QPR (0) – Leicester City (2) – “Go Home & Forget about this Defeat. It was no Disgrace” 

FA Cup 6th Round 

Team: Parkes, Clement, Gillard, Venables, Mancini, McLintock, Thomas, Francis, Leach, Bowles, Givens 

Sub: Hazell 

Attendance 34,078 

After disposing of Chelsea, Birmingham City and Coventry, the R’s then faced Leicester City in the FA Cup 6th Round on 9th March 1974 at Loftus Road. Ken Montgomery’s match report appeared in the Sunday Mirror the following day: 

‘Joe Waters, a broth of a boy from Limerick, had the sort of dream debut FA Cup fairy tales are made of.  

Two glorious second-half goals sent Leicester surging into the semi-finals and left Rangers counting what might have been. 

Because make no mistake, defeat could cost QPR something in the region of half-a-million pounds next season.  

An FA Cup semi-final would have added big brass to the QPR coffers. A first FA Cup Wembley appearance would have contributed even more. 

Joe Waters came into the side only because first choice Alan Birchenall had failed a morning fitness test, and because his usual stand-in Alan Woollett, was already injured. 

But far from being overawed, his first-team bow in the cauldron of an FA Cup quarter-final, he was smooth as Guinness, as he knocked Rangers off the road to Wembley. 

The goal which set Leicester on the way came after 53 minutes of a classic cup-tie. Waters launched the move, and after the ball had bobbed menacingly around the edge of the Rangers penalty area, the youngster took a pass from Worthington in his stride to crash a magnificent left-foot shot from 20-yards past Parkes.  

Joe’s knockout drop came eight minutes from the end, when he broke menacingly on the right with Earle, took Earle’s pass calmly, and as Parkes spread himself, disdainfully popped home his second goal of a sensational debut.  

Rangers almost went ahead in the opening minute from a Venables free kick, which Worthington almost turned into his own net.  

City might have scored too, in the opening two minutes, when Weller cracked a shot against Parkes’ left-hand post. 

It was that sort of match, and no one seemed to be enjoying it more than England manager Sir Alf Ramsey. 

Rangers cursed their luck in the forty-eighth minute when Givens’ shot crashed against the underside of the Leicester crossbar. 

As late as the seventy-fifth minute, Bowles – normally as deadly as they come in the penalty area – headed a marvellous chance over from only a few yards. That was Rangers’ last chance. 

Gordon Jago also told his shattered troops in the dressing room: “Go home and forget about this defeat. It was no disgrace. You have all had a marvellous season and have been beaten by a fine side.” 

Steve Russell