“It’s a tough one,” he said in his post-match press conference. “When you lose a cup game it is not easy and of course it is difficult to accept, but we are out of the cup and we have to head back home.
“When after 90 minutes it is 0-0 and it is a penalty shoot-out, the difference is of course the experience, the calmness of the players. It’s about [Newcastle] making those five changes that can have an impact on the penalties as well.
“The positives is [that] we have a really clear identity about the way we want to play the game, regardless of the players on the field. Today we showed quality at times.
“I’m pleased because there are a couple of players who didn’t play a lot and today I think they played fantastically well. Look at Sam [Johnstone] in goal, [James] Tomkins, look at Luka [Milivojevic] and Will [Hughes] in the midfield.
“I’m really pleased with the effect they had on the game today. Of course it’s a difficult place to come, but managing not to concede a goal and to perform like that, I’m pleased with what we showed today.”
Vieira reserved a special mention for the Palace fans who made the long journey to the north-east, amidst difficult travel conditions.
“It’s fantastic – we are in the middle of the week and they travel far away to support the team,” he said. “This is one of the reasons that we wanted to do so well.
“It is a difficult place for the fans to come and that’s why we spent a bit of time over there to thank them for making the trip to Newcastle.”