Watford progressed to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with a hard-earned 1-0 victory over QPR, despite being outplayed at Loftus Road.
Although their team selection again appeared to show a club for whom the competition is not a priority, Etienne Capoue's gift of a goal put Watford to within one victory of reaching the final four at Wembley - after their Championship hosts had wasted enough chances to build a convincing lead.
Against a near full-strength team that had lost their past five league fixtures, Watford manager Javi Gracia made five changes to his starting XI from the weekend win over Everton, resting Ben Foster, Craig Cathcart, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Gerard Deulofeu and Adrian Mariappa.
He had previously made 11 when winning against Newcastle and Woking in previous rounds.
It was in the first minute of first-half stoppage time that, against the run of play, the visitors fortuitously took the lead.
Jose Holebas' left-wing corner found Tom Cleverley at close range and the midfielder's complete mis-hit landed in the path of Capoue, who then optimistically swung at goal and watched as the ball bounced and crept beyond Joe Lumley's reach and in.
The hosts dominated in the second half and created their clearest chance in the 88th minute, but their failure to score summed up their evening.
Darnell Furlong met a deep cross at the back post and sent it back across the face of goal to Toni Leistner who was free on the left. The defender slid in on a near-open goal, but somehow missed from a yard out (below).
Opta stats
- Queens Park Rangers have lost six of their last eight games in all competitions (W1 D1), after a run of six games unbeaten directly before that (W4 D2).
- Watford have kept five clean sheets in their last six games in all competitions, as many shut-outs as they managed in their previous 24.
- Watford have won eight of their last nine FA Cup ties against sides from a lower division, losing only against Millwall in the fourth round in 2016-17.
- Etienne Capoue’s winner came courtesy of Watford’s only shot on target of the game
- Four of Etienne Capoue’s last five goals for Watford have come in cup competitions (2 FA Cup, 2 League Cup, 1 Premier League).
Follow Sporting Life on social media - find us on Facebook here or tweet @SportingLifeFC
Related football links
