Watford vs Cardiff City. Sky Bet Championship.
Vicarage RoadAttendance19,739.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Watford and Cardiff City at Vicarage Road on Saturday | Josh Bowler scores only goal of the game as Bluebirds seal narrow victory over the Hornets.
Saturday 3 February 2024 19:17, UK
A stunning Josh Bowler strike two minutes before half-time gave Cardiff a 1-0 victory over Watford at Vicarage Road.
Bowler held off one Watford player, cut inside another and sent a delightful curler beyond the outstretched hand of Ben Hamer and into the far corner.
The result means that in the past 14 meetings between these teams, only two have been won by the home side.
While Erol Bulut's Cardiff looked assured throughout, Watford are beginning to look like a team lacking the attacking flair to force their way into the Championship play-off positions.
The match gathered momentum as the first half progressed. After a quiet opening 20 minutes, 19-year-old full-back Ryan Andrews almost sliced the perfect pass through the Cardiff defence only for Vakoun Bayo to be squeezed out of room.
At the other end, Bowler thudded a shot into the advertising hoardings in what was effectively a sighter for his fine strike later in the half.
Andrews then brought a full-length save out of Cardiff goalkeeper Jak Alnwick before Watford's patient approach almost earned its reward in the 27th minute.
Ismael Kone sent in a diagonal cross which was headed back across the area by Jamal Lewis for Yaser Asprilla to force Alnwick into a save with his legs.
The impressive Andrews then took it upon himself to try and give his side the lead six minutes before the interval, opening up his body to attempt a driven lob over Alnwick, which the keeper managed to tip over the bar.
The opening goal arrived three minutes later with Bowler's superb effort.
Cardiff had been largely passive in the first period, but they began the second forcing Watford back as they searched for a second goal.
Rubin Colwill was always ready to run at defenders, with one forcing a free-kick from which Perry Ng curled narrowly wide.
Watford, by contrast, had lost any first-half impetus. That was until a Lewis cross just before the hour was steered against the outside of the post by Kone.
Sensing the moment, Watford manager Valerien Ismael made a triple substitution and pressure increased on the Cardiff goal in the final half-hour.
Asprilla and substitute Emmanuel Dennis shot over the crossbar, Wesley Hoedt saw an effort deflected into the side netting while Tom Dele-Bashiru was denied by a flying Alnwick save.
A succession of goalmouth scrambles preceded the final whistle which was greeted by a chorus of boos from home supporters as Cardiff held on.
Watford's Valerien Ismael:
"There's a big frustration tonight. I have the feeling that over 90 minutes, we should win the game. Yes, our opponents were disciplined, but they had one shot on target and scored the goal.
"It's painful to lose at home again because we want to give something to our fans. This is a setback for us because we need to use the home games to be strong. So today for me is a tough one to take.
"We said to the players at half-time. 'You need to step up and believe in yourselves because I believe in you and we believe in you'.
"After the substitutions it was much better. We dominated the ball and we created chances, but in the final third it's more about desire.
"We need to be nasty in the opponents' box to get in front of defenders, to make sure you are always there."
Cardiff's Erol Bulut:
"After a few weeks of not winning points we were disappointed, so the three days off that we gave the players refreshed our team.
"Everybody came back with a clear mind and an analysis about themselves and about what they need to do to play much better.
"I think the whole team did really good work today. When you do your job well as a team, it makes it easier."
