Danny Graham keeps his eye on the ball

In the 23^rd minute, all the home side's good work seemed to go to waste after Peter Whittingham scored a penalty for Cardiff. Craig Cathcart was penalised for an unfair challenge on Bothroyd in the area and Loach could do nothing as the ball screamed under him into the net.

But Mackay's men were not going to take this early deficit lying down and cranked up the pressure on City, with Graham and Cowie showing their dangerous combination to the fans at Vicarage Road.

As the match neared the final 15 minutes of the first half, Watford were showing some confident defending with youngster Lee Hodson continuing to prove his maturity as a player in the team.

With 34 minutes gone, Cleverley floated a sweet free kick in from the right but the bright pick jersey of the Cardiff goalkeeper got in the way of the Manchester United youngster's shot.

Cardiff sent hearts racing as they started to pile on the pressure. Captain Hudson produced a header from deep inside the area which hit the bar and the onslaught continued as Gavin Rae fired a right-footed shot from close range over the bar.

On 40 minutes, Loach misjudged a 40 yard free kick from Adam Matthews as the windy surroundings carried the long ball through the air and floated over the Watford goalkeeper and into the back of the net, putting the visitors two goals in front.

Watford skipper Adrian Mariappa was booked for a late challenge on Chopra in added minutes of the first half as the Hornets frustration of the afternoon kicked in.

Adrian Mariappa and Will Hoskins battle in the air with Cardiff's Mark Kennedy and David Marshall

The half time whistle blew and the Hornets trudged slowly into the dressing room to regroup.

A more lively Watford side entered the field ready for the second half but the referee was clearly not taking any nonsense from the Watford end of the pitch, consistently blowing his whistle against the home side.

On the 55 minute mark, Tom Cleverley's delivery met Graham's foot and the striker had a close-range strike but the ball went wide of the post. Minutes later goalkeeper David Marshall denied Graham a goal as his shot was saved.

Nathan Ellington was introduced onto the field as Mackay tried to give the Hornets some fresh legs and new ideas on the pitch, but Loach's pain continued as City put a third past Watford in the 65^th minute. Penalty scorer Whitingham planted a header into the back of the net from close range and the Watford goalie failed to save the shot.

Just when it seemed it couldn't get any worse, two minutes later, Bothroyd put the visitors four goals up. The striker grabbed the ball from inside the area and slotted it into the top left-hand side of Loach's net.