Mackay’s Wembley joy

Cardiff boss Malky Mackay hailed his side for their ‘fantastic achievement’ of reaching the Carling Cup final after a penalty shoot-out victory over Crystal Palace.

Goalkeeper Tom Heaton was the hero for the Welsh side against their Championship rivals, keeping out the first two attempts from Jermaine Easter and Sean Scannell before Jonathan Parr blazed horribly wide of the target.

The Bluebirds had levelled the aggregate score on the night when Anthony Gardner, who gave Palace the edge in the first leg, could only divert Don Cowie’s cross into his own net.

Mackay’s men had the better of the contest, particularly after Paddy McCarthy was dismissed in the 78th minute for a second bookable offence, and saw efforts from Filip Kiss and Aron Gunnarsson strike the woodwork in extra time.

Terrific

The Cardiff boss told Sky Sports News: “I’m delighted for everyone at the football club. It’s a fantastic achievement for everyone and I thought the players were terrific tonight.

“I think the first goal settled the whole stadium down and it certainly settled the players down.

“I thought we started at a fantastic tempo and with real belief. Getting the goal meant we could sit and probe.

“We knew the way Crystal Palace were going to play, they wanted to hit us on the counter-attack with pace. We had to make sure that we manipulated the ball.

“I think the fact that there were so many chances in and around their goal meant that the team kept believing.”