Etienne Capoue’s goal in first-half stoppage time on Friday was enough to give Watford a 1-0 win away to Queens Park Rangers (QPR) that saw the Hornets into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
Both sides had opportunities in an even opening period that belied the fact that Watford are eighth in the Premier League and QPR 18th in the second-tier Championship following a run of five straight league defeats.
“I enjoyed the goal,” Capoue told BT Sport. “It was teamwork. We worked all the way through the game. We are so proud.”
Photo: Reuters
Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes marked his 38th birthday with several fine saves, as QPR’s Matt Smith and Nahki Wells went close for the west London club.
However, Daryl Janmaat had a good chance for Watford, the losing finalists in the 1984 FA Cup final, before the visitors took the lead when French midfielder Capoue, inside the box, volleyed into the far corner through a crowd of players following a corner-kick.
Watford should have doubled their lead with fewer than 20 minutes left.
Troy Deeney played in Andre Gray and the striker rounded the goalkeeper before finishing into an empty net, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside.
Replays showed that it should have stood but, in the absence of a video assistant referee, the score remained 1-0.
QPR, beaten finalists in the 1982 FA Cup final, almost equalized late on, but Toni Leistner missed an open goal as he slid in at the back post.
That was as good as it got for QPR, managed by former England boss Steve McClaren.
“We’re not far way,” McClaren told the BBC. “We are close, we just need the rub of the green.”
The remainder of the fifth-round ties were to take place yesterday, as well as today and tomorrow, when FA Cup holders Chelsea play Manchester United in a repeat of last season’s final.
With one of the Premier League’s big guns bound to go out, tomorrow’s draw for the sixth round could yet favor Watford.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
A man fell from the 6.4m-high Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park in Pittsburgh during Wednesday night’s game between the Pirates and the Chicago Cubs. Right after Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run double in the seventh inning to put the Pirates ahead 4-3, players began waving frantically for medical personnel and pointing to the man, who had fallen onto the warning track. The fan was tended to for approximately five minutes by members of both the Pirates and Cubs training staffs as well as PNC personnel before being removed from the field on a cart. The team issued a statement shortly
PAINFUL VICTORY: Ruud said that felt pain in his rib during the warmup and was put on painkillers so that he could finish the match against Argentine Francisco Cerundolo With the help of painkillers, Casper Ruud overcame a rib ailment to defeat Francisco Cerundolo in straight sets and reach the Madrid Open final on Friday. Ruud is to face Jack Draper, who beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the other semi-final to make his third final of the year. Ruud received treatment on his rib three games into the match and went on to win 6-4, 7-5 on the Caja Magica center court. The 15th-ranked Norwegian saved 15 of the 18 break points he faced against the 21st-ranked Argentine. Ruud said he felt something in his rib during the warmup, just before
RSS