Cardiff City thrashed Watford 5-1 as the Hornets' worrying slump continued and prompted fans voicing their anger at the club's ownership.

A double from Jack Moylan, an own-goal from Mattie Pollock and a fine strike from Ollie Tanner – all inside the first-half – meant there was never any doubt of the Bluebirds securing all three points and extending the Hornets' losing streak to four successive games.

Callum Robinson added Cardiff's fifth before Hector Kyprianou headed a late consolation that did little to lift the mood of the Watford support.

It was confidence-boosting for Cardiff but damning for Watford, who have now lost six of their last seven outings and dropped into the Championship bottom three.

At a club where managerial security is a luxury, it will throw up questions over the future of boss Alessio Dionisi.

But it was owner Gino Pozzo who drew the ire of the supporters who had travelled to south Wales after seeing their side concede four goals for the second time in four days.

Dionisi had called being three down inside 20 minutes of that eventual 4-0 home defeat by Burnley as "impossible", and yet this was arguably worse, even if it did take Cardiff a little longer.

Making six changes to face a Cardiff side themselves hardly in sparkling form – Brian Barry-Murphy calling their weekend defeat at Blackburn "not good enough" – Watford may have hoped for a fresh start.

Indeed, had Myron Boadu been able to make more of his one-on-one chance after out-muscling Dylan Lawlor, Watford could have taken the lead after just two minutes.

Instead, Watford's fragility was soon exposed, Tanner picking up possession too easily from loose Watford play and teeing up Maylon who was duly tripped by a reckless Pollock.

Watford did look sharp on the counter and both Othmane Maamma and Martin Payero may have done better with openings, but it would have only papered over the cracks of their display.

It felt game over when Cian Ashford played in Moylan, who drilled home for his second as he looked every inch the goalscorer as he moved from midfield to striker.

The night worsened for Watford and Pollock when he headed into his own net from a Joel Bagan corner.

And Tanner got in on the act when he cut across the face of the area with Watford's stand-off approach begging him to shoot, the winger obliging as he curled into the corner in first-half injury time.

Moylan should have had a hat-trick when he was brought down in the area on 64 minutes by Edo Kayembe, only for Willock to try and covert the spot-kick himself.

Federico Ravaglia saved well to give Watford's weary fans some respite until Robinson turned home from inside the area with five minutes remaining.

And there was some cheers when Hector Kyprianou headed home in the final minutes to deny Cardiff a first clean sheet of the season.

Cardiff rightly celebrated only their second league win since returning to the Championship, answering questions of their ability to take chances at this level.

And all done while playing without a recognised striker, Moylan being pushed into a more advanced role to capitalise on his superb form since his move from Lincoln City.

Although an injury to key young defender Dylan Lawlor did cause concern – having only made his comeback from a knee problem at the weekend – there was relief of a sizeable win ahead of a challenging run of fixtures against a string of promotion hopefuls, starting with Saturday's trip to Middlesbrough.

Contrast that with the Watford supporters who booed the players and staff as they acknowledged the away end at the final whistle.

Cardiff were good but not brilliant, but they did not have to be to take advantage of a Watford side that looked shorn of confidence and cohesion.

Their last away goal came at Wrexham in August, where this looked a side of discipline and intensity.

Dionisi must wonder where that has gone, with fans wondering what has happened to their club who were among the elite of the Premier League just four years ago.

Even Elton John could not hold back his frustrations in recent weeks, with focus very much now on the ownership.

Open letters of no confidence from supporters' groups have been added to the general social media anger.

There were several calls against Pozzo at various points during this drubbing, calls that could yet get louder by the time Charlton Athletic head to Vicarage Road on Saturday.

Watford manager Alessio Dionisi told BBC Sport:

"It is a difficult night. I am angry. I am angry with myself, with my players. After the last match we spoke about the situation and we wanted another reaction.

"The match was finished in the first half. The reaction wasn't there.

"It is my responsibility. It is our responsibility. Everyone must take responsibility. It hurts a lot.

"These questions (about the manager) are normal with Watford, but also in Italy.

"I speak with my owner every day, I have a good relationship with my director, but this is football. Last season the results were (fairly) positive but Watford changed coaches, so I know my job and it is normal when the result is negative.

"I want to take my responsibility, I want to work with my players, because for me it's possible to arrive to a good result together."

Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy told BBC Sport: "It was a difficult weekend for us because it's such a long build-up during the international break.

"We wanted to play well and win on Saturday and it wasn't to be, but to bounce back in the fashion that we did tonight was hugely satisfying.

"We're very keen to focus on our home form and how good we have been here. It felt as if it had great energy from the start and we wanted to give the supporters something to really get behind.

"We played a great style, very aggressive, and took the chances that we created tonight which hasn't always been the case this season, and it gave us a great chance to win the game."