Watford 2 Crystal Palace 0: Shittu rises to leave Watford on a high

As the final whistle neared, the patient Vicarage Road fans felt safe to start the chant: "We're going to win at home."

Watford's first victory here since 20 October may have had something to do with the magic of the Cup. It certainly had something to do with the mighty forehead of the 6ft 4in centre half Danny Shittu, who scored two goals to take his side into the fourth round in his last game before joining up with Nigeria for the African Nations Cup.

In the wake of Dave Kitson's comments about the desirability of competing in the FA Cup, Palace's manager Neil Warnock appeared to have aligned himself with the Reading striker, albeit that he expressed himself with more decorum.

"I have to admit this is not a priority for us," said Warnock on the eve of a match in which he drafted several promising teenagers into the team. He finished more than satisfied by the efforts of 17-year-olds Lee Hills and Scott Scannell, and his precocious 15-year-old midfielder John Bostock, although he was less than happy with the way in which Shittu had been allowed to do his worst from corners in the 28th and 65th minutes.

Watford's manager Aidy Boothroyd shrugged aside the idea that a long-awaited win had been predictable given Warnock's accent on youth. "We were at home, so the answer to that is no," Boothroyd said. "The fact that we have won at home is a big monkey off our back, and I'm most pleased for our fans who have had the good humour to stick with us."

Palace began impressively as Watford got off to a jittery start that was not hard to understand given that their previous seven home games had yielded them just two points, and home keeper Richard Lee struggled to divert a speculative 35-yard free-kick from Ben Watson away via the bar in the 24th minute.

But the former Palace midfielder Jobi McAnuff predictably booed by the visiting supporters proved to be a key player for the home side as his goalward runs set up the two corners from which Shittu profited to lift his current goals total to seven. As Boothroyd commented, not bad for a defender.

Asked how such a threat could be contained, the Palace manager responded: "Watch our next game against them. If he scores then, I'll buy you a drink."