Massimo Luongo has helped Queens Park Rangers move into the next round of England’s FA Cup after a 2-0 win over Portsmouth in a Fourth-Round replay on Wednesday morning (AEDT).
Luongo played a full match as QPR had too much class for their League One opponents, scoring twice in the last 20 minutes to prevail at Loftus Road.
With the Caltex Socceroos midfielder at the heart of most of QPR’s best moments, the home side dominated the contest but had to wait until the 70th-minute to get the breakthrough.
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A corner caused havoc in the Portsmouth box, with Nakhi Wells in the right place at the right time to bundle the ball over the line.
Seven minutes later the result was safe as big striker Matt Smith headed in from a free-kick to set-up a Fifth-Round clash at home against Premier League outfit Watford.
Luongo, back in the QPR starting side after playing for the Caltex Socceroos at last month’s AFC Asian Cup, was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet himself.
The 26-year-old volleyed just over the bar on 14 minutes, while early in the second half he saw his glancing header go agonisingly wide of the post.
It mattered little though as QPR got the result to send them into the last 16 of England’s famous knockout competition.