Watford's Troy Deeney, centre, heads the ball towards goal, during the FA Cup quarter final soccer match between Watford and Crystal Palace.Jonathan Brady/The Associated Press
Substitute Andre Gray sent Watford into the FA Cup semifinals by scoring late to secure a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Gray latched on to Roberto Pereyra’s chip into the area and volleyed in left-footed in the 79th minute as Watford became the first team to book a place at Wembley Stadium.
Etienne Capoue had given Watford the lead in the 27th minute when a corner was diverted into his path and he stabbed the ball in from 10 yards. But Palace levelled in the 62nd when Watford failed to clear the ball and Michy Batshuayi won possession before breaking into the area and firing past Heurelho Gomes.
Gray then entered in the 77th and had only been on the field for two minutes before delivering the winner.
“Obviously, every player is disappointed if they don’t start,” Gray said. “There’s two ways of going about it, you either sit there and sulk or you get on with it, and I’ve been on the bench quite a lot this season so I’ve got my mind around it now. I just have to come on and make a difference.”
Later Saturday, Manchester City will try to stay in contention for a possible four titles when it faces Swansea in another quarterfinal before Manchester United travels to fellow Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.
DROP LOOMS IN PREMIER LEAGUE
Huddersfield’s hopes of staving off Premier League relegation are all but over after giving up a two-goal lead to lose 4-3 at West Ham.
Burnley put itself in danger of going down when it couldn’t convert a one-man advantage against Leicester, losing 2-1 after conceding a last-minute goal.
Last-place Huddersfield was 3-1 up after Karlan Grant scored his second goal of the game in the 65th minute and looked headed for only a second win since November. But after Angelo Ogbonna pulled one back for West Ham, substitute Javier Hernandez scored two late goals to complete the comeback. It leaves Huddersfield staring at near-certain relegation as the team remained 16 points from safety with seven games left.
Burnley had a great chance to move five points clear of the drop zone but couldn’t take advantage of Leicester defender Harry Maguire being sent off after four minutes.
Wes Morgan scored a 90th-minute winner for the visitors, leaving Burnley just two points ahead of 18th-place Cardiff, which has a game in hand.
In the third league game of the day, Newcastle winger Matt Ritchie scored a stoppage-time equalizer against his former club to secure a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth.
Joshua King’s second-half double looked to have earned the Cherries a comeback victory after Salomon Rondon had put the visitors ahead with a first-half free kick. But Newcastle rescued a point when Ritchie emphatically connected with DeAndre Yedlin’s right-wing cross.