CAPOUE CLINCHER PUTS RANGERS OUT
WATFORD became the first side through to the FA Cup quarter-finals last night as they avoided any slip-ups against Queens Park Rangers.
Etienne Capoue scored the only goal of the game in first-half stoppage time — a scruffy strike which turned out to be the visitors’ only shot on target.
Watford have never won the FA Cup but boss Javi Gracia has got them believing they can do something special this season.
This was an all-or-nothing Friday night tie at Loftus Road. No replays, no second chances, and QPR manager Steve McClaren treated the old competition with the dignity it deserves by picking an unchanged side. Watford made five changes, after making a wholesale 11 for their trip to Newcastle in the last round.
After 20 minutes, we had not seen a shot of any description. The only incident of note was a clash of heads between Matt Smith and Miguel Britos, which left both requiring medical attention.
That collision left Smith with a bandage wrapped around his head, but it did not deter him from making aerial challenges. He came close to finishing a Jake Bidwell cross that sat up nicely.
Watford managed their first shot shortly before the half-hour mark when Daryl Janmaat had a go with the outside of his foot. He sent it wide of Joe Lumley’s goal.
A volley from QPR’s Massimo Luongo then skimmed past Heurelho Gomes’s post as the hosts sensed an upset.
The game suffered another stoppage when Gomes, on his 38th birthday, came to collect a cross and was caught in the eye by Smith’s trailing arm.
His vision was immediately tested as Nahki Wells directed a delicate volley towards the far corner. Gomes got down to deny him with his fingertips. Watford, after a shoddy first-half showing, stole the lead in stoppage time. Did the 2,654 away fans care if it was deserved? Absolutely not.
A Tom Cleverley mis-hit found Capoue, who aimed for goal. The ball found its way through a mass of bodies and beat Lumley. It was an untidy finish to an untidy first half.
Watford had not looked like a side eighth in the Premier League table but they had the lead. This was QPR’s first FA Cup fifth-round tie since the 1996-97 season. In fact, it was 22 years to the day since they had suffered a 2-1 defeat by Wimbledon.
They last reached the quarterfinals in 1994-95, when they lost to Manchester United. It would take a big second half if they were going to turn things around here.
Christian Kabasele got away with an error in the 62nd minute when he tried to clear the danger but gifted the ball to Wells. With space to shoot, the 28-year- old, on loan from Burnley, curled an effort towards the far corner, but it went a yard wide.
You only had to look at Watford’s Twitter feed to understand the flow of the game. ‘We’re still under pressure,’ it reported, along with a worried-looking emoji.
The visitors came close to finishing QPR off, however, when Andre Gray beat Lumley after a throughball by Troy Deeney. The assistant flagged for offside. VAR was not available and television replays showed Gray had been onside.
QPR were winless in their last seven Championship fixtures and had lost their last five in succession. On paper, this should have been straightforward for the Premier League visitors.
Yet that is the beauty of the FA Cup. No matter the opponent, no matter what the form book says, the underdogs always stand a chance. The Championship side gave it a go, but fell just short.