Mackay joy as Cardiff on the way to Wembley

CARDIFF boss Malky Mackay hailed his side’s “nerves of steel” after they reached the Carling Cup final last night after a thrilling penalty shootout win over Championship rivals Crystal Palace last night.

“We’ve been at this stage before in this competition and the guys who took the penalties had nerves of steel,” he said. “Tom Heaton has been our cup keeper and with some of the blame given to him after the goal in the first leg, maybe there was a bit of justice tonight.”

Palace, who had their captain, Ireland’s Paddy McCarthy sent off late in the game, had withstood wave after wave of Cardiff pressure to take the match to a penalty shoot-out after the tie finished 1-1 on aggregate.