Darren Ambrose hailed Crystal Palace fans for making Old Trafford seem just like a normal Saturday afternoon at Selhurst Park last night.

The Eagles supporters were in fine voice as they watched their side dump Manchester United out of the Carling Cup and secure a two-legged semi-final against fellow Championship side Cardiff City.

Ambrose, a half-time substitute for the injured Dean Moxey, inspired the victory with a stunning 35-yard opener before crossing for Glenn Murray to head an extra-time winner for a 2-1 victory.

"It was a massive occasion," said Ambrose.

"The fans were fantastic, we brought so many and it was like a home game.

"In a place like Old Trafford, to have a 52,000 crowd and all you can hear is our fans is fantastic.

"When it was 0-0 and when we were under the cosh at 1-0 up or 1-1, they were magnificent.

"I am sure they enjoyed their night as much as we did."

Ambrose's strike was described by Sky pundit Gary Neville as the best by an visiting player at Old Trafford and the 27-year-old was delighted with his effort.

"I tried one of them at the weekend and I hit row Z but that's me, I just keep trying," he added.

"It doesn't faze me if I miss the target.

"I hit this one sweetly and thankfully, it went in the top corner.

"It is up there with the best I have scored.

"Thankfully, we were on the winning side. To have a goal like that and then lose would have been frustrating but thankfully we won.

"It was a great finish from Glenn for the second goal as well."

Avoiding Manchester City and Liverpool in the semi-finals offers Palace a great chance to make the final at Wembley, but Ambrose urged caution.

"People outside football will say Cardiff will be the easier one," he said.

"But they will be difficult, they beat a Premier League side and so did we.

"It is the semi final now and anything can happen - one more tie and we are at Wembley."