Watford’s fragilities when confronted with a setback have been exposed numerous times this season – but darker more dire depths were found tonight as the Hornets collapsed to a thoroughly abject an anger-inducing 3-1 defeat to Cardiff City.

The evening had begun with hopes that the hosts would pick up three points to keep alive their hopes of reaching the play-offs. It ended with the PA being turned up to full volume to try and mask the booing from the stands as an increasingly disaffected fan-base again expressed their feelings to the players and the club’s owner.

It had started promisingly for the Hornets with one of their best team moves of the season ending with Keinan Davis heading across goal for Ismaila Sarr to prod home the opener.

Watford though, did not really push on from taking the lead and from the moment Kion Etete capitalised on some weak defending to equalise just after the half-hour the fragile hosts capitulated in utterly dreadful fashion.

Cedric Kipre reacted sharpest to a shot being blocked to turn a deficit into a quick-fire lead for the visitors, before anger rained down from the home faithful when the hosts scored a third inside ten appalling minutes when the unchallenged Sory Kaba was allowed to chest the ball down and send an acrobatic effort into the bottom corner.

The defending had been beyond lamentable and it was greeted with a deep-felt chant of ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt’. And it was a spell from which the hosts never recovered in a ragged and largely patternless second half, while Cardiff celebrated boosting their hopes of beating the drop.

The end of the season cannot come soon enough for Watford after another low ebb has been reached, before a summer in which wholesale change has to be made if the damage of the last two seasons is to start being repaired.

Chris Wilder made just the one change to the team that picked up a much-needed 2-0 win against Bristol City on Saturday with Ismael Kone replacing Leandro Bacuna in midfield.

Cardiff came into the game with only goal difference keeping them out of the relegation zone and Sabri Lamouchi made two changes to the starting XI that went down 4-1 at Sheffield United last time out, both of which were injury enforced.

Mahlon Romeo and Callum O’Dowda came in for Jack Simpson and Jaden Philogene, who were sidelined with shoulder and knee problems respectively.

With the visitors set up in a defensive 5-3-2 out of possession, the Hornets saw plenty of the ball from the opening whistle, with Ryan Andrews prominent in the opening stages and taking the opportunity to push forward whenever possible.

Watford were completely dominant in the opening ten minutes and they made the breakthrough with their first real chance, Imran Louza lifting a smart pass over the defence into Davis in space and he unselfishly nodded sideways to give Sarr his tenth goal of the season on a plate.

The goal came from a patient but purposeful passage of play from the hosts, who chose to keep the ball moving forward – and not kick it out of play with Joao Pedro down injured - and reaped the rewards.

The Hornets were looking confident but, the goal apart, chances were in short supply during the opening quarter of the contest.

The last thing they needed to do was to gift the visitors a route back into the game but that almost happened in the 28th minute when Wesley Hoedt’s attempted back header fell well short of Daniel Bachmann, allowing Kaba to latch onto the ball but his attempted lob landed on the roof of the net.

Watford’s escaped that time but they were to only be in front for only another three minutes.

Etete attacked the right side of the Hornets area before finding Andy Rinomhota and his pass back to the striker split the defence, allowing Etete to cut into the six-yard box before passing his finish into the far corner to make it 1-1 as the Bluebirds capitalised on some weak defending.

That was poor but it was to quickly get even worse for the hosts as, following a set piece, a Ryan Wintle shot was blocked, but no-one in yellow reacted to the rebound and Kipre rifled in the rebound to silence the majority of a stadium that already had plenty of empty seats.

Etete received the first yellow card of the evening in the 39th minute for a late challenge on Ryan Porteous, but that was soon followed by a caution for Hoedt for dissent.

From looking confident after taking an early lead, Watford were a mess and needed half-time badly – only for them to concede a third goal before the break that was arguably even worse than the two before.

The ball was clipped in from the right side of the area and Hoedt did no more than stand and watch as Kaba brought it down on his chest before hooking a bicycle kick into the bottom corner of the net to make it 3-1.

The Rookery was emphatic in letting its views known as a chant of ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt’ was belted out as it had been in the defeat to Huddersfield Town, while one fan decided to act by going onto the pitch to vent his anger.

Incredibly – or not – Cardiff twice had opportunities to get a fourth before the interval as dangerous balls into the six-yard box were repelled with no real defensive conviction by the shell-shocked Hornets.

There was no absolutely no surprise that Wilder made a change at the start of the second half – the surprise was he didn’t make more than one – with Ken Sema replacing Kone.

Watford desperately needed to get a foothold back in the game as soon as possible after the break and they were almost in when Davis capitalised on a defensive lapse to get in behind the Bluebirds backline, but his attempted ball across the six-yard box for Sarr was put behind for a corner.

The visitors picked up two yellow cards in quick succession as the hour approached, Joe Ralls for delaying a restart before O’Dowda joined him in the book for a foul on Sarr.

Andrews, who had not been to blame for any of the defensive carnage that had unfolded around him, was afforded a rendition of ‘he’s one of our own’ when he was replaced by Jeremy Ngakia after 65 minutes, Yaser Asprilla replacing Hassane Kamara at the same time.

Lamouchi followed suit with a double change, bringing on Romaine Sawyers and Connor Wickham for Rinomhota and Etete, as the game continued to be played mostly in the Cardiff half, but with Watford unable to muster anything more than over-hit crosses or shots that were blocked.

However, the Hornets had a good chance to get the gap back to one goal with 16 minutes remaining when Pedro lifted the ball through to Sema on the left side of the area, but his attempts to lift the ball beyond Ryan Allsop saw his effort go miles wide of the target.

It was Cardiff’s turn to have a chance soon after when Perry Ng clipped a low free-kick into the area but the stretching Mark McGuinness couldn’t generate enough power to extend Bachmann.

Mark Harris replaced Kaba in the 81st minute as an awful night for the hosts edged towards its conclusion, although Sarr had a late opportunity to score a second but fired straight at Allsop.

Chants of ‘Pozzo Out’ could again be heard as the game entered injury time and although the PA was cranked up to full volume at the final whistle, the boos from those Hornets fans still inside Vicarage Road could clearly be heard at the end of a limp, weak-willed and frankly unacceptable defeat.

Watford: Bachmann; Andrews (Ngakia 65), Porteous, Hoedt, Kamara (Asprilla 65); Choudhury; Sarr, Kone (Sema 46), Louza, Pedro; Davis. Subs not used: Hamer, Araujo, Bacuna, Kabasele.

Cardiff City: Allsop; Romeo, Ng, Kipre, McGuinness, O’Dowda; Rinomhota (Sawyers 68), Wintle, Ralls; Etete (Wickham 68), Kaba (Harris 81). Subs not used: Alnwick, Ojo, Sang, Davies.

Bookings: Etete for a foul on Porteous (39); Hoedt for dissent (39); Ralls for delaying a restart (57); O’Dowda for a foul on Sarr (58); Ngakia for a foul on Ng (76).

Referee: Jarred Gillett.