Cresswell pounces to set up replay

Sheffield Utd 1 QPR 1:RICHARD CRESSWELL'S equaliser in the final seconds of the first half saw Sheffield United set up an FA Cup third-round replay with QPR.

The home side dominated the early exchanges but QPR got back into the game, with Jay Simpson eventually giving them the lead seven minutes before half-time when he finished Wayne Routledge’s superb right-wing cross.

But Sheffield responded smartly and equalised in first-half stoppage time when Cresswell stepped across his marker to send his looping header into the top left-hand corner.

In an end-to-end second half the best chance came 10 minutes from full time when United’s Ched Evans thumped a 35-yard free-kick on to the underside of the bar but neither side could grab the winner.

On a bitterly cold afternoon at Bramall Lane, the home side dominated early on and twice came close to breaking the deadlock.

Jamie Ward produced a superb right-wing free-kick that fell straight onto the head of Chris Morgan, but the Blades skipper headed wide from six yards in the sixth minute.

Three minutes later Henri Camara showed superb skill to slip into the box before pulling back the ball from the byline to the unmarked Stephen Quinn, who rattled the crossbar when it looked easier to score.

United continued to dictate the tempo and were looking likely to make their pressure count through Camara, who was running QPR ragged.

But as the half reached the midway point Rangers began to get a foothold in the game and made the pressure count in the 38th minute. Routledge’s right-wing cross skidded across the six-yard line to Simpson, who guided the ball across goalkeeper Bunn into the bottom right-hand corner to break the deadlock. United immediately tried to equalise and got the response they desired on the stroke of half-time. Cresswell shook off his marker in the box to head over the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Radek Cerny and level the tie.

Damion Stewart came close for QPR when he bulldozed his way through the box to head just wide for Rangers, which was shortly followed by Camara forcing Cerny to save well from close range at the other end. Other than Evans’ rasping free-kick in the 80th minute the game petered out, resulting in a replay at Loftus Road in mid-January.