FULL TIME: QPR 1-0 MK Dons Mark Hughes gets a win on his home managerial debut courtesy of Daniel Gabbidon’s first goal in seven years. MK Dons were good value, providing a stern test under the circumstances, but it also revealed a worrying lack of creativity among the QPR squad with Alejandro Faurlin out.

On that subject, @e9shaw tweets again: “Maybe that’s why Warnock finally got sacked – failing to rest Faurlin (getting him crocked) for a cup we won’t win?” A fanciful theory, and one that a new manager would hardly solve, but the importance of Faurlin can’t be denied, and it was wasteful management of resources from Warnock. Still, the transfer window is open, and replacing the Argentinian should be priority number one for the West Londoners. For now, they can enjoy a rare progression to the fourth round. Thanks for reading. Goodnight!

90+1 min: Luke Young goes in the book for a bad tackle, and MK Dons have a last opportunity from the free-kick. Potter takes, and Doumbe gets on the end of it, but can’t direct it goalwards.

88 min: MK Dons have regrouped for one last push on the QPR goal. Lewington sends in a couple of testing crosses, but QPR get them cleared with relative ease.

85 min: The hard-working Bothroyd goes off, replaced by Bradley Orr. MK Dons continue to look spent. Elsewhere, Dag & Red’s humiliation ends at 5-0 to Millwall.

83 min: QPR continue to pour forwards, and as the MK Dons defence disintegrates, the ball falls nicely for Luke Young, who smashes it straight at Martin. MK Dons survive.

79 min: QPR are continuing to boss it, but here’s @e9shaw – “By far the most significant QPR event is losing Faurlin… Without him, we will struggle in Championship, much less the Premier League. Its over.”

It’s difficult to disagree – he is a superb player, and they’ve been badly lacking someone with both composure and ideas tonight, but I suspect they may be saved by the incompetence of others.

77 min: MK Dons have been utterly pinned back since the goal. They need some ideas quickly if they’re to get out of this one alive. Elsewhere, Leicester-Forest ends 4-0 to the home side.

75 min: That’s calmed QPR down no end, who are passing with swagger now. This one looks over, but MK Dons have surely got something left for the remaining 15 minutes.

72 min: GOAL! QPR 1-0 MK Dons (Daniel Gabbidon) And of all people, the man who hasn’t scored for seven years scores what could be the winner! It’s a simple goal, a well-delivered corner to the penalty spot and an unstoppable bullet header from the Welsh international. MK Dons react by replacing Chadwick with Daniel Powell.

71 min: Buzsaky earns a corner after forcing Martin into an excellent save from his top corner-bound free kick. He’s then subbed as he prepares to take the resulting corner, Premier League goal-machine (seriously) Heidar Helguson replacing him.

Here’s George Templeton again: “QPR are getting run ragged here. And as someone who has a bet depending on them to win I am outraged. No wonder they haven’t won an FA Cup tie for over a decade. But a loss in Mark Hughes’ first home game would be a bad sign for survival hopes would it not?”

68 min: QPR really not at their best here. Tommy Smith picks up the ball in the area, but does nothing but pass it back out for Clint Hill, who balloons his cross out of play. MK Dons look by far the likely victors here, but I fear extra time looms.

66 min: As there’s a lull in play, some nice trivia: George Williams, 16 years old, on the MK Dons bench, had to get changes in the lavs owing to child protection laws. No word on if QPR do the same for Paddy Kenny, who is of course a 12-year-old boy.

62 min: MK Dons are all over QPR here, with Smith gliding past several players before cutting a low show just wide. And Tommy Smith is on now, too, replacing the quiet Macheda.

61 min: So close for MK Dons! The excellent Gleeson pulls a low shot across Paddy Kenny’s goal from range, and Charlie MacDonald gets the faintest of touches on it, not quite enough to deflect it goalwards.

59 min: MK Dons are putting QPR under some serious pressure here, Chadwick and Smith raining in crosses with gay abandon. The League One side now earn a corner…

55 min: Wright-Phillips is fortunate to get away without conceding a free-kick on the left wing, before cutting it into Akos Buzsaky, but the Hungarian slips over as he shapes to shoot. A lucky escape for MK Dons.

Something really is rotten in Nottingham. Leicester are 4-0 up now, Jermaine Beckford completing his hat-trick in a result which should do wonders to dispel the Warnock rumours.

52 min: Luke Young manifests himself on the right wing, and does well to find Bothroyd with his cross, but he’s too far out to test Martin properly. Elsewhere, Millwall are running riot, Darius Henderson completing his hat-trick and Harry Kane adding another with his second – they’re 5-0 up over Dag & Red now.

50 min: This is a good spell from MK Dons. Adam Smith (insert ‘uses the ball very economically’ gag) curls in a cross to an unguarded, but unfortunately for him, also unthreatened back post. QPR haven’t come out for this half yet.

49 min: Gleeson is another MK Dons player who has performed excellently tonight, and after spreading the play around, he elects to try his luck from range, but his bouncing shot is too close to Paddy Kenny.

47 min: A nice one-two from Bothroyd and Hill, the former playing it out to the left for the latter, and nodding the cross goalwards. Sadly, it lacked direction, and Martin gathers without too much bother.

46 min: Clint Hill dips in an excellent cross for Jamie Mackie, but the ever-vigilant Lewington is there to keep his goal safe. Elsewhere, Millwall surely finish off Dagenham and Redbridge, Darius Henderson making it 3-0 just after the League Two side hit the bar.

And we’re off again. Place your bets now.

And here’s Jack Pitt-Brooke too: “Darren Potter, once of Liverpool and Ireland, is looking very assured in midfield for MK Dons. Also been impressed with Jabo Ibehre, who holds the ball up well, linking the midfield with Charlie MacDonald.”

I’d personally say that Luke Chadwick has been MK Dons’ best midfielder and indeed player, proving hugely influential all over the pitch. And before you start, my inherent Manchester United BIAS!!! is more than offset by his appearance.

Here’s George Templeton: “If the Leicester-Nottingham Forest game proves anything, it proves that Billy Davies must be a quality manager. How did he ever get this horrid looking team in or near the playoffs the last few seasons. The Board of Acquistions should hang its head in shame then resign!”

He might be right, you know. It could be a Robson at Newcastle or Curbishley at Charlton situation, where people slowly realise that the manager was keeping them going all along. Forest have been woeful by all accounts.

The scores elsewhere:

Bolton 2-0 Macclesfield

Leicester 3-0 Nottingham Forest (Beckford has just scored his second to surely wrap that one up)

Millwall 2-0 Dag & Red

HALF-TIME: QPR 0-0 MK Dons We get about three seconds of stoppage time, and that’s it. A reasonably interesting and absorbing game that could go either way. Join us shortly for the second half.

44 min: This is very lively as we come up to half-time. Shaun Wright-Phillips ball into the area is hacked clear, and falls nicely for Akos Buzsaky, who smashes it goalwards. He makes a sweet connection, but it flies just over.

43 min: MK Dons clear the corner with ease, and Bowditch has an alarming amount of space as he looks to execute a counter-attack. Unfortunately, the onrushing MK Dons players don’t quite make the right runs, and he ends up shooting miles over from 25 yards.

42 min: Wright-Phillips goes closer! He breaks free down the right channel, but Martin comes flying out of his goal to deny him. The resulting corner finds Clint Hill, but it’s deflected behind for another.

41 min: Luke Chadwick goes close! The QPR fans were incensed as their counter-attack came to a halt with Federico Macheda barged to the ground, and the onrushing Chadwick was soon played in, but Gabbidon did enough to put him off.

37 min: The QPR frontline are all doing their jobs well, with Bothroyd throwing his weight around and finding space behind the line, Macheda and Mackie buzzing around and putting on pressure, and Wright-Phillips offering a good outlet on the wing, but they’ve been matched by a resolute MK Dons defence, backed up by the excellent Luke Chadwick, man of the match so far by my count.

34 min: A fine chance wasted for Charlie MacDonald. He collects an excellent ball over the top, getting between Ferdinand and Gabbidon with ease, but seems to have too much time as he dithers before toe-poking a weak shot just wide of the post.

33 min: Shaun Wright-Phillips is buzzing down the right flank, and he sends in an inviting ball which Doumbe diverts over his own crossbar. The corner comes to nothing, with Lewington getting it clear.

30 min: QPR are beginning to turn the screw now. Buzsaky is still at the centre of everything they do, and is making his presence felt. He scoops a fine ball into the area, but Bothroyd is under too much pressure to make anything of it.

27 min: Excellent tackle from Luke Chadwick! Bothroyd plays a smart ball into Wright-Phillips, who bombs into the area from out side, but he’s denied by the veteran midfielder. Elsewhere, Harry Kane and Martin Petrov have scored to make it 2-0 to Millwall and Bolton respectively.

26 min: MK Dons go the closest yet, with Charlie MacDonald getting on the end of a dangerous near-post cross, but he can’t quite divert it goalwards.

22 min: QPR are enjoying more of the ball but they’re not playing it around very well at all, their own incompetence blunting their attacks. Buzsaky hasn’t shown much creativity so far but he’s not been shy about getting involved.

20 min: MK Dons are defending very calmly, to their credit, though they haven’t been able to build much in the way of convincing attacks so far. They’re growing into it, just as QPR are starting to get slightly frustrated.

18 min: Lewington hacks a dangerous ball into the area, which Anton Ferdinand is at full stretch to deflect behind for a corner. Macheda deals with that, and QPR soon break through Wright-Phillips, but careless play from both sides leads the move to break down.

14 min: “Karl Robinson looks like James Corden after some sort of flesh eating disease”, claims grant165 on Twitter, by which I think he means ‘but not morbidly obese.’ Well, if you can’t say anything nice…

Pitt-Brooke is also claiming that “10 minutes in, MK Dons are the better side.” I wouldn’t say that. They haven’t looked like they’re capable of doing much more than obstructing QPR, though if they weren’t the home of evil itself, I’d be happy to be proved wrong. But they are, and I’m not.

Oh, also, Jermaine Beckford – remember him – has made it 2-0 to Leicester against Forest.

11 min: QPR break with speed, and Bothroyd, down the left, shimmies his way past two defenders before blazing over with a left-footed effort. The crowd give it the ironic cheers but it was hardly that far away.

10 min: Former Manchester United man Luke Chadwick is given space to pick the ball up and turn about 25 yards out. He lets fly, and it’s on target, but he doesn’t really hit it sweetly enough to trouble Paddy Kenny.

8 min: Macheda collects a long ball, controlling it with the aid of his shoulder as he tries to fashion some space, but gets penalised very harshly for a hand-ball. QPR beginning to apply some pressure now.

6 min:  “MK Dons very comfortable on the ball, though QPR welcoming” tweets Jack Pitt-Brooke. He’s not wrong – it’s a slow start, with MK Dons passing it about plenty. They don’t look entirely nerveless, but QPR aren’t forcing the issue too aggressively at the moment.

3 min: An update from the Reebok: Kevin Davies has put Bolton 1-0 up over Macclesfield. And at Loftus Road, Martin hesitates and almost lets Macheda chase down a backpass, before he just about gets it clear.

3 min: Another thing I ought to have mentioned is that Akos Buzsaky makes the team again. He’s a very technically-gifted player who Warnock didn’t quite seem to fancy, the cad. Let’s hope he does well.

1 min: And we’re off. Sean Wright-Phillips gets us off to a good start by clattering Bowditch, which Clive Tyldsley then calls a ‘felony.’ He gets away with it.

Obviously, Sparky has plenty of FA Cup previous. But QPR don’t – their recent record is a wretched one of numerous 3rd round exits. Still, they’ll be firm favourites to progress here, and it could do their league campaign wonders. They hope. MK Dons have never gotten to the fourth round in their entire 125-year history, either.

The big news is that Macheda starts, whereas DJ Campbell – who should play more, is relegated to the bench. Elsewhere, Dudley’s old club Leicester are 1-0 up against rivals Forest, and Millwall – plenty on which tomorrow – lead my old local club Dagenham and Redbridge by the same scoreline.

NO TIME FOR A PREAMBLE! IT’S LIVE!

Here’s your lineups:

QPR: Kenny, Young, Ferdinand, Gabbidon, Hill, Mackie, Buzsaky, Derry, Wright-Phillips, Macheda, Bothroyd. Bench: Cerny, Orr, Hall, Campbell, Smith, Helguson, Ephraim.
MK Dons: Martin, Smith, Doumbe, Shaun Williams, Lewington, Gleeson, Potter, Chadwick, Bowditch, MacDonald, Ibehre. Bench: McLoughlin, Flanagan, Daniel Powell, Baldock, O’Shea, McNamee, George Williams.
Referee: Phil Dowd (Land of oatcakes and long-balls)