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United stunned, booted out of Carling Cup

Comment: 0 December 1st, 2011 by: admin

SIR Alex Ferguson was magnanimous in defeat.

Although he admitted his team played below par, he apologised to all Manchester United fans after his side was booted out of the Carling Cup on Wednesday.

Second-tier club Crystal Palace dropped the upset axe on the Red Devils by pulling off a 2-1 win behind an extra-time brace that sent them into the semifinals in front of a stunned Old Trafford crowd.

“That was not a Manchester United performance, and I have to apologise to our supporters,’’ said Ferguson. “I don’t want to take anything away from Palace, because it was a fantastic, mammoth effort from their players.’’

Ferguson added Crystal Palace worked hard to reach the semis and wished them for a place in the final.

It was Crystal Palace’s first victory at Old Trafford since 1989.

Darren Ambrose, a former Premier League midfielder, sent Palace up in the 65^th minute, forcing a weak United lineup to scramble for the equaliser until Federico Macheda’s penalty four minutes later sent the fixture into extra period.

Striker Glenn Murray drilled the winning goal in the 8^th minute of added time after heading an Ambrose free kick as Palace earned a semifinal meeting with Cardiff, also a League Championship outfit.

Liverpool and Manchester City will clash in the other semis pairing after hurdling their respective assignments on Tuesday

A team who nearly dropped to third tier last season, Palace are currently in 12^th spot in the League Championship after five matches without either a victory or a goal scored.

But their win against the reigning Premier League champions was big since the latter have not lost a match anywhere against them since 1991.

Ambrose said they came to Old Trafford with a confident mood and fantastic spirit despite having a quiet period in the season. “We’ve got a great team spirit, it’s alot different from last year. We can beat anyone, and we showed that tonight.’’

Ferguson retained only Fabio da Silva from the team that drew 1-1 against Newcastle United in the Premier League last weekend but the fullback was seen limping after 37 minutes and was replaced by 19-year-old Ezekiel Fryers.

Ambrose’s 35-meter shot thinto the top corner that broke the ice was his team’s fuirst goal in 550 minutes.

Cardiff advanced by beating Premier League last-placed team Blackburn 2-0. Liverpool dumped Chelsea 2-0, while City clipped Arsenal 1-0.

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