A single goal from Marlon King saw the Tigers fall to a 1-0 defeat against Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday afternoon.

Phil Brown made three changes as the Tigers looked to end Watford's unbeaten run at Vicarage Road.

Fraizer Campbell came in to make his debut after arriving on loan from Manchester United. His inclusion meant Dean Windass dropped to the bench.

Bryan Hughes and Stephen McPhee also came into the side with both Henrik Pedersen and Jay-Jay Okocha unfit. Caleb Folan was not named in the squad.

With Ian Ashbee suspended, Wayne Brown captained the side against one of his former clubs.

On a sunny autumn Saturday afternoon in Hertfordshire, Campbell showed some neat touches during the opening few minutes although it was Dean Marney who came the closest to giving the Tigers the lead with a shot from 25 yards which Richard Lee had to keep the effort out.

David Livermore was booked on 12 minutes following an aerial challenge before Michael Turner had to clear a dangerous corner from the middle of his six-yard box.

Campbell then created a good chance for Hughes, but the midfielder shot wide of the near post.

Watford took the lead in the 20th minute with a flowing move. Marlon King evaded Turner's weak challenge on the edge of the area before drilling a low shot into the far corner of the net.

City tried to respond and McPhee was only inches away from connecting with Richard Garcia's superb near post cross.

Livermore was sailing close to the wind and after another strong, late aerial challenge the referee gave what seemed to be a final warning.

But it was Brown who was next to be shown a yellow card after a reckless tackle on King.

Watford looked as though they were going to double their lead five minutes before the break when King pulled the ball back for John-Joe O'Toole, but as he looked to apply the finish from eight yards, Turner produced a magnificent tackle to prevent the shot coming in.

Marney became the third City player to be booked in the first half when he was shown yellow in added time for a tackle on King.

It was the midfielder's fifth booking of the season so is now due to serve a one-match ban against Sheffield United next Saturday.

Half Time: Watford 1-0 Tigers

After a quiet opening to the second period, Windass was introduced to the action in place of Garcia.

Moments later City created a great opening when Hughes found space in the box to get on the end of a high ball. With Lee off his line, it looked as though all Hughes had to do was lift a first time header over the keeper, but he opted to control the ball and the chance eventually went away.

The Tigers were now operating a 4-3-3 formation and it momentarily had the home side confused as Campbell drifted in from the left before firing wide from the edge of the box.

Watford then had a goal disallowed for a foul on Boaz Myhill. Shortly after, the City keeper brilliantly tipped over O'Toole's shot from 20 yards.

Damien Delaney's arrival in an advanced position on 68 minutes saw him get a little ambitious as he unleashed a shot from 30 yards which was always going wide.

City made their second change with 13 minutes remaining when Nicky Featherstone came on for Livermore and that was soon followed by the introduction of Stuart Elliott in place of Campbell.

The Tigers won only their second corner of the game with nine minutes to go, but Hughes' delivery was too high for Elliott at the far post.

Featherstone's first real involvement was to deliver a superb cross from the right for Windass, who headed over.

Windass then set Elliott up on the edge of the box, but he blasted just over.

As the ball rebounded back onto the field, Phil Brown came running onto the pitch from the sideline to try and speed up the restart and earned a ticking off from the referee for his efforts.

Three minutes of time were added at the end, but it wasn't enough as Watford successfully kept the ball by the City corner flag for two of those.

Tigers (4-4-2) Boaz Myhill; Sam Ricketts, Michael Turner, Wayne Brown [captain], Damien Delaney; Richard Garcia (Windass 51), Dean Marney, David Livermore (Featherstone 77), Bryan Hughes; Stephen McPhee, Fraizer Campbell (Elliott 79).

Subs: Matt Duke, Andy Dawson, Stuart Elliott, Nicky Featherstone, Dean Windass.

Bookings: Livermore 13, Brown 31, Marney 45.

Watford (4-4-2) Richard Lee; Jordan Stewart, Dan Shittu, Jay DeMerit, Lloyd Doyley; Tommy Smith (McAnuff 72), Gavin Mahon [captain], John-Joe O'Toole, Adam Johnson; Marlon King, Darius Henderson (Ellington 72).

Subs: Scott Loach, Tamas Priskin, Adrian Mariappa, Nathan Ellington, Jobi McAnuff.

Bookings: Nil