Watford reserves thrive on Hunt error

Crystal Palace 0 Watford 1

Even with a side that bore little resemblance to that which will take the field at Villa Park on Sunday, Watford proved much too resilient for Crystal Palace last night. If it was a gentle warm-up they required for their FA Cup semi-final against Southampton, Watford found Palace obliging hosts at Selhurst Park.

The Watford manager Ray Lewington, formerly Palace's joint manager, made eight changes to the team which had begun Saturday's remarkable 7-4 victory at Burnley, but the greatly reshuffled visitors still stole the points. Somewhat fortuitously, they benefited from the second own goal to hit Palace in successive games but the hosts hardly helped themselves or, for that matter, their manager Trevor Francis, who suffered the crowd's wrath as he walked off at the end.

"We have fallen short of what I expected," Francis admitted. "I would have expected one or two of our senior players to have assisted the youngsters more than they did."

One of the youngsters, Ben Watson, made a promising debut that included an astute through pass to Dougie Freedman, which was whipped off the Scot's toes by Richard Lee, Watford's deputy goalkeeper, midway through the first half.

David Hunt, another product of the Palace academy, had the misfortune in only his second game of misheading Lee Cook's corner past his own goalkeeper Alex Kolinko, who had seen Tony Popovic do much the same on Saturday.

Watford's goal on the stroke of half-time followed a chance squandered by Michael Chopra. Lacking the confidence expected of a striker who had contributed four goals to Saturday's attacking fiesta, Chopra shot straight at Kolinko after racing on to a ball presented to him by Kit Symons' embarrassing lack of control.

The goalkeeper, spared another save by a wayward blast from Gifton Noel-Williams, had little else to do. But neither was Lee tested unduly at the other end by a Palace side who appeared to feel that luck had deserted them from the first minute, when Danny Butterfield's dipping volley from 25 yards bounced clear off an upright. Totally lacking in conviction, Palace possessed little of their mid-season sparkle.

With his dashes down the left the lively Cook was, in extreme contrast, just one Watford player giving his manager a selection dilemma for Sunday.

"I've got a very nice problem," said Lewington. "This was an ideal way to prepare, getting the points from my old club." Etiquette prevented him from saying how easy it was.

Crystal Palace (3-5-2): Kolinko; Mullins, Symons, Popovic; Watson (Thomson, 86), Butterfield, Hunt (Whelan, 60), Derry (Routledge, 46), Gray; Freedman, Adebola. Substitutes not used: Black, Berthelin (gk).

Watford (4-4-2): Lee; Mahon, Dyche, Brown, Robinson; Doyley, Hand, Johnson, Cook; Noel-Williams (Helguson, 72), Chopra (Norville, h-t). Substitutes not used: Chamberlain (gk), McNamee, Ifil.

Referee: A Hall (Birmingham).