Yohan Cabaye and Fraizer Campbell converted from 12 yards to give Alan Pardew a win against his old club
Yohan Cabaye and Fraizer Campbell fired Crystal Palace to Wembley as they put their Premier League problems to one side.
Cabaye and Campbell struck in the last five minutes to book Palace, who haven’t won a league game since Decemer, a place in their first FA Cup semi-final since 1995.
Palace’s late show meant heartbreak for 10-man Reading and especially their goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi.
He performed heroics to keep the Championship side in the tie and they looked to have earned a replay thanks to his string of saves.
But Palace finally found a way through when Cabaye struck from the spot and Campbell tapped in number two right on the stroke of full time.
Alan Pardew has had an up and down relationship with the FA Cup.
He reached the final in 1990 as a player, scoring Palace’s famous semi-final winner against Liverpool, but has had much less joy as a manager. This was just his second sixth-round tie in 16 seasons.
Reading, semi-finalists last year, were hoping to heap more misery on Pardew, whose side are on a woeful 12-game winless league run and have only tasted victory in the FA Cup in 2016.
The home fans would have loved nothing more after Pardew controversially quit Reading in 2003 to force through a move to West Ham.
Predictably they targeted Pardew with some X-rated chants but he would have been cheered by his side’s display.
Cabaye forced Al-Habsi into a flying save from his free-kick and Yannick Bolasie fired into the side-netting twice in quick succession.
Emmanuel Adebayor was then put through but fired straight at the busy Al-Habsi who also denied Bolasie on the stroke of half-time before Joe Ledley poked over from close range.
In between those two Palace chances Reading came to life and Ola John did a Bolasie by crashing two attempts into the side-netting.
John’s second near miss came after another heart-in-your-mouth Palace keeper howler, this time from Wayne Hennessey - in for Alex McCarthy following his blunder against Liverpool - who spilled a cross straight to the Reading winger.
Al-Habsi continued his one-man mission to frustrate Palace after the break with a stunning flying stop to tip away Mile Jedinak’s header.
Oliver Norwood then hacked Scott Dann’s header off the line from the resulting corner, Adebayor had an attempt deflected over and Gunter produced two last-ditch clearances inside his six yard box as Palace turned up the heat.
Reading briefly broke out and Stephen Quinn forced a save from Hennessey but they were grateful to Al-Habsi again for more acrobatics to keep out another Cabaye free-kick.
But Cabaye finally found a way past Al-Habsi, but only just, five minutes from time from the spot.
Cooper was penalised for pulling back Bolasie and sent off for a second yellow and Cabaye forced the ball in despite Al-Habsi getting a hand to it.
And Campbell made it 2-0, smashing the ball in from a yard out after Al-Habsi tipped his first effort onto the post.
DREAM TEAM RATINGS: Reading 0 Crystal Palace 2
The Eagles left it late but a Yohan Cabaye penalty and last-second goal from substitute Frazier Campbell allowed them to dismiss Reading in the FA Cup sixth round.
DREAM TEAM RATINGS:
CRYSTAL PALACE: Hennessey 6, Ward 7, Dann 7, Delaney 7, Souare 7, Bolasie 6, Zaha 6, Jedinak 6, Ledley 6, Cabaye 7, Adebayor 7.
SUBS: Campbell 6, Sako 6.
BOOKED: Bolasie, Zaha, Jedinak.
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