1. #SHOCK Alex Ferguson last night apologised to Manchester United supporters as they were dumped out of the Carling Cup quarter finals by Championship side Crystal Palace.

Darren Ambrose scored a screamer to put the Eagles one up before Federico Macheda equalised from the spot but Glenn Murray headed an extra-time winner.

Catch up with how it happened here.

2. #SEMI-FINALS Palace will face fellow second-tier side Cardiff in the semi-finals after last night’s subsequent draw. Liverpool and Man City were pitched together on the other side of the draw.

3. #HOOPS IN GROUPS Shamrock Rovers comprehensively lost their penultimate Europa League pool game in Russia last night.

Michael O’Neill’s side were level at 1-1 at one stage but ultimately went down 4-1. Here’s how it happened.

4. #HOME COMFORTS Rory McIlroy will indeed play in next summer’s Irish Open, his new management company Horizon confirmed yesterday.

The Holywood man leads the way on six under par as the first round of the Hong Kong Open entered its closing stages this morning.

Miguel Angel Jimenez is just one shot back however, we’ll have more later this morning.

5. #SACKED Steve Bruce ‘parted ways’ with  Sunderland yesterday. Saturday’s home defeat to Wigan left Sunderland 16th in the Premier League, two points above the relegation zone. It seems that was the last straw for owner Ellis Short.

Several newspapers indicated that Mark hughes and Martin O’Neill fancy a shot at the Stadium of Light job.

6. #ENGINE Bing has released their list of the top searches of 2011 so far. Tennis player Maria Sharapova tops the list as the most search athlete of the year. She is followed by Tiger Woods, who topped the list in 2010.

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