Crystal Palace put their Premier League struggles on hold to earn a place in their first FA Cup semi-final in 21 years by beating Championship side Reading with two late goals.

March 11, 2016 EPL 0 Comments

Palace are without a league win in 2016 but will be at Wembley thanks to a Yohan Cabaye penalty and Fraizer Campbell's stoppage-time strike.
Reading had frustrated the Eagles before Jake Cooper was sent off for pulling back Yannick Bolasie. Cabaye converted from the spot before Campbell added a second from close range.
Palace boss Alan Pardew - who won promotion with Reading in his first managerial job - saw the tie as a chance for the Eagles to shake off their woeful league form but despite dominating possession and chances they could not find a way past Ali Al-Habsi in the Reading goal before the late penalty.
Reading took Arsenal to extra time in last year's semi-final but apart from an Ola John header which was well saved by Wayne Hennessey, they rarely threatened a repeat visit and were indebted to a string of fine saves from Al-Habsi.

He kept out Mile Jedinak's powerful header and two Cabaye free-kicks as the tie looked set for a replay, before the goalkeeper almost stopped the penalty awarded by referee Mike Dean for slight contact from Cooper as Bolasie chased a ball into the box.
Turning point for Pardew?
Pardew, 54, has strong FA Cup history with Palace, having scored the winner in the 1990 semi-final win against Liverpool.
And he will now hope to lead them to another final after seeing his side return to their counter-attacking best at times against stubborn opponents.
At the turn of the year Pardew may have been hoping for a place in the Champions League, with Palace four points off the top four in fifth, but they have picked up just two points since.