Watford Under-23s were put to the sword by a ruthless QPR side as they fell to a 6-2 defeat at Vicarage Road.

Lias Chair’s opener and a brace apiece from Bright Osayi-Samuel and Aramide Oteh left the Hornets trailing by 5-0 at the half-time interval.

They pulled one back thanks to Ryan Cassidy’s volleyed strike early in the second half but Paul Smyth soon made it 6-1.

Ashley Charles provided a late crumb of consolation for the Hornets as he found the net in fine fashion with an 81st minute strike from outside the box.

The visitors were on top from start to finish and both Darren Sarll and Hayden Mullins still have plenty to work on with their young Watford charges.

Rangers really should have tested James Hoskins in the Watford goal with less than a minute on the clock when the pacey Osayi-Samuel raced clear on the left.

Having skipped beyond his marker and into the box, the wide man looked certain to hit the target from eight yards but lost his footing as he went to shoot and the chance went begging.

The Hornets settled after the early scare and were close to taking the lead themselves soon after as Michael Folivi showed his individual quality to fashion a chance.

Collecting the ball 20 yards from goal, the forward turned his marker with a delicate flick which allowed him to spin in behind and have a clear run at goal.

Folivi found QPR keeper Marcin Brozozowski in good form though as he came from his goal and made himself big to make a smart stop with his body.

An open game saw both sides come forward early on and Osayi-Samuel was involved once more in the 10th minute as he danced his way into the box.

After shifting the ball onto his left side he fired across the face of goal and a scrambling Watford defence was just able to clear as Chair closed in.

Chair was not to be denied moments later as he gave QPR the lead with a strike from the edge of the box which wrong-footed Hoskins.

The Watford keeper could count himself unlucky as the chance came after he had made a superb save to prevent Nico Hamalainen heading in from close range.

Rangers were quickest to react and recycled the ball to Chair who found the bottom corner at the near post after shaping as if he was aiming for the far.

The visitors were in truth good value for their lead and they doubled their advantage with 19 minutes on the clock after a sweeping counter attack.

A simple ball down the right took the Watford defence out of the game and a low cross into the box allowed Osayi-Samuel to tap home from six yards.

The goal was notable for the amount of ground QPR’s number 11 made up before scoring as he raced clear of Harry Hudson despite the defender having a considerable head start.

Any hopes Watford had of mounting a comeback were all but ended after half an hour when a shot from distance hit the arm of Joy Mukena in the box.

The referee wasted no time in giving what looked to be a slightly harsh award of a spot kick and Oteh did the rest from 12 yards, sliding the ball straight down the middle.

Three soon became four when Chair’s fine curling effort cannoned back off the post and landed at the feet of Oteh who gleefully turned in the rebound.

A miserable half ended with the Hornets trailing by five as a QPR came forward down the left and once again sliced through a static defence.

Osayi-Samuel was the man to find the net on this occasion, firing home via a deflection after a simple pull back from the impressive Chair.

Watford came out with renewed impetus after the break and grabbed a goal early in the second period after a spell pressure.

Having seen a succession of crosses cleared, the Hornets eventually managed to connect with a ball in from the right as Cassidy got free of his marker to volley in a simple finish.

The Hoops could well have restored their five goal advantage twice in the space of a minute but on both occasions Hoskins stood firm.

The keeper first saved well with his feet from Smyth’s effort and then got two strong hands to an fierce strike to divert the ball to safety.

Smyth would make no mistake with 55 minutes played as he collected the ball on the right and cut inside his defender to set up a one-on-one with Hoskins.

He was clinical with his finish on this occasion and found the bottom right corner with a left-footed shot which gave the Golden Boys’ number one little chance.

From then on the frenetic pace of the game subsided as Rangers controlled the ball and Watford tried with little success to find a way through.

They did, though, have the final say in matters as Charles scored arguably the goal of the game to find the top corner from 20 yards.

The Young Hornets will now hope a visit to Colchester United provides a more positive performance in weeks’ time.