Etienne Capoue’s goal
in first half stoppage time was enough the Premier League Watford to defeat Championship
Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road and take their place in the Quarter-Finals
of the Emirates FA Cup.
Watford have been having a decent season and sit eighth in
the Premier League as one of the ‘best of the rest’ after the top six, whilst hosts
QPR have plummeted from eighth to eighteenth after five straight losses in the Championship,
so this cup run for them at least was a welcome distraction to that.
QPR had disposed of fellow championship side Leeds United
and then League One Portsmouth in a replay to get this far, whilst Watford had
got the better of National League side Woking and also Premier League Newcastle
United to reach the Last 16.
Premier League sides are notorious for naming weakened sides
in this competition recently, but Watford see this as a terrific chance to
maybe get all the way, so they named a very strong side, and the home fans amongst
me at least were not very confident of victory and some were predicting a heavy
away win.
But this is the FA Cup so anything can happen right? Well I’m sure the majority of the sold-out
crowd at Loftus Road hoped for an upset anyway.
There were also no replays in the Fifth Road onwards this season so this
game would have to be settled right here right now.
The first chance of the game did fall to the visitors
although chances in the opening period were few and far between, especially for
the visitors, but the chance did see Daryl Janmaat poke over the bar on the
stretch, whilst the hosts, who were looking to breach the Hornet’s defence for
the first time in this year’s competition, saw Massimo Luongo fire just wide
after Heurelho Gomes had punched a cross straight to him.
And Gomes, who was celebrating his 38th birthday,
made a terrific save to deny the Hoops after a ball over the top from Luke
Freeman found Nahki Wells whose first-time volley was somehow tipped wide by
the Watford keeper.
It looked as though the half would end goalless though, but
in the first minute of stoppage time Watford struck with their only shot on
target when Tom Cleverley totally mis-kicked his volley across the box, but it
was a perfect tee-up for Capoue who sent a first-time effort into the bottom
corner of the net, and the Premier League side led at the break.
Half Time Queens Park
Rangers 0 Watford 1
The second period saw the Championship hosts really take the
game to their Premier League opponents, and Wells was presented with the ball
in a dangerous position after a poor defensive clearance, but he could only
curl wide of the upright.
QPR continued to press but could not find a way through and
as the half went on Watford were trying to punish them on the counter, and in
the 87th minute almost sealed the tie when Andre Gray was sent through
but was flagged offside as he rounded the keeper and slotted home, but replays
suggest he may have been level when the ball was played, so had their been VAR
then the goal may have stood.
The championship side though continued to press and search
for that elusive goal which would take the tie into extra-time, and boy should
they have found it late on as a ball to the back post found Darnell Furlong who
fizzed a volley across goal to the back-post where skipper Toni Leistner came
sliding in but somehow put his effort wide with the goal gaping, it was a
horror miss and it just wasn’t going to be QPR’s night.
The hosts had given it a right good go but fell short in the
end, and Watford had put in a determined performance and had to dig deep in
this one to keep yet another clean sheet in the FA Cup but also win through to
the Last Eight of the competition.
Full Time Queens Park
Rangers 0 Watford 1
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