Watford finally get revenge on Crystal Palace to progress to FA Cup semi-finals 

Andre Gray celebrates scoring for Watford
Andre Gray scored what turned out to be the winning goal just 121 seconds after coming off the bench Credit: getty images

It had been a long time coming, but finally Watford have their revenge. After losing to Crystal Palace in the 2013 Championship play-off final and the 2016 FA Cup semi-final, they have made it past their bogey team. As the crowd sang loud at the final whistle, Javi Gracia’s side are on their way to Wembley. And in the process they have consigned Roy Hodgson to another season without an FA Cup semi-final appearance.

In truth, the chances of the veteran manager breaking his duck had looked in doubt from the moment the teams were announced. Palace arrived in Hertfordshire without Wilfried Zaha, who was suffering from a sore hamstring.

“Quality is very hard to replace,” was Hodgson’s forlorn analysis.

How Palace could have done with their talisman on a day when a capricious wind whipped around Vicarage Road. From the kick off, sustained possession quickly became a rarity. But Watford adapted better to the swirl. Gerard Deulofeu, playing ahead of Troy Deeney at the spearhead of the Watford attack, was particularly adept. While his strike partner charged at Palace’s defenders every time the ball came near them (and often when it was nowhere near) Deulofeu was neat and subtle in his work. He was involved as Watford won a flurry of early corners. And from one, swung in with intent by Jose Holebas, Vicente Guaita, the Palace keeper, under pressure from – who else - Deeney failed properly to apply a punch. The ball landed at the feet of Craig Cathcart, whose deft lay-off was dispatched into the net by Etienne Capoue.

Palace took their time responding. That their best player was the full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka spoke volumes: they had little up front, not much more in midfield. Deulofeu was now beginning to exercise control, shooting whenever he had the chance, from free-kicks, from open play, anything to test the keeper in the wind. And Guaita responded with a fine save from his crisp shot moments after the opening goal.

Watford's French midfielder Etienne Capoue (C) celebrates after scoring during the FA Cup quarter-final football match between Watford and Crystal Palace at Vicarage Road Stadium in Watford, north of London 
Etienne Capoue put Watford ahead Credit: Getty images

As the wind churned and a flock of Palace balloons momentarily held up play, it was getting fruity on the pitch: Luka Milivojevic was booked for reckless foul on Hughes before Holebas injured his ankle making a superb sliding tackle on Andros Townsend.

Palace, meanwhile, needed to find a response. Hodgson clearly had words at half-time. His team began the second half with much more bite. Propelled by the wind, they pushed Watford on to the back foot. The mark of the change of momentum came when Michy Batshuayi charged down Adrian Mariappa, stole forward and struck a fine shot under Heurelho Gomes. The keeper, who was potentially playing his last ever game at Vicarage Road before retiring at the end of the season, looked distraught.

Michy Batshuayi scores Crystal Palace's equaliser 
Michy Batshuayi scored Crystal Palace's equaliser  Credit: Getty images

Moments later, Batshuayi outran the substitute Adam Masina and set up Max Meyer, who miskicked. There was then a horrible scramble in the Palace area, when Roberto Pereyra tried to lob the keeper, but succeeded only in striking his hands. Any moments of good build-up were compromised by rush, panic and wind. It was that sort of game: a mess.

But then came the moment that changed everything. Javi Gracia sent on the substitute Andre Gray and within two minutes he was charging forward, feeding the ball to Pereyra. The Argentine returned the favour with a delightful chip in behind the Palace defence. Gray, timing his run perfectly, slipped the ball past Guaita.

As time ebbed away, Palace tried. James Tomkins poked wide from a corner, before Wan Bissaka hit a firm shot past the post. But Watford held on, Deeney smartly taking the ball into the corner for what seemed like the last half hour. Which meant Gracia could head into the international week wearing a broad smile.

“I need a break,” he said. “After this I am going to enjoy it a lot.” 

Watford (4-2-2-2): Gomes 6; Femina 6, Cathcart 6, Mariappa 5, Holebas 6 (Masina 46); Doucoure 6, Capoue 6; Pereyra 6, Hughes 6 (Gray 76); Deulofeu 8 (Cleverley 87) Deeney 6

Subs not used: Dahlberg, Janmaat, Success, Kabasele

Yellow card: Masina

Crystal Palace (4-3-3): Guaita 5; Wan-Bissaka 7, Kelly 6, Tomkins 6, Schlupp 5; Kouyate 5, Milivojevic 5, McArthur 5 (Benteke 82); Meyer 5, Townsend 6, Batshuayi 6

Subs not used: Hennessey, Ward, Ayew, Wickham, Woods, Riedewald

Yellow card: Milivojevic

                                                                                                    

Deeney: We're hoping Heurelho Gomes doesn't retire

"He's been here five or six years and been a model professional every single day. He is one of the kindest human beings you'll ever meet, and we're hoping he doesn't retire just yet."

Full time - Watford are in the FA Cup semi-finals!

Watford hang on and Andre Gray's winner sends them into the semi-finals of the FA Cup! Heurelho Gomes is in tears - though that might be because this is probably his final game at Vicarage Road, and potentially his last ever for Watford is Foster is recalled for the semis.

90 +4 mins - Watford 2 Crystal Palace 1

Oooohhh that is the moment that Palace needed but it goes begging. They launch it up field, Benteke flicks on, Batshuayi goes after it, collides with Cathcart and the ball falls to Kouyate in the box. He tries to skip past Gomes but the ball bounces up in the air and lands with Wan-Bissaka just inside the box, he has to hit the target... but he drags it wide!

90 +3 mins - Watford 2 Crystal Palace 1

Time is running out for Palace. The home fans know they are close. 90 second remain and Watford have a throw-in near the corner flag.

90 +1 mins - Watford 2 Crystal Palace 1

Watford have the ball up the right end of the pitch and are taking their time over everything.

90 mins - Watford 2 Crystal Palace 1

Four minutes to be added on.

89 mins - Watford 2 Crystal Palace 1

Nervy times to end this game as Palace desperately try to get it forward as quickly as possible and Watford defend for their lives.

Deulofeu is replaced by Tom Cleverley for the final few minutes, just as Palace win a corner...

It's a good ball from Townsend, flicked on by Benteke to Tomkins at the back post, but it comes at him quickly and he turns it wide.

87 mins - Watford 2 Crystal Palace 1

Deulofeu gets away down the right but delays his final ball into the middle and when he does eventually try and find Gray he is too near the goal and Guaita claims it with ease.

86 mins - Watford 2 Crystal Palace 1

Cathcart heads at goal from a poorly defended corner, and Milivojevic is well-placed to head clear off the line.

84 mins - Watford 2 Crystal Palace 1

Deeney forces a smart save from Guaita, before Wan-Bissaka slides in to divert the rebound away from goal.

83 mins - Watford 2 Crystal Palace 1

Hodgson has had some criticism for waiting too long with his substitutions in the past and that could be his downfall today. Finally, Christian Benteke is coming on for Palace. He replaces McArthur.

82 mins - Watford 2 Crystal Palace 1

Milivojevic wins a free-kick right on the edge of the box, then gets up to take it, but he shoots straight into the wall.

GOOOOOAAAL!!! Watford 2 Crystal Palace 1 (Gray)

A long straight ball finds Gray, who lays it off for Pereyra, and he gets his head down and charges for goal. Gray runs beyond him, and when Pereyra checks back, he sees Gray ghosting into the box between the centre-backs. He lifts a wonderful ball perfectly into his path and he volleys home from five yards out!

Two minutes and one second after coming on Gray has scored what might be the winner.

77 mins - Watford 1 Crystal Palace 1

A second sub for Watford: Andre Gray replaces Will Hughes. Presumably that means Deulofeu goes out wide, and Gray joins Deeney up front.

75 mins - Watford 1 Crystal Palace 1

Palace are incensed as Watford choose to play on with Milivojevic down on halfway. They get the ball out to Masina on the left, and his high cross draws Guaita off his line again, and again he doesn't get enough on it! He palms it to Pereyra inside the box, and rather than cross the Watford midfielder shoots straight at Guaita who has scrambled back to his feet. The ball falls back to him and he crosses this time, Doucoure is arriving... but he turns it over the bar. Huge let off for Palace.

73 mins - Watford 1 Crystal Palace 1

Fine work by Batshuayi again, pouncing as Masina takes his time on the ball, and dashing away with it down the right. He gets to the byline and pulls back to Meyer, but the German scuffs his effort and Watford get it clear.

Batshuayi scores a rare away goal at Vicarage Road

67 mins - Watford 1 Crystal Palace 1

That goal has galvanised both teams and the away fans, and really opened the game up. Palace look far more confident going forward now, but still pretty shaky at the back. Kelly has made a couple of little mistakes in quick succession that the Watford attackers have pounced on but haven't quite managed to turn into a clear cut chance.

GOOOOOAAAL!!!! Watford 1 Crystal Palace 1 (Batshuayi equalises for Palace!)

Gomes, Femenia and Mariappa try to play it out from the back, but Batshuayi senses an opportunity when Mariappa dallies on the ball. He steals in to nick the ball and in the blink of an eye he is in and bearing down on Gomes's goal. He takes the bouncing ball down and slots a calm finish into the far corner! Game on!

60 mins - Watford 1 Crystal Palace 0

A straight ball from Schlipp finds Batshuayi, who has run in behind Mariappa. He takes one touch and unleashes a fierce effort towards the top corner, but flies just the wrong side of the post.

59 mins - Watford 1 Crystal Palace 0

Palace are growing in confidence and as Meyer turns the screw, Watford's players try to break up play by flying into a couple of rash challenges. The first draws a yellow card for Masina and the second wins a free-kick on the edge of the box, which Townsend shoots from, but that's never really troubling Gomes, who saves easily.

54 mins - Watford 1 Crystal Palace 0

Final ball just lacking for Crystal Palace so far. I wouldn't be too surprised if Christian Benteke is summoned from the bench before long to add another (or a bigger) body in the box.

49 mins - Watford 1 Crystal Palace 0

Gomes is forced into a smart save from a Meyer effort following a Townsend corner. 

48 mins - Watford 1 Crystal Palace 0

Deulofeu causes some concern in the Palace ranks, twisting past Kelly and Tomkins, and then digging out a cross to the back post, which a combination of Wan-Bissaka and Milivojevic scramble clear.

The players are back out

Roy Hodgson is having a long word with Kevin Friend, and it didn't look that friendly in all honesty.

Watford are forced into a half time change. Adam Masina looked ready to start the half on the bench, but Holebas has not reemerged from the changing rooms and so Masina is summoned. That's a big part of Watford's attacking arsenal absent for the second half.

And the second half is under way.

Half time

Kevin Friend brings the first half to a close with a noise we've heard rather too much of in the last 45 minutes: his whistle.

There were so, so many fouls in that half and it was a from a set-piece that Watford took the lead. Palace had started the better team but the home fans grew in confidence as the crosses rained down on Guaita's goal, and it was a mistake from the Palace keeper that led to the opener. Since then, it's been more or less all Watford.

As has so often been the case for Roy Hodgson's side, they are really lacking in creativity without Zaha, and I don't really see how that changes. We've seen far too little of Meyer, and there has been way too much onus on Townsend. Batshuayi has been a spectator. Something has to change for the visitors.

45 mins - Watford 1 Crystal Palace 0

Two minutes will be added on.

43 mins - Watford 1 Crystal Palace 0

Yet another free-kick. Hughes goes down under the slighest touch from Townsend and Watford have another good opportunity from out on the right. 

Holebas's ball in is a good one and Schlupp sees it very late and does well to get a knee on it rather than a hand. Palace clear.

42 mins - Watford 1 Crystal Palace 0

Wan-Bissaka scoops a lovely pass over the Watford defence and into Meyer's path. The German tries to loft it over Gomes on the volley, but he doesn't get enough on it.

40 mins - Watford 1 Crystal Palace 0

A meaty challenge between Townsend and Holebas leaves the Palace man furious he hasn't won a throw-in and Watford's left-back on the deck receiving treatment. Eventually they both get back to the game, Holebas looking rather uncomfortable.

38 mins - Watford 1 Crystal Palace 0

McArthur loses the ball on the right and then brings Deeney down to concede a free-kick in a dangerous area. Deulofeu goes straight for goal, but Guaita saves pretty easily.

36 mins - Watford 1 Crystal Palace 0

Milovojevic catches Hughes late and high, and is the first name in the referee's notebook.

35 mins - Watford 1 Crystal Palace 0

Milovojevic switches play out to Wan-Bissaka on the right, and his cross into the middle is a dangerous one. Batshuayi just can't get onto it and Mariappa darts in to put it behind for a corner.

Palace send the big guns forward, but Watford clear.

33 mins - Watford 1 Crystal Palace 0

It's getting quite bitty now this game. Plenty of fouls being given and the flow of the match has been disrupted somewhat after a fairly open start.

29 mins - Watford 1 Crystal Palace 0

Deulofeu is very close to doubling Watford's lead. He gets away down the right, darts away from a defender, out onto his right foot and strikes high towards the top corner, but Guaita pulls out a firm hand to palm over the bar. Good save.

GOOOOOOAALL!!! Watford 1 Crystal Palace 0 (Capoue)

Guaita comes waaaaaay out of his goal to get a really unconvincing faint palm on Holebas's corner, which only buoys the home crowd further. Watford win another corner, and then  another, and Holebas jogs back and forth from right to left and back to the right, and his third good cross is rewarded.

Guaita comes again and again doesn't get enough on the cross. On the floor, he leaves the goal gaping as the ball falls to Capoue, who reacts quickly to stab high into the net from eight yards.

23 mins - Watford 0 Crystal Palace 0

A bit of Watford pressure gets the crowd going. Palace are standing strong but some of their defending is getting a little desperate and Watford sense blood. The crosses are raining down on the Palace box.

Then Deulofeu beats two men and slips Deeney in on the right, but his attempted pull-back is cut out. Will Hughes is upset the ball didn't come his way, but that's tough on the Watford captain.

20 mins - Watford 0 Crystal Palace 0

Palace win a pretty soft free-kick on the left, 35 yards out... Gomes claims the cross well, and hoofs it up field in search of Deulofeu. It's over hit, Guaita has time to take it down, but passes it straight to a Holebas, who tries to cross in early but it's a poor ball and Palace clear. A waste.

18 mins - Watford 0 Crystal Palace 0

There is a short stoppage in play as Kevin Friend pops a load of balloons that have found their way onto the pitch.

Credit: BT Sport

And then Watford have their first chance of the game after Deulofeu is slipped in on the right. The angle is tight and he just tries to smack it past Gomes, but the Brazilian stands strong.

17 mins - Watford 0 Crystal Palace 0

Wan-Bissaka makes good headway down the right - they will need him to provide some width today on that side - and floats a cross into the middle. Batshuayi rises to meet it, but it flies over his head and the chance goes. Still, more positives for the away side, who have made the brighter start.

13 mins - Watford 0 Crystal Palace 0

Doucoure is tugged back by Milivojevic 45 or so yards from goal and in a central position.

Holebas floats a ball towards the back post, and Will Hughes goes down in the box. He is adamant James McArthur has fouled him... replays are inconclusive.

Before the game...

This was the scene at Vicarage Road. Watford's very own yellow wall.

Credit: reuters

10 mins - Watford 0 Crystal Palace 0

Roy Hodgson will certainly be pleased with the start his team have made, with Andros Townsend getting a lot of early joy down the left. It might also be a source of frustration that Zaha is unavailable, because there's a lot of pressure on Townsend to produce now.

6 mins - Watford 0 Crystal Palace 0

Milovojevic forces a save from Gomes with a decent strike from the edge of the box after good work again from Townsend, but it's a simple enough stop in the end.

4 mins - Watford 0 Crystal Palace 0

End-to-end stuff early on here, with Pereyra making good headway down the Watford left, and then when he eventually loses possession Palace break with Townsend whipping a dangerous ball across the box which just evades Batshuayi.

2 mins - Watford 0 Crystal Palace 0

A long ball up toward Deulofeu causes some minor panic in the Palace back line, but Kelly gets a foot in and the move breaks down.

It looks like Palace are starting with Meyer up front alongside Batshuayi, rather than Townsend as I'd earlier predicted.

Kick off

Watford get us started. 

Here come the players

Ticker tape is raining down at a lively Vicarage Road as the players come out. The fans seem very up for this game. Nothing sleepy about the atmosphere, despite the early kick off.

No love lost here

These two sides have plenty of previous, and though a large chunk of their rivalry is based around the absent Wilfried Zaha being accused of going down too easily, there have also been some huge games between them, including this 1-0 win for Palace in the 2013 play-off final. Plenty of Watford fans still haven't got over this one.

Roy talks

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson's pre-game thoughts:

"I've never reached a semi-final in England. This is an opportunity for the players to elevate me to another milestone so it would be great if they could do that.

"Why has our away form been so good? We've been given a lot of respect at home so space hasn't been that plentiful to operate in, but we don't change anything in particular home or away so it's very difficult for me to answer that.

"Wilf came off after the Brighton game with a tight hamstring - we've been nursing that all week. We tested it out on Thursday and he didn't come through that so unfortunately he misses out today."

Etienne Capoue's thoughts

Sam Wallace spoke to the Watford midfielder this week, who prefers not to spend much of his spare time being consumed by football, to the extent that he'd rather watch NBA than the Champions League...

You can read the full interview here.

'There is always magic in the FA Cup'

Six years on from winning the competition with Wigan, James McArthur wants to repeat the trick with Crystal Palace this season.

McArthur won the FA Cup with Wigan in 2013 Credit: Reuters

The final was amazing. We actually played City away two weeks before and we put in one of the best performances of the season. Before the final, the manager asked us ‘Have we got enough to go and win?' I think that was a masterstroke because I think he knew we were going to play well.

It was such a special day. I think it was [Pablo] Zabaleta that got sent off and then we thought to ourselves: ‘Wow, we have got an amazing chance here.’ And when Shaun Maloney puts the ball in, Ben Watson connects with a header that is one of the best headers I have seen. And he wasn’t even meant to be in the box. An amazing day and something you can never take away from the guys that were there.

He spoke to Matt Law about the magic of the cup - you can read everything he had to say here.

A strong Watford side

It looks like Javi Gracia is taking this one very seriously indeed. It's a strong XI, with Troy Deeney and Gerard Deulofeu leading the line. Captain Calamity Heurelho Gomes starts in goal.

No Zaha for Palace

Wilfried Zaha is absent from the Crystal Palace squad. It's a calf injury that rules him out of this one - a huge blow for Roy Hodgson's men. Patrick van Aanholt and Scott Dann also miss out in defence.

It looks like a 4-4-2 with Andros Townsend up front alongside Michy Batshuayi. There's a great deal of pressure on Max Meyer to provide that creative spark without Zaha. 

The FA Cup returns

It feels slightly under the radar, the way the FA Cup has sneaked back into the limelight (probably because of all this week's Champions League goings on, and the fact that most of the biggest sides in England have been knocked out) but we are down to the final eight and the quarter-finals start here with Watford versus Crystal Palace.

This is game pitting two sides who have history so this could be a fiery affair, especially given they really should both be seeing this competition as a real chance for silverware. Manchester City and United are the favourites for the competition but who knows what could happen with all the magic of the cup, hey?

I'm hoping both sides name strong teams for this one and prioritise the competition. There is no excuse for Watford, who are eighth in the Premier League table and have nothing else really to play for. Palace might rest one or two but they should be safe too, so it would be disappointing to see them throw away this opportunity.

We'll have team news very shortly indeed.

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