Harry Kewell took control of just his second match as Watford under 21 head coach, with the Aussie slumping to yet another defeat after losing to Maidenhead 3-0 last weekend, and now suffered a second managerial defeat as they felt the blow of a 2-1 defeat at the hands of QPR as the young hornets rounded off pre-season prior to their first league outing against Sheffield Wednesday which takes place on Monday.
Nathan Gartside began the game in between the sticks replacing the usual number one Rene Gilmartin. Jorrell Johnson, Josh Doherty, and Essaid Belkalem retained their spots in the team that suffered a hammering defeat to Maidenhead, while Tommie Hoban made up the back four, replacing Charlie Rowan at right back.
Jacob Cook lost his place in the heart of the midfield, with Conor Smith joining George Byers in the two holding roles in the 4-2-3-1 system. The talented trio of Dennon Lewis, Bernard Mensah, and Mahlondo Martin began behind the striker, as they used their intricate build up and frightening pace to excite the fans watching on. Alex Jakubiak started again as the lone striker following some impressive cameo's throughout pre-season.
Mensah impresses
The ever exciting Mensah didn’t disappoint as his lung busting run culminated with the Ghanaian number 10 hitting the floor without the reward of the referee pointing to the penalty spot. However, that didn’t discourage Mensah, as he saw his long range effort crash against the crossbar.
After much dominance that the young hornets had through the first half, Kewell's side did endure pressure in the final minutes of the first half, although the highly inexperienced Gartside came to the Golden Boy's rescue.
The second half continued in much of the same fashion, with Dennon Lewis' pace causing the QPR defense many problems. Watford were finally rewarded for their fine display against this strong R's side, when Mensah easily netted to make it 1-0 on the 66th minute.
Late winner
With the clock ticking towards the 90th minute mark, there was still time for QPR to snatch the two late goals and steal the spoils, with an own goal from an unnamed Watford substitute who was on trial which was then followed by a late strike from an unnamed QPR substitute who was also on trial.
Despite the loss, Watford were quite impressive, and will be hoping to continue their form with their league opener against Sheffield Wednesday just around the corner, with the opening encounter taking place on Monday.