Disappointed Evans keen to switch his attention to testing Villa match

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson apologised to fans after the Championship side claimed an unexpected place in the semi-finals with a 2-1 victory in extra time at Old Trafford.

United looked set to gain the upper hand after Federico Macheda’s penalty cancelled out Darren Ambrose’s wonder strike, but Glenn Murray settled the tie with a header in the 98th minute.

Evans had been restored to the United side, and handed the captain’s armband, as manager Sir Alex Ferguson made 10 changes but he could only rue the team’s performance.

The Northern Ireland international said: “We’re very disappointed not to be in the semi-finals. I thought we would go on after we scored, and going into the first period of extra time, playing towards the Stretford End, I thought we’d have a chance of getting a goal and seal it from there. But they went down the other end and scored against the run of play really.

“We need to pick ourselves up and hopefully win on Saturday.”

United return to Premier League action with a trip to Aston Villa tomorrow. A number of rested stars are likely to return but with the likes of Evans, Ji-sung Park, Dimitar Berbatov and Antonio Valencia on duty, United were hardly lacking in top-level experience against Palace.

Berbatov will be doubtful for the weekend. The Bulgarian, who did not return for the second half, left Old Trafford with his foot in a protective boot.

n Fulham suffered a last-gasp defeat to FC Twente as they wasted the chance to make the Europa League knockout stage last night.

The Cottagers knew three points in Holland would guarantee qualification from Group K, but they ultimately claimed none as Austrian substitute Marc Janko stabbed home from close range.

Kenwyne Jones scored an 81st-minute equaliser for Stoke at home to Dynamo Kiev and they go through to the knockout stages as Group D winners.