Julian Speroni: Without him Palace would have lost by a hatful last night but he was superb. Twice Agbonlahor was through one-one-one with him and twice Speroni stood up and made it hard for the striker, in the end saving both efforts. His stop from Ashley Young in the second half was top class. Man of the match. 9

Nathaniel Clyne: Looked a little tired after so many games in such a short space of time and Ashley Young was determined to make a point having been kept quiet by the youngster in the first tie. 7

Claude Davis: Made a few errors where he lost concentration but also got in a good amount of important blocks and tackles. Not booked which makes a nice change. 7

Matt Lawrence: Bar a couple of moments he had actually had a very good game until his mad last 10 minutes. The first penalty showed why John Carew is a Premiership striker and why Lawrence is not a Premiership defender, while the second was just plain stupid. 5

Danny Butterfield: Recalled in order to give Clint Hill a rest and did particularly well against Downing again. Made the odd mistake but generally did more good than bad. 7

Johnny Ertl: Kept the pressure up on Villa and didn't let them dwell on the ball but sometimes struggled to cope with their movement and pace. 8

Shaun Derry: Did his best to keep the team driving forward and always wanted the ball, but he was caught napping a couple of times and not for the first time this season he was beaten to a corner by the man he should have been marking for Villa's opener. 7

Nick Carle: Like Ertl he did a really good job in keeping the pressure on Villa and was a key player when it came to Palace pressing forward in the second half. Seemed an odd decision to take him off. 8

Neil Danns: He didn't look 100 per cent fit to be honest. He worked hard in closing down Villa but was also anonymous for long periods. 6

Darren Ambrose: Once the penalty was given there was never any chance of him missing it and his effort and commitment to the cause epitomised Palace last night. 9

Alan Lee: Never stopped running despite being up front on his own for long periods. He did great to get ahead of Warnock and win the penalty. 8

Subs:

James Comley (Carle, 83): First appearance in a long time and didn't get up to speed with the game. 6

Kieran Djilali (Danns, 90): Showed a bit of pace to win a late corner. 6

Calvin Andrew (Lee, 90): Won a couple of headers. 6