Crystal Palace's prodigies knocked Wigan out of the Carling Cup 2-1 last night and their performance gave Darren Ambrose, the 'old man of the club', plenty of satisfaction.
Former Selhurst Park boss Neil Warnock wanted to take Ambrose to Queens Park Rangers, who are now enjoying life in the Premier League.
But the 27-year-old midfielder stayed at Palace, where he is enjoying helping new talent such as 17-year-old Jonny Williams, Wilfried Zaha, 18, and Stuart O'Keefe, 20.
Scouts at Selhurst Park for this second-round tie must have been impressed by Williams's trickery on the ball, Zaha's quick feet and O'Keefe's enthusiasm as a determined, holding midfielder.
A cutback by Zaha allowed Ambrose to volley home while Williams scored the second from just inside the penalty area.
Ambrose said: "The future is bright and I'm glad to be part of it. I don't look back at what might have been. Decisions were made and I'm not at QPR. These are exciting times and we've got some great young talent."
Wigan scored a late goal from former Palace starlet Ben Watson as the Eagles confirmed a home tie next Tuesday against Middlesbrough, who are at Selhurst Park in the Championship on Saturday.
Altough Charlton were knocked out by League One rivals Preston after a 2-0 home defeat, they did sign their 19th player since the end of last season in Yann Kermorgant.
