LONDON -- Three thoughts from Wembley, where Crystal Palace advanced to the final of the FA Cup with a 2-1 victory over Watford.
1. Wickham winner fires Palace to the final
This year's FA Cup final will be Crystal Palace versus Manchester United, a repeat of 1990, when Alex Ferguson won his first trophy to begin a glorious run as United manager and Alan Pardew, Palace's manager here, was a hard-running Eagles midfielder with blonde, highlighted hair.
The winning goal Sunday was scored by striker Connor Wickham, launching a jewel of a header into the only corner of the goal frame that 6-foot-8 Watford goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon could not reach, making the best of a cross from Pape Souare hit more in hope than expectation.
A game that had been a grind in the first half had lit up into a compelling contest. Before that, both teams' play had betrayed unfamiliarity with such an occasion. They had two FA Cup finals between them, both from a footballing generation ago: Watford in 1984, when Elton John led the applause after a 2-0 loss to Everton, and Palace in 1990, when beaten 1-0 by United in a replay.
There was also shared Wembley history between the two clubs: Palace beat Watford in the 2013 Championship playoff final, and this match recalled how that fixture -- featuring the highest stakes in the English game -- is usually played out. Both teams defended nervously, with set-piece play coming fully to the fore as the supply of the first two goals. There was little in the way of tiki-taka niceties in midfield, as attacks usually came via the direct route, with tackles flying in.
Manchester United, awaiting on May 21, will have seen little to make them too concerned about their prospect of ending their three-year trophy drought. Palace eventually prevailed because they were able to find the game's telling moment. Watford, aside from that brief sliver when they were level, lacked form and cohesion.
The die appeared cast as early as Yannick Bolasie's sixth minute opener, headed in at the far post after a Yohan Cabaye corner; Watford had not won a game from a losing position all season. Quique Sanchez Flores' usual tactics are to hang on for dear life and then hope that Troy Deeney might set up Odion Ighalo to score or the captain bag one himself. The problem was that the Nigerian had only scored a single goal since the end of January and Deeney had not notched in 10 matches.
Deeney, though, is a captain who leads by example. Beating Scott Dann to the punch when Jose Manuel Jurado's 55th minute corner fizzed into the six-yard box, his header crashed into the back of the net, and Watford suddenly bubbled with self-belief. Deflation soon followed, though, when Wickham gloriously seized his moment and Palace's passage.
2. Sanchez Flores on the brink?
Watford manager Sanchez Flores is the subject of heavily-rotated chant by Watford fans, who have fallen for the shy, debonair Spaniard's charms. And yet, multiple reports have suggested that only winning the FA Cup might see his contract extended for next season, with the collection of just 12 points in the team's last 16 Premier League matches leaving the club's owners, the Pozzo family, twitching.
The continuation of Sanchez Flores' policy of employing a different goalkeeper for cup competitions held risks when Premier League goalie Heurelho Gomes saved two penalties against West Brom the previous week. When Pantilimon ended up tangled in his own net when failing to stop Bolasie scoring, it was not a good look, though the Romanian was hardly helped by the failure of his defence. Blaming Pantilimon for Wickham's goal would, however, be unfair. Nathan Ake's failure to climb as high as the musclebound striker was the key contributor, though Wickham's finish was also brilliant.
Watford's usual heavily fortified banks of four looked eminently vulnerable, and when Etienne Capoue collapsed to the turf after colliding with Bolasie, they lost their creative force. The Frenchman made a brief attempt to carry on but was carried off in distress in the 30th minute, having told Watford's physio that his right knee could no longer function.
Though Watford blustered back to parity through Deeney's determination, a lack of innovation in trying to locate another equaliser eventually cost them their place in the final. And probably means that Sanchez Flores will take his leave.
3. Pardew back in the final
Pardew had won his only previous FA Cup semifinal, a decade ago as West Ham manager, beating Middlesbrough 1-0 at Villa Park before going on to lose to Liverpool in the final. This time around, he celebrated his Palace team's progress with a roar, before then recovering his composure to comfort Sanchez Flores.
A well-rehearsed free-kick routine from the training ground for the first goal had been celebrated with a violent punch of the air; Pardew loves it when a plan has come together. Cabaye, the Frenchman who Pardew persuaded last summer to desert PSG to become his midfield general, pinged in a corner, Damien Delaney flicked on, and Bolasie, climbing highest and with most determination, bundled it home.
Palace brimmed with confidence at that point, with Bolasie and Wilfried Zaha's pace driving into Watford's defence. Then came some of the hesitancy that would be expected of a team that has won just one Premier League match in 2016. However, after the injury to Capoue, Watford's most reliable ball-carrier, the midfield battle became rather easier for Cabaye and Mile Jedinak.
It was Palace's defensive deficiency that allowed Watford back into the game; it has been a shortcoming of Pardew's team for far too long of a season that began with them in the Premier League's higher reaches. As his team tried to see out the match and protect their lead, Pardew himself became a visible bag of nerves, pacing his technical area, kicking every last ball for his players until the final whistle brought joyous relief.