5:11pm Saturday 29th December 2007
By Anthony Matthews
WATFORD's crisis of results at Vicarage Road plunged to new depths this afternoon (Saturday) after they crashed to a 4-2 defeat against Queens Park Rangers.
The game was effectively over by half-time after the counter-attacking visitors had capitalised on some alarming defensive failings in the Hornets rearguard to race into a 3-0 lead courtesy of two Martin Rowlands goals, including a penalty, and a Damion Stewart header.
A Damien Francis header at the start of the second-half, which had suspicions of an own goal about it, gave the Hornets hope, but Akos Buzsaky ensured it would be seven games without a win at Vicarage Road for the home side before Dan Shittu netted a late consolation.
In truth, the margin of victory flattered the visitors - they had eight goal attempts to Watford's 23 - but the nature of this setback raised serious questions about the home side's organisation, as well as their already very brittle confidence.
Boothroyd made two changes from the side that snatched a last-gasp draw with Cardiff City on Saturday, one of which was particularly significant with Darius Henderson replacing Marlon King. The other saw Lee Williamson replace John-Joe O'Toole in the centre of the park.
Rangers boss Luigi De Canio was always going to have make one adjustment following Mikele Leigertwood's dismissal in the 2-1 defeat at Plymouth Argyle, but the boss decided on four in total. Buzsaky, Simon Walton and Rowan Vine all dropped to the bench and in came Damion Stewart, back after suspension, Angelo Balanta, Marc Nygaard and Dexter Blackstock.
After making a hash of the kick-off, Watford looked to push on from the first whistle and Williamson had the first shot of the afternoon blocked in the third minute. Soon after, a stooping Nathan Ellington headed a Jobi McAnuff cross from the right back across goal and wide of Lee Camp's left-hand post.
However, the Hornets suffered a couple of minor concerns in the opening minutes with both Ellington and McAnuff picking up knocks, but, more worryingly, the pair were soon joined by Richard Lee after he went to gather a ball under pressure from Nygaard. After receiving treatment though, the keeper was fine to continue.
The game continued to be played in the Rangers half and after ten minutes McAnuff swung in a dangerous cross from a short corner which only needed a touch. Next, Williamson threaded a ball through to Francis inside the Rangers box, but he could only prod a shot straight at Camp.
But the Hornets' promising start came to a grinding halt after 12 minutes when Jordan Stewart was adjudged to have bundled over Blackstock in the penalty area and referee Chris Foy had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Amazingly, this was the first free-kick of the game, but Rowlands made no mistake, sending Lee the wrong way to his left to make it 1-0.
The Hornets sought an instant response, with Henderson sending a downward header from the home side's third corner of the match wide. Then in the 19th minute, Ellington sent an angled snap-shot from the left side of the area over the top after Tommy Smith had knocked the ball down into his path.
The home side continued to pile on the pressure, with Henderson and Francis both seeing shots blocked in a melee, before the latter managed to open up a clear sight of goal, but, again, could only help it through to Camp.
However, the visitors then had a decent spell of their own, forcing a string of three corners, the third of which saw Lee claw the ball behind after Blackstock had hooked the ball goalwards. But from the fourth set-piece, the visitors, incredibly in the context of the game, doubled their lead, with Damion Stewart getting free at the near post to thump a header in off the underside of bar after 29 minutes.
The bizarre nature of the exchanges continued five minutes later when Lloyd Doyley picked up the game's first yellow card after catching the ball, presumably after hearing what he thought was the referee's whistle.
The first audible mutterings of discontent came from the home faithful two minutes later when Jordan Stewart scuffed a free-kick routine wide of Camp's near post from 22 yards, before Francis half-volleyed over the top after Henderson had knocked down another set-piece.
But Watford's first-half nightmare assumed horror proportions after 40 minutes when, from a cross-field move started by Rowlands on the right, Blackstock's flick-on bisected the Hornets defence and the Rangers midfielder continued his run to finish superbly with a left-footed volley on the turn to make it 3-0.
Soon after though, the Hornets nearly gave themselves a lifeline when Williamson struck a fine curling shot from the edge of the area that beat Camp, rebounded off the keeper's right-hand post, struck the keeper on the back, but cannoned wide. Then McAnuff unleashed a cross-cum-shot from the right side of the area that struck Henderson in the six-yard box and rebounded behind although, admittedly, the striker didn't know a lot about it.
Nygaard picked up the vistors' first yellow card as the game entered the first of four minutes of first-half stoppage-time for a foul on Williamson, but as the interval whistle blew there was the loudest chorus of sustained boos directed at the Hornets so far after 45 minutes this season.
The Watford boss was always likely to make a change at the interval and so it proved, with Shittu replacing Matt Jackson.
The Hornets, predictably, started the second period on the front foot and following several dangerous crosses they gave themselves hope after 51 minutes. After a corner from the right, Francis' goalbound header was blocked on the line by Zesh Rehman, but he only succeeded in hitting the ball against Camp and it rebounded back into his own net to make it 3-1.
Chris Barker picked up a needless yellow card for dissent after 56 minutes before the visitors made their first change seven minutes later, with Vine replacing Gareth Ainsworth. Boothroyd followed suit soon after by bringing on King for Ellington.
And within 90 seconds of entering the fray, the substitute could have had a goal, but he fired wide off the target from the left side of the area after Henderson had laid the ball back to him following an over-hit Smith cross.
Buzsaky came on for Balanta with 17 minutes remaining before the Hornets had a half-hearted penalty appeal turned down when King was sent tumbling in the box. Smith was then booked for a foul on Rowlands.
It almost got interesting with 12 minutes left when Smith's ball in from the right broke for McAnuff on the left side of the area. He connected well with a first-time shot which looked to have surprised Camp, but the keeper still managed to beat the ball to safety.
Boothroyd played his final card moments later, bringing on O'Toole for Doyley, but soon after it was game over. Smith was totally asleep when Buzsaky ran off him to receive a pass from the right, and the Hungarian replacement rounded Lee and kept his calm to make it 4-1.
That was the signal for a mass exodus from the home faithful, while the ecstatic away fans burst into a chorus of "Can we play you every week."
However, the Hornets weren't quite finished and following a game of head tennis in the Rangers area, King nodded the ball sideways to Shittu, who rammed the ball between Camp and the near post to make it 4-2.
Straight from the kick-off through, Rangers' worked the ball through to Blackstock, who homed in on the target and would have at least tested Lee had not it been for a fine intervention from Jay DeMerit.
And Blackstock should have made it five with two minutes when he left Williamson for dead and broke in from the left side of the area, rolled the ball wide of Lee but also the far post.
And, apart from an O'Toole shot, that was the last meaningful action of Watford's fifth defeat in seven at home, and one suspects the only reason the boos for the home side were not louder at the end was because around half of the Hornets' contingent had already decided enough was enough.
Watford: Lee; Doyley (O'Toole, 79), DeMerit, Jackson (Shittu, 46), J Stewart; Smith, Williamson, Francis, McAnuff, Henderson, Ellington (King, 68). Not used: Mariappa and Ainsworth.
Queens Park Rangers: Camp; Malcolm, D Stewart, Rehman, Camp; Ainsworth (Vine, 63), Bolder, Rowlands, Balanta (Buzsaky, 73); Nygaard (Walton, 90), Balckstock. Not used: Moore and Cole.
Bookings: Doyley for handball after 34 mins; Nygaard for a foul on Williamson after 44 mins; Barker for dissent after 56 mins; Smith for a foul on Rowlands after 74 mins.
Attendance: 18,698.
Referee: Chris Foy.
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