The Hornets became the first side to record a "double" over us this term. The Bluebirds can have no complaints - only big defending, some luck and, mostly, outstanding Neil Alexander goalkeeping prevented it being worse on an afternoon we never got going - but they will be unhappy and fed up at gifting the home side their 88th minute winner.
Overall, Watford weren't over-impressive in the quality stakes - an exception being Man United on-loan starlet Chris Eagles who looks a class act - but certainly showed why they're 3rd and we're chasing. The Hornets buzzed, their youthful energy and tempo was excellent, they dominated possession and territory for almost the entire 90 minutes. City worked hard, they always do to their credit, but looked limited by comparison.
A surprise was how it took Watford 69 minutes to score. McKay got that one having been denied by three Alexander stops and the crossbar earlier on, City survived other scares too. The shock was City levelling that within 8 minutes. It was, after all, only our second goal attempt of the game. Given the bombardment faced all afternoon, we would have settled for the draw but it wasn't to be.
Enter Ricky Scimeca. Forty yards out, no pressure, plenty of time, City players available everywhere, the wrong option was taken to turn around and roll a back-pass to Neil Alexander. That was compounded as it was shockingly underhit leaving Marlon King the easy task of rounding the keeper and slotting into an unguarded net. That was dreadful and agonising but again City tried to hit back and were very unlucky in their attempts. Ultimately, Cardiff did not deserve a point but should have got one. We maybe could have nicked a win too but that was all made irrelevant as we committed hari-kari.
A day in the M25 and we decided to hit the trains. I cannot begin to tell you how cold and bitter it was on Platform 1 at 8am in a strong breeze. To make it worse, the sight greeting us outside was a huge banner of Alex Ferguson draped from the roof to floor of Millennium Stadium. Seeing that man with a 20 foot high red nose is not a good sight.
The train deal was decent. London Group Saver - 2 pay, 2 go free. A dozen of us travelled together including Mike Morris and our guard was Port Talbot Bluebird. It wasn't First Great Western's best idea to put us in Coach A - a designated quiet coach where mobiles were banned and we weren't supposed to be noisy. A chant soon went up of "This train's a library, this train's a library". The journey was longer than normal - weekend maintenance work sent up through Chepstow and up/around Gloucester then back down - but still passed quickly with good company.
The cheapest way around the tube was buying a day ticket. It also meant we could have a bevvy in London first, Baker Street Wetherspoon's right next to the tube was a popular choice, We then realised the tube went straight to Watford so there was no need for a train connection. Only trouble was, we bought Central London tube cards, the guard at Watford turned a blind eye to that small problem, thank you. However Claire's card got swallowed up by the machine.
Once in deepest Hertfordshire, it soon dawned that Watford is very much middle class suburbia as we walked though a succession of smart terraced leafy streets before finding a pub near the ground. Very sunny, clear day but it wasn't warming greatly. I seem to remember we still spent all our time in the beer garden.
This was my first visit to Vicarage Road and it was suburbia in the ground too. Loads of families present, the ones I met were all really nice and helpful but the atmosphere was distinctly average. The only noise from home fans was "clink clink" as they (they being adults as well as kids) banged annoying inflatables together that I presume were handed out by their club sponsor. The only other noise was someone beating off a drum ... ooh err! It's football Jim but not as we know it.
The ground was good on three sides although there was a dodgy three storey hospitality boxes wedged in a corner between two stands. City were behind one goal sharing a stand with home fans. The 4th side still to be developed was a little reminsicent of the old Grandstand at Newport's Somerton Park and the back half of that was shut down and covered with a sponsor banner. Overall, it was functional but you never really got the impression, due to the lack of atmosphere, that over 17,000 were inside.
Can't really mention the stadium with talking about the pitch. A shock to see it look a mess but it's shared with egg chasing, what do you expect? Maybe to compensate that, both sides spent far too much time banging aimless high balls and long balls downfield, usually well into that clear windy air but, arguably, it also said much about the general quality on offer.
On the team news front, City were unchanged to the side that enjoyed fortune overcoming Hull last weekend. Cameron Jerome had sufficiently recovered from a knock in that game that forced him to withdraw from a League Select side playing Italian counterparts in midweek. Glenn Loovens was also back following injury that has kept him out since the visit to Highbury and on the bench, the unused Phil Mulryne dropping out of the 16.
Watford are flying. Managed by 35 year old Adrian Boothroyd doing a fantastic job, his side becoming known as Boothroyd's Babes with the average age under 24. They've now won 7 out of 8 Championship games in 2006 including a mighty impressive 4-1 win at Sheffield United, Watford still believe they can overhaul The Blades to an automatic promotion place and with United losing at home again, the gap is down to 7 points. Their sole league defeat of the year was a 2-1 reverse at Leeds, that after two Hornets were sent off after they were ahead. One of them, Ben Roberts, returned in goals but the other, key striker Darius Henderson was still banned.
The side was Foster, Doyley-Demerit-Stewart-Mahon, Eagles-Spring-Bouazza-Young, MacKay-King. Only 4 players were aged over 25, three of them were 27, Malky Mackay at 34 must feel like a grandad in the changing room, he's only a few months younger than his boss. By contrast, every City player bar Ledley and Jerome were over 25, three of them in the "Over 30 Club".
Little wonder Watford started by going at us with frantic pace, if not always imaginative, and never let go of their momentum. The first corner won within 20 seconds, their first shot at goal saw Bouazza miss by a whisker with a volley across the face of goal inside a minute.
How we got to the interval at 0-0, I can't really explain except to say Alexander made three wonderful saves and a couple of lesser ones which made him or man of the match for the second successive game. He was helped by determined but perhaps not always convincing defending by Coxy and Purse. Neil Cox relishing a return to his former stamping ground by somehow clearing off his line after a scramble around goal and damaging a Watford player in an area of the body that sounds like Neil's surname with his clearance. When Alexander wasn't denying Malkay, his crossbar intervened. One header smacked off the top, Alexander leaping cat-like across goal to snatch a rebound header on the line. It was attack after attack, corner after corner and with little respite.
City's entire response in a first half 'attacking' our end? Two successive corner kicks just over five minutes before the interval, the final one saw Purse put a curling header narrowly wide with Roberts scrambling. The linesman in our half wore a baseball cap to keep out the glare of the sun. It was unecessary, we gave him nothing to watch out for.
Cardiff were being comprehensively pummelled but did well to hang on, one thing you can never fault this City side for is effort and determination. . Jerome and Thompson were unable to get in the game, Thommo looked off the pace and frustrated. Midfield were overun and struggling big time to the extent that when our defence got the ball away, they immediately found it coming back giving them more work to do.
Some of this was one-way traffic was self-inflicted as when we won scraps of possession, we invariably gave it away too easily, too cheaply. Watford fans clacked approval with their inflatables. the posher ones presumably shaking their jewellery instead. Hurrah.
Half-time: WATFORD 0 CITY 0
The one way siege continued with City now hanging on deep and in numbers but, without going anywhere, we looked more comfortable as Watford went even more direct than before so Neil Alexander found himself better protected. Cox and Purse and co probably needed post-game neck massages for dealing with the limited high balls now coming their way instead but they would have loved that.
I don't think there was a meaningful goal attempt for either side until the opener arrived on 69 minutes. City's best shot was the increasingly frustrated Thompson putting one on keeper Foster and getting a card for it. Since his memorable debut, it's not gone well at all for him, football injuries, domestic injuries and, with waned match fitness, his form is well off what it surely can be too.
The goal Watford deserved but which we were all starting to think wasn't coming arrived in minute 69 and, like the magic number, turned the game upside down. The "quality" of it underlined just how scrappy this match had become. It was another high ball, this time we didn't deal with it, Ardley was turned in the box by Young leaving Alexander to save us again, this time with his legs. Marlon King botched a follow up attempt but with the ball still at his feet, he laid it out to Bouazza who hit a top swirling far post cross which MALKAY finally squeezed past Alexander with a firm downward header.
With City offering so very little, thoughts were that Watford would hold out or maybe add to their tally now we had to push at them but it turned again as we levelled on 77. It was a goal from nothing, Koumas taking the ball near the halfway touchline and hitting another ball over the top through the middle.
Watford had Jerome and Thompson well covered but failed to spot the runner and unlikely goalscoring hero in JEFF WHITLEY who scampered past the defenders and was away. His finishing was exemplary, like a 10 goal a season man, as he took one touch to control and move it on then, left footed, hook with power and precision past Roberts into the corner. It was however his first City goal in almost 2 years and 75 club games. His last goal of any description came at Millennium Stadium for Northern Ireland against Wales thanks to an "assist" by Ginge Collins in October 2004.
Having levelled, we were the most comfortable that we had been all game. Watford looked deflated, it gave us extra heart, even the clackers couldn't be arsed banging away and that's no bad thing. We were starting to wonder if we could sneak an undeserved but delicious late winner, Weston replacing Whitley with Ardley pushed up seemed to be a sign we fancied the shock, until as Bianca would say, "Awww Ricccckkkkyyy!".
Getting the ball in acres of space and with all the time in the world just inside our half, it needed a simple lay-off to another player around him, Scimeca even had options over who to pass to. Instead, apparently guided by Purse, he turned back towards goal and lay the ball back for Alexander. He did a near-identical thing against Hull last week and was lucky to get away with it. This time it cost - and how it cost - as he won the worst back-pass of the season award with a dreadful ball straight to Marlon King infinitely better than any of his yellow shirted team mates had managed all afternoon, it sent him clean through.
KING had such a simple task that he probably could have clapped his hands over his hand chanting "easy, easy, easy" himself had he wanted but kept calm to round the helpless Alexander and stroke home into an empty net. His 17th of the season must, by a country mile, have been his easiest. The clackers went mental and were banging away, the drummer was pounding away, we certainly got shafted.
t was a terrible way to lose any game, maybe justice was done but it didn't feel that way for us. Again, the boys showed their steely character and really should have levelled in what little time remained but, having made just two chances in 89 minutes, we missed three golden chances right at the death.
The first as Thompson narrowly failed to connect in a goalmouth scramble, the second when Neil Ardley (certainly now unloved by his former Watford supporters) found himself free on the 6 yard box meeting a Coxy long ball but showed he lacks heading quality as he put it well over, a touch would have done. Then, last action, Koumas made his perhaps one and only run of the afternoon and got himself an edge of area free-kick. His brilliant effort looked in all the way, Roberts was motionless, the ball however cannoned off the inside of the post straight to Purse with the whole goal available but it came too quick, struck him and then clipped the outside of the post.
It was hard to take, defeats this month at Palace and Watford do seem to tell a story. We slipped a place to 8th, Wolves having sneaked past, but remain three points behind the play-offs albeit with more games played.
We all know City simply have to go on a winning run but having managed to never do better than two wins on the bounce this term (and that's only happened twice), having to pick up perhaps at least 23 points from our last 10 games does seem beyond us but you can be sure we'll fight until it's impossible, the fans appreciate that. Unfortunately, away form, normally so good with this club is letting us down this term, our record (19 points from 18 trips) is below par for a play-off team, it's easily the poorest of the top 8.
It did mean we could drown our sorrows and, boy, did our lot do that. Firstly in Watford, where he had some great banter with the home fans and Preston/Chantelle lookalikes The tube station guard had gone home so we could all sneak over/under the barrier, our beer-bellied limbo unimpressive. Then we carried on the party after "winding our way back down Baker Street", that's a blur before it carried on with some Chelsea supporting Jacks on the train back - even more blurry before getting back into Cardiff at 11:30pm ... tired and emotional. At that point, we wisely decided to go home.
THE COST OF BEING A CITY FAN:
Ticket: £19
Programme: £3
Train/tube: £33
Food/drink etc. £40 - told you it was a long day! In fact, it was probably more!
Total for game: £95
Total for season-to-date: £2,563
Report from FootyMad
Promotion-chasing Watford fully deserved two major slices of good fortune on their way to making it eight wins in nine games and closing the gap on Sheffield United to seven points.
The first came two minutes from time when a suicidal back pass from Riccardo Scimeca gave Marlon King the opportunity to net his 17th goal of the season and the winner.
Then deep into injury-time lady luck smiled on Watford again when a 25-yard curling free-kick from Jason Koumas bounced back off the post and Darren Purse put the follow up wide when it seemed easier to score.
Had that gone in it would have been extremely harsh on the Hornets who dominated large parts of the game and could have had the points wrapped up by half-time.
Watford were in the attacking groove from the first whistle and should have gone in front inside 60 seconds when Hameur Bouazza fired wide.
The pressure on the Cardiff goal continued but to the Bluebirds' credit, it was a combination of great goalkeeping and superb last-ditch defending that kept them in the contest, rather than bad finishing from the home side.
Watford went close again when a header from Malky Mackay rebounded off the crossbar and Jay DeMerit's follow up was well saved by Neil Alexander.
Next Purse somehow managed to clear behind from near his goal-line as Mackay tried to latch onto a King cross.
But Alexander excelled just before the half hour when Mackay, who enjoyed a high number of goalscoring opportunities for a centre half, connected with a long throw from Lloyd Doyley, only to see the Cardiff shot-stopper claw the ball away from inside his near post.
Alexander performed more heroics soon after, ducking down at his near post to divert away a Bouazza near post flick. However, Watford still looked odds-on to score as the ball fell invitingly for Mackay but his effort was cleared off the line.
Watford did not find chances as easy to come by in the opening part of the second half but the inevitable goal finally arrived when Mackay rose well at the back post to convert a Bouazza cross.
But having taken the lead their display so deserved, some defensive sloppiness then allowed Cardiff to equalise when a Koumas ball from the right was allowed to run through to Jeff Whitley who beat Ben Foster.
Scimeca's mistake when he was under no real pressure gave Watford the points, although ultimately they had to thank poor Cardiff finishing for the win.
External Reports
Western Mail
Guardian
Inderpendent
Blind, Stupid and Desperate (Watford)