Crystal Palace vs. Watford: Score, Reaction from 2016 FA Cup Semi-Final

Crystal Palace sealed their place in the 2016 FA Cup final after a 2-1 win over Watford at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.

Yannick Bolasie netted a header from close range in the opening 10 minutes of the match to give Alan Pardew's side a deserved early advantage.

Watford drew level following the interval through Troy Deeney with a header of his own, but Palace regained their lead just six minutes later through Connor Wickham's winner.

Palace will now participate in their first FA Cup final since 1990.

The Eagles face Manchester United in the tournament finale on Saturday May 21 after Louis van Gaal's men secured a dramatic 2-1 win over Everton on Saturday.

It took all of six minutes for Palace to lead through Bolasie. The DR Congo winger caused havoc down the left by-line, eventually winning a corner kick off Miguel Britos.

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Yohan Cabaye’s corner was flicked on by Damien Delaney at the near post, looping the ball high into the air, before Bolasie nodded in at the far post despite the obstacle of Costel Pantilimon.

The Times provided footage of Bolasie's close-range header:

Watford were struggling on the main stage during the opening 10 minutes and appeared second-best sitting deep.

However, the tide soon turned, and Deeney and Almen Abdi were next to put efforts on goal. Jose Jurado’s left-wing cross found Swiss midfielder Abdi, who shot first-time but saw his strike well closed down on the edge of the area.

Etienne Capoue was forced off owing to injury on the half-hour mark, which was a blow for Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores. The former Spurs midfielder was taken off on a stretcher before returning to the field. However, the Frenchman immediately collapsed holding his left knee and was substituted for Mario Suarez.

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Bolasie and Wilfried Zaha continued to test the Watford back line with some terrific individual dribbles down either flank as the first-half minutes ticked down, but the south Londoners could not find a way past Allan Nyom in the heart of their opponents’ defence.

Ten minutes following the break, the Hornets were level as Deeney met Jurado’s whipped ball into the box at the near post. Despite pressure from Scott Dann, the former Walsall striker diverted his header past Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.

Opta revealed why Palace fans will hate the sight of Deeney:

However, six minutes later, the Eagles regained their lead. A simple passage of play down the left flank ended with Pape Souare heaping a ball into the area toward the back post. 

Wickham was too strong for Nathan Ake and outmuscled his marker to power his header into the bottom corner and rebuild an advantage for Pardew’s side.

The former Sunderland forward is enjoying a rich vein of form, as detailed by WhoScored.com:

Palace were desperate to seal their place in the final, as demonstrated by SportsJoe.co.uk:

With 13 minutes left to play, Zaha had a wonderful opportunity to put the game to bed with a fine run and shot. Picking up the ball inside his own half, the former Manchester United attacker darted down the left wing and in behind Nyom. Demonstrating electric pace, Zaha closed in on goal but eventually saw his shot kept out by Hennessey. 

Watford had a golden opportunity to force extra time in stoppage time, but Adlene Guedioura dragged his volley wide of goal from the lip of the box after a header out by Delaney as Palace held on to seal progression into the final.

The 1990 runners-up deserve their place in the tournament finale on the day, with Watford only seriously kicking into life following the break. Flores' side looked stronger when targeting more direct balls towards attacking duo Deeney and Odion Ighalo, but overall Palace were the stronger team and took their chances well.

Post-Match Reaction

Eagles manager Alan Pardew was delighted with his team's performance at Wembley and believes a place in the final of the cup competition is fully deserved. Per the Daily Mail, the former Newcastle boss told BT Sport: 

"

It feels good because we deserve to be in the final. We were excellent today I thought and our run has been very, very difficult to get here.

We've earned that right. We're playing the biggest team in the world. They probably weren't that the last time, in 1990, but they are now so it's a big challenge for us and the real challenge for us today was to get to the final.

I've only been able to play that team for the eighth time today and it's a good team. That team's a solid team and the game plan was good.

It's great for our fans. They're going to love coming back here and we're looking forward to it.

"

Meanwhile, in the opposite side of the dugout, Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores was disappointed to be out in the final four but claimed he felt satisfied with the performance of his players.

Per the Daily Mail, the Spaniard told BT Sport: "Disappointed. We are not happy of course with the result. It was a very competitive match. We had a good performance. Crystal Palace have very good players in the last third.

"I'm very happy with the performance of the players. They were very committed to the last minute."