FA Cup: Sheffield Wednesday progress with victory over QPR; Derby play out forgettable draw with Northampton

QPR 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday matched their best showing in the FA Cup since 1997 after strikes from Morgan Fox and Sam Winnall settled an all-Championship tie at Loftus Road.

The first half was drifting towards an uneventful conclusion until Fox saw his effort squirm just beyond Joe Lumley for the 26-year-old's third goal of the season.

After the break wastefulness from the hosts was punished as Winnall capitalised on slack marking to sweep home before Nakhi Wells made it 2-1 to bring some cheer to the home fans on a cold night in W12.

Midway through the first half Jacob Murphy's curling effort was kept out by Lumley before QPR set off on a breakaway. Ilias Chair went speeding down the pitch before laying the ball inside to the onrushing Marc Pugh, who fired his shot wide of Cameron Dawson's right-hand post.

The teams looked set to head into the break all square before Wednesday scored a goal that can only be described as soft.

A quick throw-in by Sam Hutchinson, level with the 18-yard box, looped over Todd Kane's head and landed at the feet of Fox. The left-back seemed confused that he had so much time to compose himself before seeing his shot from six yards trickle under Lumley's desperate dive.

The second half was similarly short on chances, with Rangers fans getting increasingly frustrated with full debutant Jack Clarke, as the Tottenham loanee was dispossessed on several occasions after failing to deliver a cross.

Bright Osayi-Samuel came on in his place in the 66th minute and almost had an immediate impact with his pass finding Chair, who fired wide.

Jordan Hugill then had his first chance of the game, but scuffed a shot wide after a glorious delivery from Kane.

Osayi-Samuel kept getting involved, with his vibrancy and relentless running causing the Wednesday backline problems, but the hosts were lacking a cutting edge.

The game would probably have been done and dusted had the recently introduced Atdhe Nuhiu not fallen over and Lumley not miscontrolled to let the ball run away from him.

Pugh felt he was nudged over by Wednesday captain Tom Lees in the 88th minute, but Keith Stroud waved away the complaints.

Kadeem Harris went close before Garry Monk's men bagged the decisive goal, as Nuhiu swept the ball out wide to fellow substitute Adam Reach, whose pinpoint cross was finished emphatically by Winnall to spark jubilant scenes in front of the 3,024 travelling fans.

Wells then rounded Dawson to keep the game alive and Ebere Eze subsequently won a corner to ramp up the volume before Pugh's wayward effort ended hopes of a comeback.

Northampton 0-0 Derby

Wayne Rooney could not inspire Derby to FA Cup victory against Sky Bet League Two Northampton as the pair face a fourth-round replay at Pride Park following a forgettable Friday night tie.

The former England skipper was a surprise inclusion for the Rams but failed to captain his new club to a place in round five as Keith Curle's Northampton created the better chances of a 0-0 draw.

Charlie Goode should have been sent off early on at a sold-out PTS Academy Stadium but, after a poor decision from the referee, he was handed a reprieve and made the most of it by dominating the defence.

Rooney, captaining a much-changed Derby side as one of only three players to retain their place from the Sky Bet Championship win over Hull, was always going to be the star attraction against the lowest-ranked team left in this year's competition.

Only Ian Rush and Frank Lampard have been more prolific in the post-war FA Cup era than Rooney, who has 22 goals, but these days he is deployed in a deep-seated midfield role.

The 34-year-old left Manchester United in 2017 as the club's all-time leading goalscorer and it was the Red Devils who stood in the way the last time Northampton got as far as the fifth round.

That was 50 years ago and on that day it was another maverick, George Best, who would steal the show as he scored six times as United sealed a 8-2 win.

But, looking to match their 1970 counterparts, it was the hosts who almost took the lead with less than five minutes on the clock, a deep corner leading to a goalmouth scramble which ultimately saw Vadaine Oliver's strike bouncing behind off the crossbar.

Referee Darren England had the Derby bench up in arms as Jack Marriott was hauled back by Charlie Goode as the last man, with the official not even awarding a free-kick for the misdemeanour.

In terms of actual chances, it was still Northampton creating the vast majority, Andy Williams with a fine turn and shot which flashed just wide of Kelle Roos' goal after 25 minutes.

Most of Derby's early opportunities were blocked before getting anywhere near David Cornell in the hosts' goal, with Chris Martin the next man to be denied by brave Northampton defending.

The rest of the half passed with little incident, with Derby then making a stronger start after the interval as Rooney's corner was headed inches over the top by Curtis Davies.

The former Hull defender, who scored for the Tigers in their 3-2 FA Cup final defeat against Arsenal in 2014, came close with another header soon after before Jason Knight forced a decent stop out of Cornell.

Northampton were still causing trouble, Goode heading over a decent chance, Chris Lines sending a strike in the same direction soon after and Matt Warburton bending wide.

Rooney, fresh from a lung-bursting defensive run, almost scored directly from a late corner but there was no late goal to settle the tie and the pair will both enter Monday's draw for the last 16.

Opta facts

• Derby remain unbeaten against Northampton in any competition, winning six and drawing five of their 11 clashes.
• Northampton are unbeaten in seven games in all competitions (W4 D3), after losing three of the five before that (W1 D1).
• QPR suffered their first defeat in six games against Sheffield Wednesday in all competitions, after winning each of the previous four and drawing one.
• Two of Morgan Fox’s six goals in all competitions have come against QPR (he’s not scored more than one against any other side), with his first goal against the Hoops coming in the Championship for Charlton in August 2015.
• Adam Reach has been directly involved in three goals in his last four games in all competitions for Sheffield Wednesday (1 goal, 2 assists), as many as he managed in his previous 17.
• Nahki Wells has scored six goals in his last four games for QPR in all competitions, after netting just three in the 17 before that.

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