QPR beat Watford 2-1 in a lacklustre display by the Hornets as their season looks down and out.
QPR moved level on points with Watford, whilst the Hornets moved down a place into tenth position, eight points behind the play-off spots.
Watford were found vulnerable and easily carved open in behind, and especially on the wing in the first half of football.
A chance came in the first 39 seconds, where the Hornets were easily carved apart by a ball in behind to Mbengue, who was deemed to have fouled Petris before putting the ball in the net.
Watford had no fit full-backs heading into today’s game, and it was costly for the Hornets this afternoon.
The goal eventually came after Harvey Vale’s cross hit the bar before the ball came back into the box, where Kevin Keben didn’t track the run, and Mattie Pollock and Saba Goglichidze were left ball watching, allowing Kolli to head into an empty net.
In the second half, the Hornets wanted an improved showing; however, that didn’t come about.
Watford struggled to find any space in the game, with QPR dominant from start to finish, not allowing the Hornets any time to control the ball.
The second goal was sloppy defending once again, with Ed Still’s side being carved open easily, where an error from Kevin Keben allowed Smyth to comfortably finish.
Watford had not posed a real threat until the 80th minute, when they began to find space in the wide positions.
Kwadwo Baah was the real bright spark after coming back from injury off the bench, in the 72nd minute, where he later won a free kick in a dangerous area.
The resultant free kick was taken by Imran Louza and hammered home beautifully; however, it all seemed to be too late after offering nothing to shout about until then.
Chances did flow late on, with a Kjerrumgaard header going over the bar and a Nabizada cross being pushed wide by Walsh.
There’s no doubt Watford did push for that equaliser; however, the Hornets failed to cause QPR a problem all throughout the game, which cost them the chance of earning at least a point.
Watford headed into this game with many injury issues to worry about, which could cause them problems.
And indeed it did, with no fit full-backs, meaning Jeremy Petris had to play in an unfamiliar position at left back, whilst central defender Keben played at right back.
James Abankwah hobbled off in Ireland’s Tuesday night fixture and missed this afternoon’s clash.
His replacement, Goglichidze, struggled in this game today, making some dodgy tackles and looked shaky with his clearances, which several QPR players were able to exploit.
Jeremy Ngakia has been a huge presence at right back and looked like a big miss on Friday. Keben looked off the pace and was unnoticeable in that position, struggling to find a way into the game.
Attacking outlets looked depleted with Nestory Irankunda and Giorgi Chakvetadze unable to offer any goalscoring chance.
Friday’s defeat showed we are missing Othmane Maamaa, having four goals and one assist, adding pace and ability to scare a defence which was lacking today.
Another key injury in the attack includes Rocco Vata, out until the end of the season, who had two goals and two assists before his injury and was a handful for defences when on the wing.
Watford will be looking for a much-improved performance against Charlton Athletic on Easter Monday.
