Connor Wickham header sends Crystal Palace into final for first time in 26 years

Connor Wickham sent Crystal Palace into their first FA Cup final for 26 years with the winning goal against Watford.

The striker had the final say in a closely fought match at Wembley, between two sides who have struggled in the league.

It came after Yannick Bolasie gave Alan Pardew's men the lead in the fifth minute, with a lethargic-looking Watford then struggling to make an impression on the Palace defence.

To make matter worse, Etienne Capoue was then taken off after a collision around the 30-minute mark, apparently suffering from a knock to his knee.

In the second half, Watford looked much livelier, pressing forwards with captain Troy Deeney scoring in the 55th minute – a goal that seemed to give the Hornets confidence.

But it wasn’t to last with Wickham scoring six minutes later and the Hornets' fate seemed very much sealed. Despite creating more opportunities to get themselves into the final third they simply could not capitalise.

Palace will face Manchester United - who beat Everton 2-1 on Saturday - on May 21 at Wembley

With rumours abound that Quique Sanchez Flores’ job is on the line after a less inspiring second half of the season, this could spell bad news for the former Valencia manager. Having managed no less than eight teams in 11 years, despite having done a pretty good job at Watford – who will stay in the Premier League by a comfortable margin – Quique ends the day in a much more precarious situation. He might not mind, however, if the rumours that Valencia want him back prove to be true.

Though he didn't actually score a goal himself, Wilfried Zaha put real pressure on the Watford defence making blistering runs into the area and looking consistently dangerous.

Crystal Palace: Hennessey 7, Ward 6, Dann 7, Delaney 6, Souare 6, Puncheon 7, Cabaye 8, Jedinak 7, Zaha 8, Bolasie 8, Wickham 7. Subs: McArthur (74’) 6, Sako (81’) 6, Adebayor (86’) NA

Watford: Pantilimon 7, Nyom 7, Britos 6, Cathcart 6, Ake 7, Abdi 6, Capoue 7, Watson 6, Jurado 7, Deeney 7, Ighalo 7. Subs: Suarez (32’) 7, Guedioura (55’) 7, Anya (82’) 6.

5' GOAL! Bolasie has just scored for Crystal palace just 5 minutes in. Lovely ball in from Cabaye and he gets his head to it, beating a dramatic leap by the Watford keeper.

21' BLOCK! Pantilimon has done quite well to block a shot by Palace, punching the ball away.

55' GOAL! Troy Deeney with the equaliser, a header which cuts through the Palace defence and Quique looks relieved

61' GOAL! Connor Wickham heads the ball in the net from a corner.

77' GREAT RUN! Wilfried Zaha makes a brilliant run - excellent pace. Looks very dangerous for Watford who are not there to defend, but they manage to catch up with him and it's saved.

Palace have won their last two matches at Wembley. They beat Sheffield United 1-0 in the Championship play-off final in 1997 and Watford 1-0 in the Championship final in 2013.