Abby Brammell

By Laura Williamson

Delight: Darren Ambrose celebrates after putting Crystal Palace 2-1 in front

Neil Warnock had predicted there would 'be no more exciting game' yesterday than Crystal Palace's FA Cup clash with Aston Villa and, somewhat annoyingly for him, the drama came with a bitter twist.

Warnock's Championship side were just three minutes away from the quarter-finals when a Stiliyan Petrov header earned Villa a fifth-round replay and dampened any thoughts of a romantic FA Cup story on Valentine's Day at Selhurst Park.

The Palace boss was bitterly disappointed to see his team concede directly from a corner that should have been a goal-kick. He hit out at linesman Trevor Massey for failing to spot that Villa substitute Nathan Delfouneso was the last player to touch the ball before it went out of play.


But Warnock added: 'I can't explain how proud I am, really. The lads were absolutely fantastic. In normal circumstances we would have been through to the next round. So it's disappointing, bitter.'
It was a cruel way for Palace to surrender their slender lead after Darren Ambrose's stunning free-kick had put the hosts ahead in the 70th minute.

Sold by Ipswich when they went into administration and relegated twice with Charlton Athletic, Ambrose had begun to think he was jinxed when the administrators came knocking on Palace's door on January 27. His birthday is February 29, after all.

But after forcing a save from Brad Friedel with a deflected free-kick in first-half injury time, the 25-year-old hit a sensational right-foot effort from 36 yards out which sailed into the top right corner.

However, a near full-strength Villa side weren't quite ready to surrender their FA Cup ambitions. As the rain bucketed down, Julian Speroni blocked a John Carew effort after an Ashley Young cross, then Petrov - who was a big doubt for the match after injuring his ankle in Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Manchester United - timed his run superbly to glance Stewart Downing's corner past the Palace goalkeeper.


Making a point: James Collins reacts after equalising for Villa in the first half

Martin O'Neill's side were rewarded with a replay at Villa Park on Wednesday week, just four days before their Wembley date with Manchester United in the Carling Cup final. 'It's not ideal,' admitted the Villa manager.

The eventual winner will play either West Brom or Reading away in the quarter-finals, a prospect Warnock clearly found less than enthralling. He quipped: 'We wanted to take them back there as, if I'm honest, I think it would have been a bit flat if we'd have won and got Reading or West Brom away.'

For Palace, another trip to the Midlands means a fourth money-spinning match against top flight opposition, following their replay against Wolves in the fourth round.


Heads up: Johannes Ertl scores the opening goal for Palace


Some 20,486 fans were at Selhurst Park for this Valentine's Day feast and Palace have already received £500,000 in prize money, television revenue, gate and merchandising receipts from their run to the fifth round.

This was a traditional Cup tie in all senses, but the financial repercussions for Palace have a very modern feel.

Johnny Ertl put Palace ahead after 24 minutes - scoring his first goal since moving from Austria Vienna in July 2008 -when he headed an Ambrose corner past Friedel.

James Collins struggled with the physical presence of Alan Lee, the target of every Palace goal-kick and long ball, but the defender put Villa back on level terms with a header at the near post from a Downing free-kick after 36 minutes.


Final word: Stiliyan Petrov (right) celebrates scoring his side's second equaliser

O'Neill said: 'Naturally, when you've been trailing 2-1 with five or six minutes to go, you feel pretty pleased to be in the hat for the sixth round.

'I thought that Crystal Palace played with a lot of determination and a lot of spirit, which I expected, and I was hoping that we would be able to respond to that which, for the most part, we did.'

source: dailymail