Cardiff City thrashed Watford 5-1 at the Cardiff City Stadium, and the real noise afterwards came from the visiting end. Watford fans who had travelled to south Wales aimed their anger at owner Gino Pozzo while their side slid into the Championship's bottom three.
It was Cardiff's second league win since returning to the Championship. Watford have lost four in a row and six of their last seven.
Cardiff made it easy by half-time
The game was effectively settled in the first half. Jack Moylan scored twice, Watford's Mattie Pollock headed a Joel Bagan corner into his own net, and Ollie Tanner curled in a fine strike in first-half injury time.
Watford had a chance to lead after two minutes when Myron Boadu out-muscled Dylan Lawlor and ran clear, but he could not make enough of it. After that, Cardiff were the sharper side. Moylan has seven goals for club and country this season, and he looked comfortable pushed from midfield into a striker's role, which Cardiff needed because they have no recognised striker. He arrived from Lincoln City.
A second-half wobble that barely mattered
Moylan should have had a hat-trick on 64 minutes after he was brought down by Edo Kayembe. Instead Willock took the penalty himself, and Federico Ravaglia saved it. Callum Robinson did add a fifth five minutes from time, and Hector Kyprianou headed a late consolation for Watford that denied Cardiff a first clean sheet of the season.
Cardiff boss Brian Barry-Murphy said the long build-up from the international break had made the weekend defeat at Blackburn hard to take. Bouncing back the way they did, he said, was hugely satisfying. There is a harder run coming against promotion hopefuls, starting at Middlesbrough on Saturday, and there was one concern: Dylan Lawlor, who only returned from a knee problem at the weekend, suffered an injury.
Watford's problem is bigger than one night
Dionisi had called going three down inside 20 minutes in a 4-0 home defeat by Burnley "impossible". This was arguably worse. Watford made six changes and still looked short on confidence and cohesion.
"It is a difficult night. I am angry," Dionisi said. He accepted responsibility, said he speaks to his owner every day, and said questions over a manager's future are normal at Watford. But supporters were more interested in Pozzo. Open letters of no confidence from supporters' groups have been added to the social media anger, and even Elton John has voiced frustration in recent weeks. Charlton Athletic visit Vicarage Road on Saturday, where those calls could get louder.
Match facts: Cardiff City 5-1 Watford (Championship). Moylan (2), Pollock own goal, Tanner, Robinson (five minutes from time); Kyprianou for Watford. First-half: Moylan, own goal and Tanner. Watford lost 4 in a row. Next: Cardiff at Middlesbrough, Watford v Charlton on Saturday. Source: BBC Sport.
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