Read David Hytner's match report
Deeney and Capoue speak
Capoue: “I enjoyed the goal. But it was about team-work. We worked all week for this game and we did it. We’re so proud.”
Deeney: “It was Cup final for them. We didn’t want to be the ones to go out so we did it professionally. We were in control for a lot of it but weren’t dominating play and were getting a bit sloppy at times in the first half. But we talked about that at half-time and got better ... We’re not playing the best at the minute but we’re grinding it out. We’ve got character and resolve and when we’re on it, we’re a tough team to beat.”
Full-time: QPR 0-1 Watford
Watford are into the last eight of the FA Cup thanks to Etienne Capoue’s goal just before half-time. It was not a swaggering performance by the Premier League team, who enjoyed a couple of let-offs against a reasonable QPR side in a generally scrappy affair. But none of that will bother Javi Gracia, whose one step closer to ending Watford’s long, long wait for a trophy.
90+2 min: Deeney holds the ball up down the far end of the pitch and then wins a freekick near the corner flag. Watford are killing this.
90 min: There will be at least four more minutes ...
90 min: Watford use a corner to waste a few seconds.
88 min: Doucouré booked for pulling down Osayi-Samuel. That gives QPR a freekick in a dangerous crossing position on the left. Their whole team pile forward, except for the keeper. Freeman curls it towards the penalty spot. It’s allowed to bounce across to Furlong, who fires the ball across the face of goal. Leistner slides in at the back post ... and steers it wide from two yards!
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87 min: Lovely play by Watford around the QPR box, with Quina, Hughes and Deeney all involved before Deeney’s unleashed a shot from 15 yards. Leistner blocked it.
QPR substitution: Osayi-Samuel on, Hall off.
Watford substitution: Quina on, Cleverley off.
82 min: Watford have dropped deep, protecting their lead with the confidence that QPR won’t be able to open them up. Let’s see if they’re right.
80 min: Cleverley threads a pass through to Deeney, who can’t get it under control. If he had done so, he would have had a shooting opportunity from 20 yards.
78 min: Holebas overhits a freekick from the left.
75 min: Mariappa’s first involvement results in a booking for clonking into Freeman on half-way.
Watford substitutions: Doucouré and Mariappa on, Gray and Sema off
72 min: Deeney bisects the home defence with a pass from in the hole. Gray rounds the keeper and rolls into the net... but the flag is up for offside. That was a tight call and the only replay doesn’t give conclusive evidence either way.
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QPR substitutions: Hemed and Eze on, Wells and Wszolek off.
71 min: Freeman floats a corner towards the far post. Leistner heads wide.
69 min: Holebas’s corner is cleared to the edge of the area. Cleverly hits the bouncing ball from the edge of the D but fails to keep it down. Over the bar it flies.
68 min: Sema wins a corner after a strong and tricky run down the left.
64 min: Good stuff from QPR. They’ve got the upper hand in midfield, with Freeman, Cousin and Luongo all picking nice passes. It’s only when they get near the box that the hosts’ attacks unravel. But Watford would be ill-advised to rely on that for the rest of the game. The Premier League side need to perk up pronto.
63 min: Kabasele makes a bad mistake at the back, passing straight to Wells. The forward takes a few touches and then tries to curl one around the defender and into the bottom corner from 23 yards. But he doesn’t get enough bend on it and the ball droops wide. And he had better options, too, with a teammates either side of him. McClaren holds his head in his hands, dismayed at the opportunity wasted.
61 min: QPR apply pressure and Watford look a little panicky at the back but eventually hoof the ball to safety.
59 min: Hughes manhandled to the ground by Bidwell, giving Watford a freekick wide on the right. Cleverley delivers. Furlong heads clear at the back post.
57 min: QPR are not out of this. Freeman and Cousins are making plenty of gains in midfield and Smith is an ever-present danger up front. The match is showing signs of opening up and you get the feeling there’ll be another goal - and it could go either way.
55 min: Watford show some life for the first time in the second period, Gray and Hughes combining well down the right before Janmaat hoists in a cross. Lumley catches.
53 min: Cousins bangs a long diagonal ball towards Smith, who, yet again, wins it. He heads down for Freeman, whose lets fly from 22 yards. It whizzes several yards wide.
52 min: Freeman, with a freekick from the left, deposits the ball into the centre. Gomes punches it well clear under pressure.
51 min: A miskick by Hughes prevents Watford from triggering a counter-attack. That’s symptomatic of a lot of their play so far.
49 min: It’s still very scrappy. Watford are in front but have not played particularly well.
47 min: Raners look long for Smith again. He doesn’t let them down, outmuscling two defenders to nod the ball back to Freeman at the edge of the area. But Freeman slips as he unloads his shot, sending the ball bouncing way wide.
46 min: Watford get the second half under way. There were no substitutions during the break.
Half-time: QPR 0-1 Watford
The home side contained their Premier League visitors well for most of the first half and had the better of the few chances - cross from the flanks to Smith, mainly - until a chaotic corner on the stroke of half-time led to Capoue opening the scoring. Watford will fancy their chances of seeing this out from here, but let’s not discount the possibility of Steve McClaren masterminding a comeback ...
45+3 min: Pandemonium in the Watford box following a QPR corner until Smith is penalised for jumping into Gomes.
GOAL! QPR 0-1 Watford (Capoue 45+1)
Holebas’s cross from the left is headed behind for a corner. Holesbas sends it towards Kabasele at the back post, but Leistner heads it behind for another corner on the far side. The outswinger reaches Cleverley at the edge of the box. His mis-hits his volley but the ball runs to Capoue, who sweeps a low shot through seeral bodies and into the net from 10 yards!
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45 min: Hughes bursts into the QPR box before Leistner steps in to relieve him of the ball.
44 min: Kabasele launches a long ball forward but Rangers deal with it easily. Watford have been grievously short of ideas.
41 min: Freeman intercepts a pass deep in his own territory and then storms forwards before sending a looping pass to Wells, who aims low for the bottom corner from the edge of the box. Gomes plunges to his left to tip it around the post!
40 min: Another break in play for a player to receive treatment. This time it’s Gomes, who got a face in the eye from Smith as both challenged for an aerial ball.
39 min: Smith flicks on a long boot-out by the keeper to Wells, who takes it down on his chest and then tees up Smith for a bang from 20 yards. Britos makes a terrific block.
38 min: Freeman crosses from the let and finds Smith in total isolation for once! The strikers gets his header all wrong, nodding several yards wide from the edge of the six-yard box! Then the replay shows that the reason he had such freedom is because he was offside.
36 min: Whenever QPR attack, Freeman is involved. This time he helps the ball wide to Wells on the left. The winger aims instantly for Smith in the middle. Watford clear with difficulty.
34 min: It’s scrappy. Watford have had most of the ball but have not demonstrated their supposed superiority where it really matters. Rangers have defended well.
31 min: Gomes, attempting to welly clear after a back pass, slices the ball out for a corner. Freeman curls it into the danger zone. Gomes punches it to the edge of the box, where Luongo takes one touch to tee himself up for a volley, which he sends a yard wide!
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29 min: Watford build down the right, Hughes rolls a pass to Sema in the box. He looks set to shoot from 16 yards until Bidwell pokes the ball of his foot with an excellent sliding tackle. Janmaat tries to fire towards goal from the edge of the area but smacks it a couple of yards over. The first shot of the game.
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28 min: QPR have a freekick wide on the right. Freeman, a deadball ace, curls it towards the back post. But it’s easy picking for Gomes.
27 min: QPR attack down the left this time. Bidwell curls over a very inviting cross. Smith fancies it ... but Holebas does exceptionally well to get to it first and head clear.
26 min: QPR work the ball wide to Wszolek on the right again - a clear strategy. Wszolek duly hoists a cross into the box towards Smith. Gomes knew it was coming and was on hand to clutch it out of the sky before the striker could reach it.
24 min: Luongo works the ball wide to Wszolek, who clips in a cross from the right. But Smith had ventured offside so Watford get the freekick. Still no shots in this game, nor even a corner.
22 min: Holebas aims a long high diagonal ball into the box. Deeney gets the nod-down but Hall steps in to clear.
20 min: Watford continue to lord it in terms of possession but they’ve yet to make any inroads into the deep and disciplined home defence.
18 min: Play has resumed. Smith is now sporting a thick white bandage around his bonce.
16 min: While both players continue to receive treatment, the TV camera pans around the ground showing the fans. It’s an even split between those typing on their mobile phones and those making vivid gestures to rival supporters. Either way, everyone’s fingers are busy.
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14 min: There’s a pause to allow medical attention for two players - Smith and Britos - following a clash of heads in the Watford box.
12 min: Hughes wins the ball on the right wing, half-way inside the Rangers’ half. Then he scoops the ball over a defender and into the path of Gray, but the forward can’t get it under control.
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9 min: Kabasele steps in to usher Wells off the ball as the winger tried to wriggle free down the right. Power and authority from the defender.
6 min: QPR rumble forward for the first time, Freeman picking out Wszoleck down the right. The wingback sends a cross towards Smith, who manages to send a weak effort bobbling towards goal from 15 yards. He did well, in fairness, to hold off several defenders before doing so.
4 min: Steady possession by Watford before Janmaat looks for Gray in the right-hand channel. The striker gets to the ball first but then misdirects his cross, slicing it out of play under pressure.
2 min: Watford are trying to get the ball down and zip it around but Rangers have done a good job of tampering with those plans so far, with Leistner and Wszolek making some strong early tackles to win the ball back.
1 min: We have kickoff! QPR do the necessary.
Kickoff is preceded by a minute’s applause for Gordon Banks.
The teams are in the tunnel. QPR are clad in their famous hoops, while Watford are wearing green in memory of the first part of Declan Rice’s international career.
“It’s absolute nonsense that there are no more replays from this stage of the competition,” storms David Wall. “People keep making and suggesting changes to the format of the cup, all supposedly with the aim of restoring its previous status. If that is the real aim then a better approach would be to adopt the format it used to have rather than keep cutting things back. So that would mean no penalty shoot outs, potentially endless replays, neutral, non-Wembley semi-finals, and 3pm kick off for the final. And if teams want to field weakened sides then that’s up to them (and it’s something they have always done if they’ve had to prioritise a relegation or title fight, for instance, or because of injuries, it’s nothing new). Those teams will lose eventually, often in an embarrassing fashion to lower division sides. It’s supposed to be the FA challenge cup, implying it’s difficult to win. So make it difficult rather than trying to make it easier. That’s what devalues the cup (if it really is devalued).”
Steve McClaren: “WE’ve got to compete first, make sure we stay in the game in the first 15 minutes. I think the key is Deeney and Gray up front - can our back three handle them? Our wingbacks should be our outlet ... we like to transition well and in the last weeks we’ve also got crosses into the box for Matt Smith.” He also says that his team practiced penalties yesterday just in case this tie goes all the way. “But after yesterday’s penalties I hope it doesn’t go to that!” he quips.
Javi Gracia has been chatting to BT Sport about this team selection: “We’ve tried to chose the best option. With the players we have on the pitch we can get a good performance. All of the squad is ready and all deserve a chance to play. If you have good players who work hard, then you have the options to compete well in all competitions. All the players have high commitment and want to play.”
As for the specifics of this game, he says: “We have to start playing with a very demanding attitude. In this stadium you have to defend well against setpieces and be ready for second balls. We are ready.”
Teams
Javi Gracia fielded entirely second-strong sides in the previous rounds but here he has made fewer changes - just the five from their last Premier League outing. The home team, meanwhile, field exactly the same side that began Tuesdays 2-1 defeat at Bristol City.
QPR: Lumley, Furlong, Leistner, Hall, Wszolek, Cousins, Luongo, Freeman, Bidwell, Wells, Smith
Subs: Ingram, Kakay, Scowen, Manning, Osayi-Samuel, Eze, Hemed
Watford: Gomes; Jaanmat, Kabasele, Britos, Holebas; Hughes, Capoue, Cleverley, Sema; Deeney, Gray
Subs: Dahlberg, Mariappa, Navarro, Doucouré, Quina, Deulofeu, Penaronda
Referee: M Oliver
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Preamble
Welcome to the first of this season’s fifth-round duels to the death: there’ll be no replays from this point on so this contest will be decided today, in normal time, in extra-time or by shootout. One way or another, we’re going to have ourselves a winner.
What a chance this is, then, for one of these clubs to reach the quarter-finals of a tournament that neither has ever won (though both did reach a final in the 1980s). And they’re got nothing much else on this season: QPR are 18th in the Championship but not really at risk of relegation despite losing their last five league matches, while Watford are eighth in the Premier League, with, admittedly, a possibility of clinching a Europa League place, which would be nice. But not as nice as landing the first major trophy in the club’s history, right?
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