ball over the bar under pressure from the Cardiff keeper.
Just minutes later it looked like Cardiff may have been denied a third by the hand of a Watford defender. A Whittingham delivery again caused the Watford defence some trouble as they only managed to clear to Mark Hudson at the far post. Hudson shot at goal was blocked on the goal line, signalling a mass protest from the Cardiff players and fans behind the goal who appealed for handball.
Cardiff City Substitution: Mark Kennedy off- Paul Quinn on
Watford Substitution: Will Hoskins off- Nathan Ellington on
But with twenty minutes of the second half gone Cardiff's third came as Peter Whittingham doubled his tally for the afternoon. A Paul Quinn cross from the left evaded everybody in the box before falling to Gavin Rae on the right hand side of the penalty area. Rae floated the ball back into the danger zone where the waiting Peter Whittingham was there to guide the ball home past the helpless Loach.
GOAL: Watford 0-3 Cardiff City (Peter Whittingham 65 mins)
And with the Cardiff fans still celebrating behind the goal, Jay Bothroyd added a fourth and claimed his third goal of the season. Bothroyd took the ball down and shrugged off the challenge of Craig Cathcart for the second time of the afternoon, creating space for himself. Bothroyd hit a left footed shot out of the reach of Loach in goal, capping a quite miserable afternoon for Loach and a quite brilliant one for the Bluebirds.
GOAL: Watford 0-4 Cardiff City (Jay Bothroyd 66 mins)
Watford Substitution: Ross Jenkins off - Henri Lansbury on
Although in search of mere consolation, Watford had their best spell of the game as they piled the pressure on the City defence who were now looking a touch complacent. Twice the ball was cleared off the line from Don Cowie corners before last ditch defending by Whittingham prevented what looked like a certain Danny Graham goal.
Since the arrival of the Watford substitutes the Hornets looked a lot more confident going forward and their next chance of scoring came following some good play between Cleverley and Nathan Ellington. Ellington turned well on the edge of the six yard box and through the congested defence, hit a stinging effort towards goal; but for a fantastic Marshall save, Ellington's effort seemed goal-bound.
But no consolation would come for Watford, as Michael Chopra had a superb late chance to get City's fifth. Chopra, one-on-one with goalkeeper Loach, could only shoot wide, missing his second clear chance in the game to get his 13th goal of the season.
Cardiff Substitution: Michael Chopra off- Ross McCormack on
A late returning appearance for Ross McCormack gave the travelling fans something else to cheer about as he returned after a long spell on the sidelines through injury. But the headlines were about Cardiff's superb performance in securing a 4-0 victory at Vicarage Road, promoting them up to fourth in the Championship table with a first win at Watford in thirty-nine years.
FULL TIME: WATFORD 0-4 CARDIFF CITY
Teams:
Watford: Scott Loach, Adrian Mariappa, Don Cowie (Jon Harley 79), Danny Graham, Lloyd Doyley, Ross Jenkins (Henri Lansbury 72), Will Hoskins (Nathan Ellington 59), Tom Cleverley, Craig Cathcart, John Eustace, Lee Hodson. Subs not used: Scott Severin, Richard Lee, Dale Bennett, Liam Henderson.
Cardiff City: David Marshall, Mark Kennedy (Paul Quinn 56), Gavin Rae (Joe Ledley 79), Mark Hudson, Peter Whittingham, Michael Chopra (Ross McCormack 90), Jay Bothroyd, Stephen McPhail, Chris Burke, Anthony Gerrard, Adam Matthews. Subs not used: Gabor Gyepes, Soloman Taiwo, Riccardo Scimeca, Peter Enckelman.
