Eight minutes before the break, Óscar Mingueza's excellent run and cross was met with a smart finish from Nketiah. It was ultimately enough to send the Eagles into the last eight of the Carabao Cup.
"I've actually got a good record here," he told Palace TV after the win. "It's always nice to play here and to get the win of course.
"It was tough at times. We had to really dig in. There wasn't too much service, we knew it was going to be a tough game.
"We obviously made quite a lot of changes in comparison to them. It was a good chance for a lot of the boys to get out there and show what we can do.
"I think it was a really professional performance."