Jorgen Strand Larsen struck twice to propel Crystal Palace into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup with a 3-0 victory over Middlesbrough at Selhurst Park.
Strand Larsen nodded home in each half before substitute Daichi Kamada lobbed 'keeper Sol Brynn for the third as Palace showed their clinical touch in a lively tie that was largely dominated by Boro.
But having named the Championship's leading scorer Will Lankshear on the bench as both teams made eight changes, they lacked the firepower needed to capitalise on their impressive endeavour in the final third.
Palace, meanwhile, were content to sit back and absorb the persistent waves of attacks before pouncing on the counter when the moment arose - the theme for all three of their goals.
For that strategy to work their defence needed to be solid, but it was the opposite early on as a dithering Yeremy Pino gave the ball away, enabling the launch of a Boro attack, before 'keeper Walter Benitez played a dangerous pass to Ben Chilwell that invited more pressure.
The lively Amario Cozier-Duberry fired a shot into the arms of Benitez and after a period of facing steady pressure, Palace came to life with a slick interchange that ended with Pino having a shot blocked.
A turn and shot by David Strelec and attempt by Callum Brittain renewed the attack on the home goal but at the other end Pino was denied by a sharp save from goalkeeper Brynn.
Boro continued to dictate play with Cozier-Duberry down the right their main threat and he sent another effort just wide.
But despite the Championship club's grip on the game, it was Palace who struck first through a dynamic move that saw the ball swept from left to right where Oscar Mingueza whipped in a cross for Strand Larsen to nod home.
The speed of the move and accuracy of the finish caught out Boro, who at least responded to by resuming their occupation of Palace's half - a theme that continued into the second half.
A goalmouth scramble ended with the Premier League team clearing their lines, yet once again Boro were undone by a sweeping move that saw them drift 2-0 behind against the run of play.
Once more the ball was switched from side to side and this time it was Chilwell's lofted cross that was met by the leaping Strand Larsen, who made buried the chance.
Boro were still dangerous and only Benitez denied Aidan Morris's low shot as the home defence continue to be pinned back.
But their recurring nightmare one last time when they were caught on the break against with substitute Kamada choosing his moment to lift the ball over Brynn and into the net.
Crystal Palace head coach Pierre Sage:
"We didn't play well at the beginning of the game and we started to play when we scored the first goal. It was a good collective action.
"We controlled the ball at this moment. At the end, we scored. It's a good sign. During the first half, I was not very happy with our way of defending.
"We struggled when they played between our lines, but we corrected this kind of thing during half-time.
"It was better in the second half and we were able to score. We didn't have possession, but they're a good team. I want to congratulate them, they played well."
Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg:
"It's always tough when you lose a game 3-0 when it's about scoring goals.
"But if you look at the performance, that was quite an impressive 60 minutes away from home against a Premier League side.
"We got into a lot of good positions on the pitch, more than them, but their quality around those areas and what they did there was nice.
"There are very few teams that go to the Premier League sides and take control of the game, which I think we did."
