On this day (23rd April) in 2016, Palace were aiming to reach a first FA Cup final since the heroic side of 1990, but Watford stood in their way.
There were narratives aplenty: the last time the two teams met at Wembley was the 2013 Championship play-off final, in which Kevin Philips scored a late winner from the penalty spot to help the Eagles secure promotion.
Palace had not had the easiest of cup runs, beating Southampton, Stoke City, Tottenham Hotspur – thanks to a remarkable Martin Kelly strike – and Reading, and came into the match full of confidence.
It told. After just six minutes, Yannick Bolasie got the Eagles off to a flying start, heading home Damien Delaney’s flick-on to send the Palace end wild.
Watford were level shortly after half-time, however, with captain Troy Deeney netting to set up a tense finale.
On the hour mark, however, up stepped Wickham, losing his marker and rising highest to meet Pape Souaré’s inch-perfect cross and planting a header firmly into the corner to put the Eagles ahead once again.
A nail-biting final half-hour passed by interminably slowly, but eventually the final whistle brought an explosion of red and blue and saw Palace book a return date at Wembley for the FA Cup final.