Bournemouth manager Jason Tindall believes facing Carabao Cup holders Manchester City in the third round will be a great challenge.
The Cherries progressed 11-10 in a penalty shoot-out against Crystal Palace on Tuesday after a goalless 90 minutes at the Vitality Stadium.
Asmir Begovic was the hero after he denied Luka Milivojevic from 12-yards to send the Sky Bet Championship club through.
Up next is a trip to the Etihad where rookie boss Tindall, who stepped up from his role as assistant to replace Eddie Howe in the summer, will go head-to-head with Pep Guardiola.
He said: “As a manager and player, you want to pit yourself against the best teams and the best people in the industry you are in.
“It will be such a tough game, as it always has been whenever we have gone to Man City, but it will be a great challenge for us.
“It will be a great opportunity for the players who are selected to play and a chance to go and give a good account of themselves. We are really looking forward to that game.”
While excited by the trip to Manchester, Tindall conceded he was surprised the draw for the third round was made at the same time as the second round in a change in format compared to previous years in the competition.
“It didn’t frustrate me knowing we had to go to Man City because it is a great challenge for us,” the Cherries manager added.
“I thought it was a bit strange the next round draw had already taken place considering the way it has always been done.
“I am sure there are reasons to why it was done that way and the most important thing for us tonight was to deliver a good performance and get through to the next round.”
Bournemouth may have won the contest in 90 minutes had Sam Surridge not had a goal ruled out in the first half for offside when he appeared to be onside.
It was a rare moment of quality in a clash which lacked tempo at times, with Palace handing minutes to several players short of fitness.
The Eagles gave a full debut to Ebere Eze and Michy Batshuayi featured from the off, but the visitors struggled to create chances on the south coast and exit the competition at this stage for the second year in a row.
It may have been different had Wayne Hennessey not blazed over from 12 yards when he had denied Begovic moments earlier.
As it was, David Brooks scored his second penalty of the night and Palace captain Milivojevic could not follow in his footsteps after he was denied by Bournemouth’s goalkeeper.
Like Tindall, Roy Hodgson was surprised by the decision to make the draw for the third round before the second round ties had been completed.
He said: “It was an incredible display of penalty taking up to the ones where the two goalkeepers missed, it was quite incredible.
“Every penalty was almost perfect so congratulations to both teams on that and congratulations to Bournemouth on winning the game.
“They deserved to win it, they played very well and I can only wish them luck up at Man City next week.
“I am not happy or I don’t think it is a good idea the third round of the competition was announced before we played the second round. I don’t understand the benefit of doing that.”
