Ferguson says 'sorry' for lossLONDON — Second-tier side Crystal Palace stunned Premier League champion Manchester United to win 2-1 after extra time in their League Cup quarterfinal at Old Trafford Wednesday and set up a semifinal against Cardiff City in January. Darren Ambrose proved Palace's inspiration, firing in a 35-meter wonderstrike after 65 minutes which television pundit and former Manchester United defender Gary Neville said was the best goal he had seen in 20 years at his old stomping ground. Ambrose then turned provider when his wicked freekick was nodded home by Glenn Murray, who appeared marginally offside, on 98 minutes to set the London team on their way to a clash with fellow Championship (second division) club Cardiff. Premier League leader Manchester City will face Liverpool in the other semifinal, to be played over two legs early next year, after they beat Arsenal and Chelsea Tuesday. “You can hear the fans out there now. We're delighted. We've got a great team spirit and we can beat anyone,” former Newcastle United midfielder Ambrose told Sky Sports. Matchwinner Murray added: “It's what every boy's dream is, to come to a place like this and score a goal like that,” added . Palace's 1-0 advantage thanks to Ambrose lasted just three minutes when Italian Federico Macheda leveled from the penalty spot after he was hauled to the ground by captain Patrick McCarthy. However United, fielding an inexperienced side in the often unloved competition, were lackluster and Palace deservedly seized their opportunity to register a famous win and inflict a very rare home defeat on Alex Ferguson's men. “It's a real privilege to be here at Old Trafford, and the lads have learnt a lot from tonight,” said manager Dougie Freedman. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, meanwhile, apologized to United fans after the loss. Ferguson was upset with the manner of his side's defeat, which also saw the Da Silva twins and Dimitar Berbatov forced off with injuries. Berbatov appeared to have suffered an ankle problem and left Old Trafford with a plastic boot on the injured leg and looks sure to miss Saturday's game at Aston Villa. “I don't know where to start,” said Ferguson. “I really apologize to our fans because that was not a Manchester United performance. “I don't want to take anything away from Palace and I want them to get to the final because it was a mammoth effort and they worked their socks off so we're just very disappointed. When it went to extra time I thought we must win it but it wasn't to be. We had a lot of possession but didn't do anything with it.”
