Fergie fumes: That was NOT a Manchester United performance
Published 23:26 30/11/11 By David Anderson
Sir Alex Ferguson apologised to Manchester United fans after his side were humbled by Crystal Palace in the Carling Cup.
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Journeyman Glenn Murray headed home the winner to register Palace's first victory at Old Trafford in 22 years and Ferguson admitted he had no excuses.
Although Ferguson made 10 changes to blood his next generation of kids, he still felt they should have been good enough to beat the Championship side.
"I don't know where to start, to be honest with you," said the gutted United manager. "I want to apologise to the fans because that was not a Manchester United performance.
"I don't want to take anything away from Crystal Palace, and I wish them every success and hope they get to the final because they put in a fantastic mammoth effort.
"Every one of their players worked their socks to get to the semi-final, but I'm very disappointed.
"I'm not going to go into the ins and outs of it, we were beaten and it was a very disappointing night for Manchester United."
Fergie claimed Murray's winner was offside, but accepted that Palace still deserved their shock win - because United were so poor.
"When it went to extra-time, I felt we must win it, but it was not to be," he said. "Their second goal was offside, and you could see that from the cameras. We're not getting any luck from linesmen just now.
"But I can't take anything away from Crystal Palace. They fought hard to get the result and deserved it. They played their part.
"It was a hard, hard game - a physically hard game.
"They started well for about 10 minutes. We then had a lot of possession, but didn't do anything with it.
"I don't think their goalkeeper made a save in the first half.
"We played too many short passes."
Meanwhile, Murray admitted he was in dreamland after scoring the winner at Old Trafford.
His extra-time header sent Palace through to the League Cup's semi-finals for the first time in 10 years - and the journeyman striker claimed he could barely believe it.
"It's every boy's dream to come to a place like this and score a goal like that," said Murray, who has spent most of his career in the lower leagues at Workington, Barrow, Carlisle and Rochdale, and with Wilmington Hammerheads in the USA.
"The fans have enjoyed it and it's such a great feeling. It was a great cross by Darren Ambrose, I managed to lose my marker and it's one I've managed to head into the back of the net. It's a great feeling."
Boss Dougie Freedman dedicated the famous win to the Eagles fans who have endured so much over the last few years.
"It's a wonderful night for the football club, especially with what the club has been through over the last few years," said Freedman, whose side will now face Cardiff in the semi-finals.
"The lads have done well. We've really enjoyed our night and I think we deserved it. We showed a lot of desire and we played some good football.
"When you come to Old Trafford, you really have to give everything you've got and the lads did that.
"Everybody playing had to get eight, nine or 10 out of 10 and we did that to get a great result.
"Cardiff will be a difficult tie and they are an exceptional team. We've already played against them and been beaten this season."
Ambrose put Palace ahead with a stunning 35-yard strike, which Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville hailed as the best goal he had ever seen scored against United at Old Trafford.
Ambrose said: "Fantastic. It's a great occasion to come here against the champions and win.
"Even though we have had a quiet period this season, we were confident we could win because the spirit in the camp is fantastic."
