Troy Deeney scored a hat-trick as Watford cruised to a 5-0 victory over 10-man Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Watford broke the deadlock in just the 15th minute when Almen Abdi struck a free kick under the wall to beat Marcus Bettinelli.
The visitors were handed a boost five minutes later when Bettinelli received a red card for bringing down Matej Vydra, which allowed Deeney to score from the penalty spot.
Deeney scored his second before the interval to extend the lead, and Abdi made it 4-0 with a stunning strike early in the second half.
It was left to Deeney to finish off a fine display by completing his hat-trick in stoppage time as Watford returned to the playoff spots.
Read below to find out how the drama unfolded.
Good evening everyone. Fulham and Watford kick off this weekend's Championship action at Craven Cottage tonight, with both side targeting victories for very different reasons. Watford can return to the playoff places, while Fulham are looking to please the home supporters by pulling further away from the relegation zone.
After a frustrating start to the season, Fulham are starting to find their feet under Kit Symons. One loss in eight games has taken them clear of the danger zone, but they can continue that form to boost a possible promotion bid? We know how quickly things can change over the festive period.
For Watford, tonight is about stopping the slump. Slavisa Jokanovic's team have lost four in a row, but still sit seventh in the Championship table. A victory this evening would take them back into the playoff places.
FULHAM: Bettinelli; Grimmer, Bodurov, Burn, Stafylidis; Parker; Christensen, Fofana; Ruiz; Rodallega, McCormack
SUBS: Kiraly, Hutchinson, Zverotic, Hyndman, Roberts, Williams, Dembele
Symons makes two changes to the side which came from behind to beat Brighton last weekend. Dan Burn is back in the centre of defence to replace Shaun Hutchinson, while Emerson Hyndman drops to the bench to allow Seko Fofana to make his full debut for the club.
WATFORD: Gomes; Bassong, Cathcart, Angella; Paredes, Abdi, Tozser, Munari, Anya; Deeney, Vydra
SUBS: Bond, Guedioura, Forestieri, Doyley, Pudil, Dyer, Ighalo
Joel Ekstrand is missing for the visitors tonight as Craig Catchart returns to take his place in defence alongside Sebastian Bassong and Gabrielle Angella. Jokanovic sticks with the 3-5-2 formation, but will it pay off tonight?
Before the game gets underway, make sure you take a look at what our pundits are expecting from tonight's match at Craven Cottage.
Fulham are unbeaten in the last six meetings between these two sides. Watford's most recent victory in this fixture came in the old Division Two in May 1998.
If you're a gambler, it might be a good idea to stay away from this game. Fulham are starting to find their best form, while Watford are struggling, but after seeing the Hornets impress in the early stages of the campaign you have to expect that Jokanovic's side will end this losing run sooner rather than later.
Scott Parker and Troy Deeney lead their respective sides out onto the pitch, which means kickoff is just a few moments away. Just the handshakes to get out of the way now.
We're running a bit late, but everyone appears to be ready now. Fulham will get the game underway.
Rodallega is full of confidence at the moment, but he sets his sights slightly too high with a speculative effort from 35 yards which rolls into the waiting hands of Gomes.
SAVE! Bettinelli comes to his side's rescue in just the third minute. Bodurov gifts Watford a chance by bringing down Deeney on the edge of the box. Tozser steps up to take the free kick, but his effort is tipped over the crossbar.
Deeney is furious in the box when Grimmer holds onto his arm to prevent him fro meeting a corner, which Fulham struggle to clear. Promising start from the visitors.
Watford have looked very comfortable in possession in the early stages of the game. Symons will want his Fulham players to wake up quickly. The hosts are beginning to see more of the ball now.
CHANCE! Watford come agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock. Toszer's clever pass finds Deeney, who reacts to the run of Bettinelli by heading over the Fulham goalkeeper. However, Stafylidis recovers impressively to clear the ball off the line.
A moment of madness from Gomes almost hands a chance to the hosts, but Bassong does well to clear the danger. Neither team appear willing to go on the back foot. It's set up to be an exciting night.
Brilliant defending from Bodurov, who follows the run of Vydra to make a vital interception when Deeney attempts to release his strike partner. A mistake there would have sent Vydra through on goal.
Toszer displays his excellent technique once again by testing Bettinelli with a powerful effort from 25 yards. Fulham must do a better job of closing down the creative Hungarian.
GOAL! FULHAM 0-1 WATFORD (ABDI)
Fulham give another free kick away on the edge of the box, and they pay the price. Watford's supporters are singing Abdi's name before the effort and they are still going now following the midfielder's powerful strike, which takes a deflection off the wall before beating the helpless Bettinelli.
RED CARD! It gets even worse for Fulham. Bettinelli has been excellent so far, but he's given his marching orders after taking the legs of Vydra after a clever pass from Abdi slices open the Fulham defence. Watford have the chance to double their lead from the PENALTY.
SUBSTITUTION: Ruiz is the unlucky player as the Costa Rican is sacrificed by Symons, who sends on Gabor Kiraly. Can he stop Deeney's penalty?
GOAL! FULHAM 0-2 WATFORD (DEENEY)
Deeney has to wait over two minutes to take the penalty, but he makes no mistake from 12 yards. Kiraly is sent the wrong way as Watford double their lead. Can Fulham's 10 men produce any kind of response?
As expected, Fulham are struggling to deal with the setback. Watford can smell blood, but they can't afford to get careless, even in this situation. Three points are there for the taking for the visitors.
Anya is being given the licence to attack on the left wing. If Watford can stretch the game, the Scotland international will be a figure for the rest of the evening. Fulham have dropped deeper to defend since losing Bettinelli.
Rodallega is being left alone in attack, with McCormack drifting out to the left to help his side hold off Watford, who are beginning to dominate possession. The visitors know there is no need to rush the game from this position.
Better from Fulham as McCormack switches wings to collect the ball on the right, before curling in a cross which is just a few inches away from finding Rodallega in the six-yard box.
Toszer is being allowed to control the game from a deeper position. Another lofted ball forward ends with the visitors playing in Deeney, whose poor touch on the edge of the box sees a promising move end disappointingly.
Grimmer does well in the box to clear a corner under pressure from Deeney, who gets a second chance moments later when his low shot is blocked by Burn. It feels like more Watford goals are just around the corner.
Vydra's poor cross is recovered by Paredes at the back post, and Watford manage to win another corner. The pressure keeps on coming, but Fulham are given a breather when Cathcart fouls Burn while looking to send a header into the bottom corner.
GOAL! FULHAM 0-3 WATFORD (DEENEY)
It feels like the start of the season again as Deeney extends Watford's lead. A poor clearance from Christensen allows Munari to head into the path of Deeney, who keeps his calm to poke the ball past a helpless Kiraly. It's difficult for Fulham, but they're causing a lot of their own problems. How many more goals can Watford score tonight?
Parker is attempting to rally the troops by speeding up play in midfield, but it's difficult to see how the hosts can get back into this match. Symons may be thinking about damage limitation ahead of his half-time team talk.
SAVE! Vydra threatens to make it 4-0 by bending his run to latch onto Tozser's pass, but his half-volley from a tight angle is pushed behind by Kiraly. Cathcart heads over from the corner which follows.
It's turning into a very easy night for the visitors. Watford are controlling the game with ease in all areas of the pitch. Fulham are struggling to apply any pressure on the ball. Symons will surely be forced to make more changes at the break. Three minutes of stoppage time to be played.
Anya strays into an offside position before lobbing Kiraly with a clever effort. Luckily for the hosts, the assistant referee was alert enough to raise his flag.
HALF TIME: FULHAM 0-3 WATFORD
That four-match losing run looks to be coming to an end tonight. Watford are cruising towards victory at Craven Cottage. Fulham have offered very little resistance since losing Bettinelli to a red card. Deeney is back to his best form with two goals, and you can feel the pressure lifting off Jokanovic's shoulders.
There were jeers from the home supporters when the half-time whistle was blown. You can certainly understand their frustration, but Fulham just did not know how to react to losing their goalkeeper five minutes after falling behind. 3-0 behind and a man down. Symons will be hoping to avoid an embarrassing scoreline.
#ffc and Watford combine for a photo in the spirit of the togetherness shown by troops in Dec 1914 #footballremembers pic.twitter.com/XuylSyw0TB
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) December 5, 2014
Both sides are back out on the pitch for the second half. Symons has decided against making any further changes ahead of the second half. It will be Watford who get the game back underway.
A familiar pattern has emerged at the beginning of the second half. Fulham are defending deep as Watford dominate possession. It's going to be a long 45 minutes for the hosts.
Decent move from Fulham as Fofana spreads the ball out wide to McCormack, whose cross into the box is cleared away by Cathcart. Rodallega is being forced to chase a lot of lost causes tonight.
GOAL! FULHAM 0-4 WATFORD (ABDI)
Abdi scores a stunning goal out of nothing! The Serbian has his back to goal on the edge of the box, but he takes a touch quickly to earn space before finding the top corner with an unstoppable striker. Watford are cruising.
Watford can afford to leave the likes of Anya and Paredes in wide positions as they look to stretch the game even more. Fulham need to make sure this score does not become even more embarrassing. Conceding six or seven will hit morale ahead of a hectic Christmas schedule.
The visitors are enjoying themselves now as Vydra and Anya link well to set up Abdi, whose low effort drifts a yard past the post. Kiraly looked to have had the shot covered on that occasion.
Fulham need to keep their concentration. Tozser almost shocks Kiraly with a curled effort when Watford take a corner short to the midfielder. There's still a long way to go in this game. Both Deeney and Abdi will want hat-tricks.
CHANCE! Excellent from Cathcart. Christensen forces his way into the box before pulling the ball back to Rodallega, who is denied a goal when Catchart dives in the way to make a brilliant block.
SUBSTITUTION: Fofana's frustrating full debut comes to an end as George Williams comes on to slot into the Fulham midfield.
A couple of vital interceptions from Burn prevents Deeney from getting another sniff at goal. Fulham are battling much more impressively in midfield, but they are still struggling to retain possession.
SUBSTITUTION: Vydra may not have found the net, but he's produced an excellent display tonight. His night comes to an end as Fernando Forestieri comes on to join Deeney in attack.
A misplaced pass from Tozser allows McCormack to collect the ball in a dangerous position, and forces Abdi to give away a free kick on the edge of the box. It's McCormack who steps up, but he can only hit Deeney in the wall.
Deeney needs treatment after feeling the effects of being struck by that powerful McCormack free kick. Fortunately, the striker will be able to continue his pursuit of a hat-trick.
A tiring Fulham side are being forced to adopt a more direct approach now, with Gomes sprinting off his line to clear under pressure from Williams. Plenty of Fulham supporters have decided to leave the ground early on a very disappointing night.
SAVE! Gomes has no intention of giving up his clean sheet as he dives to his left to keep out a deflected effort from Williams. Cathcart's touch made it difficult for the Brazilian goalkeeper, who did well to react.
YELLOW CARD! Bassong accepts a booking without protest following a late tackle on Grimmer on the right wing. McCormack's delivery is poor again as Burn fails to climb high enough to meet his free kick in the box.
CHANCE! Forestieri blows the opportunity to add a fifth after breaking free of the defence. The forward is all on his own in the box, but Kiraly keeps his eye on the ball to prevent the Watford substitute from making any further progress.
SUBSTITUTION: Tozser heads off to be replaced by Adlene Guedioura as Jokanovic gives another one of his key players a rest in the closing stages.
The pace of the game has slowed in the past few minutes. Watford aren't playing with the same intensity, but Fulham have improved defensively to limit the space on offer to the visitors.
SUBSTITUTION: Anya becomes the final player to be replaced as Daniel Pudil is given the final few minutes to impress.
SHOT! Deeney looks to complete his hat-trick with a low strike from outside the box which brings a comfortable save from Kiraly. Fulham loft a long ball forward to Rodallega, whose half-volley drifts just wide of the post.
The fourth official confirms that there will be three minutes added on. Fulham supporters will be hoping the minutes race by.
Fulham are seeing plenty of the ball in stoppage time, but they look unsure what to do with it in the final third of the pitch. Watford quickly win back possession to release Deeney, whose attempts to keep the ball in on the right side of the box end in disappointment.
GOAL! FULHAM 0-5 WATFORD (DEENEY)
Hat-trick for Deeney! Munari's brilliant through ball releases the striker, whose confidence is clear as he powers a shot past Kiraly. Watford's slump is over.
FULL TIME: FULHAM 0-5 WATFORD
Watford end a run of four straight defeats in emphatic style as Abdi and Deeney lead the Hornets back into the playoff spots. Fulham remain just four points above the relegation zone, and they could slip further down the table depending on results tomorrow.
That's all from me this evening. We hope you've enjoyed our live coverage. Goodnight.
Written by
Callum Mulvihill
Callum Mulvihill
