Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha shows why he will be a Manchester United player next season In administration just three years ago, what a result this was for Palace, sport's equivalent of the Euromillions jackpot. As the final whistle sounded, as the Palace players bounced around the pitch, as their fans pumped out a delirious version of their theme song Glad All Over, to a man Watford's team lay face down on the turf, empty and flattened by defeat. They were that close to financial nirvana, only to have Zaha snatch it from them. No wonder their grandest supporter Elton John appeared moved to tears, just as he had been 29 years ago, when he watched his beloved hornets lose against Everton here in the FA Cup final. Either that or he was driven a watery eyed by a contest that will live about as long in the memory as a bout of norovirus. The relegated Wigan Athletic team watching this must have wondered how the system worked that they were to be ejected from the Premier League in favour of one of these sides. Mind, for the plethora of comedians who follow Palace - led by Eddie Izzard and Jo Brand - it was a case of never mind the quality, feel the parachute payments. Plus it gave them opportunity to thank the footballing gods for Zaha. How fortunate Palace were to have the young England international in their ranks. His most valuable contribution to their cause - perhaps the most valuable contribution any player can have made in the 150 years since the game was codified - came towards the end of the first half of extra time. It was then, as he had threatened to all game, that Zaha suddenly burst clear of the Watford defence and engaged the afterburners. His surge of pace took him past Hornets centre-back Marco Cassetti. How the young man's run made the 35-year-old Italian, on loan from Udinese, look his age: this was a Cassetti suddenly made obsolete by new footballing technology. He stuck out his leg and sent the young Palace winger sprawling. Referee Martin Atkinson pointed to the penalty spot and up stepped Kevin Phillips, Palace's 39-year-old substitute. He may have the sponsor's name Jelly plastered across the back of his shirt, but there was nothing wobbly about the veteran's strike. It ripped into the top corner of Manuel Almunia's goal, a precisely delivered reminder of the value of cool-headed finishing. Whether a man whose career encompasses almost the whole of Premier League history will be back in the top division next season is as yet unclear. Though Holloway did give a hint that a glorious swansong might be possible for his loanee from Blackpool. "If he keeps doing that, I'll sign him till he's 50," said Palace's manager. We knew Zaha would be in the top division whether or not Palace made it. Next season he will be playing in more elevated contests than this, hoping to shake hands with more significant guests of honour than Roger Hutton, director of retail business at npower who filled the role here. Though for much of the game, United fans tuning in to the television coverage must have wondered exactly what it was Sir Alex Ferguson had bequeathed to their club. Zaha's jinks and flicks and step-overs were prodigious, the end result less so. On at least half a dozen occasions he looked about to turn the game, only to see his final ball hit a defender or balloon beyond the far post. He looked, in short, like Nani without the hair gel. But then he did what he had in the semi-final when his two goals had defeated Brighton: he proved himself a player with the big-game edge. "I'm scratching my head already wondering how we'll stay up without him," said Holloway. And for England supporters, this tantalising glimpse has fed the hope his match-winning pedigree will be given further exposure. Though the coach Stuart Pearce will be lucky if the young man does not withdraw from selection for the Under-21 Championship in Israel in June. He is, after all, a Manchester United player now.