Queens Park Rangers 1-0 Watford: home side earn first win under Gareth Ainsworth
- Published
QPR's win lifts them one place in the Championship table to 19th
Queens Park Rangers earned their first victory under boss Gareth Ainsworth and ended a 13-game winless run by condemning Watford to defeat in Chris Wilder's first match in charge.
Tim Iroegbunam did well to slide the ball into the far corner for QPR's decisive goal, with the 19-year-old's winner an early setback in Wilder's tenure after he took over from Slaven Bilic just four days earlier.
Watford struggled to create chances to equalise, with Imran Louza wasting their best opportunity when he headed wide from a Joao Pedro cross with 20 minutes remaining.
In a frenzied finish, Pedro had a penalty claim ignored when he went down in the area, while Sinclair Armstrong was kept out by Daniel Bachmann at the other end.
Ainsworth's first win as QPR head coach follows two defeats in two games since deciding to leave Wycombe Wanderers for the club he spent almost seven years with as a player.
Defeat in Chris Wilder's first game in charge leaves Watford 10th in the table
Wilder said his appointment as Bilic's replacement at Watford was a "whirlwind" and that his new side would need to "take the handbrake off" in their bid for promotion after earning only one win from their previous eight games.
With only two shots on target at Loftus Road, in a defeat that sees the Hornets slip six points adrift of the play-off places, the performance highlights the work Wilder needs to do if his side are to challenge for an immediate return to the Premier League.
Wilder made two changes to the side that drew with Preston in Bilic's final match in charge, with Mario Gaspar and Keinan Davis coming in to start.
QPR striker Lyndon Dykes started on his return from pneumonia, having missed seven games after being admitted to hospital in January.
Before beating Watford, QPR had gone 84 days between wins and Ainsworth was talking defiantly about where they stand in the relegation battle - having started the day two places and seven points above the bottom three.
Those worries were eased somewhat after a bright start from the hosts produced an excellent opener from Aston Villa loanee Iroegbunam, who slid the ball beyond Hornets goalkeeper Bachmann after drifting into the box.
QPR pressed for a second before the break, with Osman Kakay and Dykes both threatening, while Watford were limited in response.
A free-kick from Louza - easily dealt with by Rangers keeper Seny Dieng - was the only effort Watford managed to get on target before the break.
Jeers were heard from Watford supporters when the players walked off at half-time, and while the Hornets improved after the break they failed to rescue anything from Wilder's first game in the dugout.
A 'real big moment' for Ainsworth - reaction
QPR head coach Gareth Ainsworth told BBC Radio London:
"It's a real big moment for me to get that first win.
"I'm really proud of the boys today, they gave me absolutely everything.
"They have probably surprised themselves. It's great to say because some of the performances have been wanting to come out and waiting to come out, and it's just giving them the platform for it to come out.
"I thought they were awesome today, every single player."
Watford boss Chris Wilder told BBC Three Counties Radio:
"It's not the start I wanted or the travelling supporters wanted, and I should imagine the players as well.
"We knew what we were coming into with the lead-up time to the first game - it wasn't the ideal one.
"They played in a way that was successful for them. When we broke it up we didn't do enough with the ball, we weren't creative enough, weren't brave enough in terms of our decision-making, and we turned the ball over too many times."