Crystal Palace 2-1 Middlesbrough
- Published
Crystal Palace exacted some form of revenge for their league defeat to Middlesbrough at the weekend with a deserved Carling Cup success.
Boro won 1-0 at Selhurst Park on Saturday but Wilfried Zaha and Calvin Andrew struck to see Palace progress.
Zaha's fine strike from the edge of the area separated the sides at half-time.
Andrew extended the lead early in the second half, and although Merouane Zemmama pulled one back almost straight away, Palace held on.
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Both sides were much changed from the weekend encounter, but the two still served up an entertaining clash.
Despite enjoying the majority of possession in the first half, the visitors failed to muster a single shot on target - and they were made to pay for it in the 18th minute.
Teenage winger Zaha, a constant threat for the home side, collected the ball for Palace on the left-hand side of the penalty area before sweeping a shot past Danny Coyne.
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It was Palace who began the second half the stronger and it was no surprise when they doubled their lead with 52 minutes on the clock.
Again Zaha provided the spark for the home team, drifting in a cross which Andrew powerfully headed home from close range.
That second Eagles strike shook Middlesbrough into life, and they were brought back into the fixture three minutes later by Zemmama, who took control of the ball inside the Palace penalty area before striking it past Lewis Price.
Five of the last six meetings between these two sides at Selhurst Park had finished 1-0, but both sides continued to press for that decisive fourth goal.
Boro boss Tony Mowbray introduced an attacking double substitution on 67 minutes, and his side pounded the Palace goal late on.
Rhys Williams and Scott McDonald both went close in the final moments, but Dougie Freedman's men held on to advance to the fourth round.