Watford 3-0 Birmingham City: Hornets reignite Championship play-off hopes with comfortable win over Blues

The win over Birmingham crowned Watford boss Chris Wilder's first home game in charge

Watford gave new manager Chris Wilder a perfect first night at Vicarage Road with a comfortable win over Birmingham City.

The Hornets scored twice in the first half through Imran Louza and Keinan Davis before Britt Assombalonga added a third after the interval.

The win, only Watford's second in their past 10 games, moved them up to 10th in the Championship table, four points off the play-offs.

Birmingham's defeat was their fifth in their past seven games and leaves them 18th, seven points above the relegation places.

Although they arrived on the back of a win against Rotherham, Blues' lack of forward power was obvious, with club captain Troy Deeney watching from the sidelines with an Achilles injury as his team-mates struggled against his former club.

Watford had not scored for three games and their run since the turn of the year had seen them slide down the table, resulting in another change of manager.

But their start to the match in new boss Wilder's first home game in charge could not have gone better,

Davis found Ken Sema free on the left and he drilled in a low cross for Louza to turn home from the edge of the six-yard box after just five minutes.

Ten minutes later they were two up, Ryan Porteous breaking up play before finding Louza and the midfielder then turned provider for Davis, who found the roof of the net with a tight-angled shot.

The buzzing Hornets could have had a third before the interval when Jeremy Ngakia's rocket struck the outside of the post with Blues goalkeeper John Ruddy helpless.

Birmingham brought on Scott Hogan and George Hall for Reda Khadra and Tahith Chong but the one-way traffic continued, with Ruddy having to save from Joao Pedro within two minutes of the restart.

The visitors threatened to change that when Jordan Graham crossed from the left and found Auston Trusty free inside the box, but the American blasted high and wide from close range.

Watford's third came after 74 minutes against the run of play as Mario Gaspar found Ismael Kone, whose low cross was bundled over the line by Assombalonga for his first Hornets goal.

Hornets boss Chris Wilder told BBC Three Countries Radio:

"Everything feels good in the world when you get a win and especially in the manner we got this one. We were excellent, especially in the first half.

"At the start of the second half I imagine [Birmingham] will be disappointed they didn't get back in the game but what I will say is that although we were two up at half-time, it could have been three or four.

"It's important that we take the momentum from this game into the next game on Saturday."

Birmingham manager John Eustace:

"It was a really disappointing first 20 minutes - we were far too passive.

"The attitude of the boys in the second half was better and much more like us - there were a couple of chances we really should have been taking.

"It's been a problem all season - we need to be more clinical in the final third - but the most pleasing thing is that we never give up.

"If we had taken some of those chances the result might have been different. And from a defensive point of view we looked much better."