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In what is possibly the biggest upset in the Carling Cup tournament so far, Crystal Palace defeated Manchester United with an extra-time winner to progress to the semi-finals. Depending on who you ask, Palace striker Glenn Murray, on as a substitute, was the hero, or villian, of the evening, heading in a Darren Ambrose free kick in the first period of extra time. There was a shout from the United players, claiming Murray was offside when the kick was taken, but he was ruled onside by the linesman. Replays show the player to be fractionally offside.
United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, had made 10 changes to the side that had played the previous weekend, but still had eight full international players on the pitch. Daring to rest so many regular first team players showed a carelessness that, on the night, has left the fans reeling from a defeat they clearly never expected.
Order yourManchester United tickets securely online now.That said, nothing can be taken away from the commitment shown by, and the hunger with which the Palace players approached the challenge. They came out and immediately showed that they were not intimidated by the occasion, playing passionately from the kick off. The biggest threat from Palace was the 19-year-old, Ivory Coast-born winger, Wilfried Zaha. He had a penalty appeal turned down after a reckless challenge from Fabio, but a replay showed the collision occurred outside the penalty area. United started slowly, but even when they began to feel comfortable passing the ball, Palace still maintained control of the game for much of the first half.
Buy Crystal Palace ticketsBoth teams had chances at the beginning of the second half, but the deadlock was finally broken by another Palace substitute, Darren Ambrose. Coming against the run of play, he gathered the ball just inside United's half and proceeded to shoot from 35 yards out. The home team were left shell-shocked as his shot curved into the top corner. United didn't panic though, and were level four minutes later from a penalty converted by Federico Macheda. He'd been pulled to the ground by Patrick McCarthy and duly sent the keeper the wrong way as took the spot kick.
United piled on the pressure in extra time. Following the winning goal by Murray, Palace held on with some superb defending under almost constant bombardment from United. When the final whistle was blown, Palace celebrated being in the last four for the first time in ten years.
