Old Trafford glory night for Palace

The semi-final draw, made after the game, pitched the Londoners against Cardiff, who knocked out Blackburn on Tuesday night. The other tie will be between Manchester City and Liverpool. The two-legged ties will be played in the weeks commencing 9 and 23 January.

Palace goalscorer Darren Ambrose savoured a “great occasion” at Old Trafford. The midfielder broke the deadlock with a blistering long-range strike 20 minutes into the second half and, although Federico Macheda won and converted a penalty to earn extra time for a much-changed United side, Glenn Murray headed the winner from Ambrose’s free-kick. “It’s fantastic,” Ambrose said. “It was a great occasion coming here against the champions. It was a massive occasion for the fans.”

Last night’s win was made all the more remarkable by a poor run of Championship form, which has seen Palace go five games without a win or a goal.

“We’ve had a quiet period in the season but we came here in confident mood and the spirit is fantastic,” Ambrose added.

“We’ve got a great team spirit, it’s a lot different from last year – we can beat anyone, and we showed that tonight. We weren’t worried about the lack of goals, we’ve got goalscorers and that showed tonight, it was a great finish from Glenn on the second.”

Manager Freedman, a former Scotland internationalist who has earned plaudits for his work since taking over a cash-strapped club midway through last season, added: “It’s a wonderful night for the club, especially given the position we’ve been in the last few years. To play at Old Trafford tonight, we’re privileged, the lads learnt a lot from tonight.”