BLACKBURN Rovers' old failings returned to haunt them as they were brought crashing back down to earth with a bang by the Premiership's whipping boys.

After three straight wins on the road in 2007, Mark Hughes' players froze at ice-station Vicarage Road, becoming only the second team this season to leave this ground empty-handed.

Jay DeMerit's second half winner not only breathed new life into Watford's relegation fight, it also stopped Blackburn from making real in-roads in the battle to claim a top six spot.

This was Rovers' game in hand on their closest rivals and a victory would have elevated them to eighth position in the table, and within striking distance of the European places.

But, frustratingly for Hughes, Rovers never got to grips with the Hornets' long ball tactics, and eventually succumbed to two soft headed goals.

If that wasn't bad enough, a serious injury to Robbie Savage, who broke his leg in a second half challenge with Al Bangura, then compounded a miserable night for Hughes, who struggled to explain his side's failure to cope with Watford's route one approach.

"That's the annoying thing from our point of view," said the Rovers boss.

"We knew exactly what to expect tonight and didn't deal with it.

"You know that Watford are going to play a high tempo game, and they're going to get the ball in behind your back four.

"They also had a lot of commitment and desire to affect the game and we didn't match it.

"I said before the game we needed to match that desire and work ethic, but we never did."

Rovers have now lost to all three teams in the Premiership's relegation zone this season, and this latest setback was perhaps the most difficult to fathom given the quality of their recent performances on the road at Wigan, Everton and Manchester City.

Zurab Khizanishvili and Stephane Henchoz, who were rocks at the back at the weekend, never looked comfortable in dealing with the aerial bombardment.

And the absence of Tugay, who was missing with a slight hamstring problem, meant Rovers never seized control in the engine room.

Add to that a succession of missed chances, with Shabani Nonda being the most guilty culprit, and it's easy to see how Rovers came unstuck against opponents who had won just one in 22 attempts prior to this.

Things had started promisingly for Rovers, who took just 30 seconds to carve out the game's first meaningful chance.

A neat piece of play involving Benni McCarthy and Morten Gamst Pedersen resulted in the ball being fed out to the overlapping Jay McEveley, and the defender's first time cross looked destined for Nonda until Jordan Stewart appeared from nowhere to make a goal-saving interception.

Another McEveley centre soon afterwards caused further panic in the Watford defence, but when the ball eventually broke to David Bentley, the midfielder blasted his effort wide of the near post from 10 yards out.

That proved to be a costly miss because five minutes later Watford broke the deadlock.

Adrian Mariappa skipped past Pedersen far too easily on the right and then slipped a clever ball into Tommy Smith.

As the Rovers defence hesitated, the Hornets winger made a bee-line for the byline, from where he delivered a looping cross towards the far post.

Brett Emerton tried to head the ball clear but, under pressure from the imposing Damien Francis, only succeeded in planting it inside the near post.

That was Watford's first goal in more than five and a half hours of football - a drought stretching back to Boxing Day when Smith found the net in a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal.

Buoyed by that gift, the mood visibly lifted around Vicarage Road as the home fans launched into a noisy rendition of The Great Escape'.

McCarthy had a golden chance to silence the home choir four minutes later when Nonda picked him out with a neat lay-off, but the normally deadly South African screwed his shot horribly wide of the target with only Ben Foster to beat.

Back came Watford again and their direct approach continued to cause a nervy Rovers backline all kinds of problems.

Brad Friedel had to be alert to repel a stinging drive from Bangura, then Francis volleyed wastefully wide from inside the penalty area.

Missed chances like that are a big reason why Watford are where they are in the league table, and they ended up paying a heavy price again as Rovers struck a major psychological blow deep into first half injury time.

The home side contributed to their own downfall, carelessly losing possession from a throw-in deep in their own half, and Bentley pounced on the loose ball before cutting in dangerously from the right.

As the winger strode purposefully into the area, he then delivered a sumptuous cross which the unmarked McCarthy headed powerfully past Foster. Game on!

Watford picked themselves up again at the beginning of the second half as Mariappa and Francis both warmed Friedel's hands with long range efforts.

Then Rovers were dealt another crushing injury blow in the 57th minute when Savage felt the full force of a Bangura challenge, and after lengthy treatment he disappeared on a stretcher.

That forced Hughes into a tactical reshuffle that saw Bentley move into the centre, with Paul Gallagher introduced on the right.

Still the chances kept coming at both ends.

Nonda blasted over for Rovers, then Darius Henderson headed wide at the other end, but as both sides pressed for a winner, it was Watford who eventually got it.

Jordan Stewart's free kick from the right led to an almighty scramble in the penalty area and when Hameur Bouazza finally returned the ball into the dangerzone, substitute Jay Demerit escaped his marker to flick a header inside the far post.

Things might have got even worse for Rovers had Will Hoskins not fluffed a golden chance to make it 3-1 in the final quarter of an hour.

Then to sum up a frustrating evening for Hughes and his players, Matt Derbyshire missed an equally presentable opportunity to equalise when he headed over from six yards out.

It was one of those nights when nothing went right.