Head coach Valerien Ismael felt his side should left Cardiff with all three points, not just one.

After a dismal first half with another goal conceded due to poor marking, Watford rallied encouragingly after the break.

However, Ismael thought the Hornets passed up a chance to win.

“In terms of performance and attitude I thought it was better. We won more duels than we have done in the last games,” he said.

“We should have won the game, no doubt about that, especially in the second half.

“The first half performance was typical of a team that is low in the table and has just lost three games.

“We lacked confidence and we didn’t trust our own quality to make the difference. We didn’t create a lot of chances.

“Nonetheless after they went ahead we had a big chance with Bayo to come back into the game.

“At half time we just said to the players that they needed to believe in themselves more, because it was very possible for us to turn the game.

“The mentality in the second half and the way we took on the challenge was better.

“We got the goal and then Incey should score. That was unbelievable.

“The second half was a strong away performance where we didn’t concede any chances.

“Having lost three games in a row I thought our mentality was good in the second half. When you’re 1-0 down away at half time it is tough.”

With the second international break now, Ismael admitted that when he looked back over the games since the first stop in league games he was disappointed.

“We’ve not taken as many points as we expected or hoped from this block of games,” he said.

“The number of points we’ve taken since the last international break is a disappointment but we take things step by step.

“We’ve stopped the bleeding and we will recover from what has been a tough period.”