Kevin Blackwell made three enforced changes. Out went Matt Kilgallon, Jamie Ward and Henri Camara, in came Seip, Harper and Williamson - Jamie Ward made the bench, though. Also appearing on the bench was Darius Henderson, who did make a cameo showing towards the end.
Unusually, Blackwell begun and remained with a 4-4-2 formation, a more attacking formation than he usually opts for away from home. Loftus Road may have only seen a mere 5,780 fans come through the turnstiles, but, interestingly, a number of famous faces also braved the chilly conditions and sat through the game. The likes of Stuart Pearce, Trevor Brooking and Joe Kinnear were in appearance, as was Unitedite and Olympic Gold Medallist Paul Goodison, but X Factor's 'Jedward' were also spotted in the capital. Now moving on to a strange but enthralling battle on the pitch, Kevin Blackwell's men dramatically raced into a three-goal lead, and, much to the S2 side's relief, resisted a comeback from the R's. Lee Williamson's first-half cracker was against the run of play, but United weren't bothered. The Blades had a strong penalty appeal waved away by referee Woolmer. Evans looked to have been felled by Buzsaky, but the referee, who had a horrid night, let play continue.
Evans was then put through one-on-one with the 'keeper and could have doubled United's advantage, but the Welshman rocketed the ball on to Cerny's crossbar; the striker was infuriated with himself, especially as a goal would have done him the world of good. Nick Montgomery saw his scorcher graze the crossbar. Then Derek Geary cleared the ball off his own line; this epitomised why he's a fans' favourite at Bramall Lane.
After replacing goalscorer Williamson, Jamie Ward emphatically hammered the ball under Radek Cerny's body and into the back of the net on 68 minutes, this was the hitman's first touch! Just a minute and a half later, Richard Cresswell got the nod in front of Ched Evans and claimed the Blades' third goal; It was incredibly Jamie Ward who assisted Cresswell's finish. This was the striker's third goal against the Londoners in the space of a month.
Derek Geary was harshly penalised for handball just one minute later! Buzsaky converted. It was crazy! Three goals in three minutes! Controversially, the referee awarded a free-kick to Rangers with two minutes of normal time remaining; Damion Stewart headed in for QPR's second. This caused tension inside Loftus Road, especially when the fourth official seemed to think there was five minutes of stoppages; five minutes additional time was indicated.
Thankfully, United held off Paul Hart's men and earned a tie with Owen Coyle's Bolton on the 23rd. A performance which showed more attacking away from home pleased the away faithful, that's for sure. A tasty trip across the Pennines to the Reebok Stadium is next in the FA Cup. First, though, comes a stern test from Middlesbrough back at Beautiful Downtown Bramall Lane. Hopefully, United can get one over Owen Coyle, who was appointed as the Trotters boss recently, of course. The final score from Loftus Road, is, Queens Park Rangers 2:3 Sheffield United.
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Tuesday evening's Third Round Replay between QPR and Sheffield United saw the Blades come out on top in a five-goal thriller. Goals from Lee Williamson, substitute Jamie Ward and Richard Cresswell gave the Blades breathing space with a three-goal lead. Akos Buzsaky pulled one back from the penalty spot and Damion Stewart grabbed a second.
