Pearson: Palace Better Side On The Day

Under the guidance of caretaker boss Lennie Lawrence, Palace struck two goals from set-pieces in the first half – the first a thumping finish from Damien Delaney and the second a header from Peter Ramage – to end

City’s six-game winning streak on their own patch and knock them off the top of the npower Championship.

Andy King headed a late consolation for the hosts, but they were ultimately found wanting against a solid, talented visiting team.

“I thought we came up against a very good side today and I think they deserved to win,” Pearson admitted post-match.

“They’re a good outfit, very well organised and very good offensively and, unfortunately, we had a few too many players that were a bit off-form and that’s unfortunate.

“What I will say, though, is that some teams might have downed tools – not with our lot today. We huffed and puffed throughout the afternoon, but we made too many mistakes and had too many lads a little below par today.

“When you concede two goals in the space of five or six minutes, it changes the complexion remarkably. We didn’t really have enough quality today to change it.”

Palace’s creative, speedy counter-attacks proved difficult for the hosts to deal with in the first half, before Pearson switched to a 4-3-3 formation to match up with the Eagles.

But home supporters were regularly left frustrated by referee Andy Haines. While question marks over a foul on Kasper Schmeichel in the build-up to Palace’s opener were put to bed by Pearson, controversy over two potential penalties for the hosts in the second half were more difficult to extinguish.

David Nugent appeared to be fouled in the box halfway through the second period, before having a goal-bound header blocked by the arm of Palace’s Joel Ward.

“People will talk about one or two decisions that were key, but I think it would be wrong for me to talk too much about that based on the fact that they played very well and were a bit off-colour,” Pearson said.

“Kasper has made great ground to take the corner, but has unfortunately collided with one of our players so there are no complaints about that. The block on the line from Nugent was with an arm.

“My performance as a manager and the players’ performances are scrutinised and I just hope the officials’ performances are also looked at.”