Freedman leads Scottish charge in the Carling Cup

DOUGIE Freedman is still learning the ropes of management, having been in charge of Crystal Palace for less than a year, so for him to get one over the great Sir Alex Ferguson and take his team within one Carling Cup tie of Wembley was a remarkable achievement.

The 37-year-old former Scotland international took his team to Old Trafford on Wednesday to face Manchester United in the quarter-finals on the back of a barren scoring run which was entering a seventh game, yet Palace produced a spirited performance to beat the Premier League champions 2-1 on their own turf after extra time.

It was a feather in the cap of Freedman, who took the reins from sacked former Scotland manager George Burley in January, and it gives the Championship side a realistic chance of their first major cup final since 1990 after they were drawn against Cardiff City in the semi-finals, which will be played over two legs next month.

Palace’s win also means that three of the four semi-finalists are managed by Scots, with Freedman up against Cardiff City’s Malky Mackay, and Kenny Dalglish in charge of Liverpool, who were paired with Manchester City in the other semi-final.

Freedman can afford to dream of a Wembley final in February, but he insisted that drawing Cardiff was harder than facing City or Liverpool. “It’s probably the hardest draw,” said Freedman, who spent ten of his 16 years as a player at Palace. “They are up at the top of the Championship and it is going to be very difficult. But I am just proud of the lads, to get through to the semi-finals from where we have come in the last couple of years – relegation zones and administrations.”

Darren Ambrose fired in a stunning goal after 65 minutes, only to see United force extra time with a Federico Macheda penalty. However, Glenn Murray headed the winner for Palace, and Freedman paid tribute to his players’ character. “In the last 15-20 minutes of extra time the desire shone through, “ he said. “There was no tactical genius. We had to dig in and show that hunger and desire to see the tie through. We had a good game plan and every single player stuck to it.”

Eagles chairman Steve Parish, meanwhile, is now dreaming of a “fairytale” Carling Cup final against Liverpool.

Palace were beaten by Liverpool in the semi-finals of the competition in 1995 and 2001 but famously overcame Kenny Dalglish’s Reds 4-3 to claim a place in the 1990 FA Cup final.

Parish feels another encounter against them would be great reward for the club after their battles with administration and relegation in recent years.

He said: “I am sure Cardiff were hoping for us. They’ll feel they have a chance and we were hoping for them. We could probably make more money out of Manchester City or Liverpool but we have been in one Wembley final in our history. It would be absolutely amazing for us to get there. No disrespect to Man City but I have a soft spot for Liverpool. Kenny was manager when we beat them 4-3 in the semi-finals. It would be a dream, a fairytale after everything we have been through, to get there. But we have a tough couple of league games in front of us and Cardiff will feel they can do the same.”

A consortium headed by Parish and Martin Long brought Palace out of administration in the summer of 2010. The club also narrowly avoided relegation the previous season and were again close to the drop last term.

Parish feels they have now turned the corner under Freedman, who has made the team hard to beat and shown faith in youngsters such as the impressive Wilfried Zaha, Nathaniel Clyde and Sean Scannell. Parish said: “Dougie is doing a great job. He is giving the youngsters a chance and he is coaching them well, schooling them and making them better.”

Palace make a quick return to action as they host Derby in the Championship tonight but the club are not complaining. Parish said: “That was already organised as a TV game. Dougie and the guys knew what they were going to have to do.”