Whilst the club's finances are in rude health, matters on the field took a decided turn for the worse for Charlton as they were beaten by a Crystal Palace reserve side reduced to ten men.

Having earlier announced operating profits for the past year of some £4.6m, Charlton's board of directors would have been horrified to see the players whose wages they pay leave the field to a chorus of boos from the normally restrained Valley crowd.

Sporting an unfamiliar strip - the supposedly "lucky" centenary kit, in which they had gone two games unbeaten - the Charlton line-up surprisingly bore a familiar feel, with only a handful of changes from the side which lost to Liverpool at Anfield.

But in light of Charlton's wretched knock-out competition record in recent years, perhaps the outcome of this Carling Cup clash was only too predictable.

In stark contrast to the Charlton manager Eagles boss Iain Dowie, perhaps mindful of resting key players - notably star striker Andy Johnson - for the relegation battle ahead, started with only Ben Watson from the side which saw off West Brom at the weekend.

Thus it was perhaps of little surprise when the home side took the lead with the game just five minutes old, Herman Hreidarrson heading home from Danny Murphy's corner from the right.

But if the home support, who took great delight in barracking their Palace counterparts before turning their ire on their own players, expected a rout, they were to be sorely disappointed.

Indeed, the early goal represented a false economy as it was the away side, with Mikele Leigertwood prominent in midfield, who began to play the more accomplished football, without ever seriously testing Dean Kiely.

But a fortunate break on the stroke of half-time swung the tie in the Eagles favour, as Hreidarsson's sliding challenge inadvertently diverted the ball into Dougie Freedman's path, and the Scot's curling effort gave Kiely no chance.

Buoyed by the goal, Dowie's men started the second-half the stronger team, and on the hour mark the turnaround was complete as they took the lead through their striker Sandor Torghelle, a physical presence whose only impact until that point had been to leave his mark on the Charlton defenders.

But on this occasion the Hungarian with a big appetite belied his hulking frame by taking the ball neatly on his chest and drilling a low left-footed shot into the bottom corner of the net.

Ten minutes later he was again in referee Rob Styles' notebook, this time for an outrageous dive in the box, for which he was rightly booked.

With Styles this year two yellow cards has not necessarily always meant a read, but on this occasion he did remember handing Torghelle a caution for a previous foul on Chris Perry, and he made his way down the tunnel.

Yet even when faced with ten men Charlton never looked like beating Julian Speroni, who performed admirably in the Crystal Palace goal, with one particular save from a Hreidarsson header destined to stick long in the memory.

And so it was left to the boo boys to deliver their verdict on a Charlton performance which rarely threatened to rise above the mundane.

Whisper it, but on this evidence it is the Addicks who should be staring nervously over their shoulders at the drop-zone.

As for Palace a trip to the Theatre of Dreams beckons in the next round - if they can win that, they really will be in wonderland.