ANTHONY McNAMEE's overhead kick was enough to dump woeful West Ham out of the FA Cup and book Watford a place in the fifth round.

West Ham were a shadow of the side which reached the final last year, with such verve and invention. They dominated the second half but could not conjure any clearcut openings as Watford sat back and held on to their lead.

Without any first-choice centre-halfs in a patched-up back four that saw Lucas Neill make his debut, West Ham actually started the brighter and rattled the Watford woodwork in the opening minute.

Carlton Cole harried Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster into conceding a corner, and Bobby Zamora rose unmarked to head Luis Boa Morte's delivery on to the bar.

In a dreadful game however, the standard of football was poor. There was no pace or flow as Watford punted the ball forward and West Ham struggled to string any passes together.

And eventually, Watford's tactics paid off, taking advantage of calamitous defending in the West Ham box.

Roy Carroll rose above Christian Dailly and Darius Henderson but missed his punch and the ball fell to McNamee, whose acrobatic effort beat the retreating John Spector.

Laying siege to the Watford goal from then on, the Hammers however lacked anyone who could put their foot on the ball or spot an opening. Everything was frantic, uncultured and, ultimately, unsuccessful.