Palace won Monday night's fourth round tie 2-0 thanks to goals from Daniel Munoz and Justin Devenny.
Hughes said, "I know it's an old cliche, we knew it was going to be a tough game. If you look at the results over the weekend, although there weren't as many shocks as such, all the games were tight involving Premier League teams and teams lower than them, so we knew it was going to be a battle. We knew it was important to get the first goal and you've got to see it out at the end.
"The style we play suits me, we've got such a good group here, great squad, good to see a couples of faces back tonight.
"It was a good night all round.
"I think we've always got a chance and the gaffer's told us that many times. We've taken all the cup competitions seriously and how we approach the game and I think that's shown this season and it's another chance to go far.
"We had such a poor start in the league, it was disappointing but we've bounced back really well. It shows a lot of character and we're in a good position at the moment results-wise and perfomances. We've just got to keep that up."