C Palace 1-2 Bristol City

Certainly, the two goals that they scored at Selhurst Park on Saturday to take a priceless lead back to Ashton Gate would have lit up any league in the world. Palace, who were distinctly off colour, will be glad that the away goals rule does not apply in the play-offs.

Bristol City's first masterpiece was straight from the training ground. Nicknamed the "Weasel" after the now Swansea player Darren Way, who used to play under boss Gary Johnson at Yeovil, a free kick that started with David Noble faking to shoot was passed to Nick Carle who, in turn, teed up captain Louis Carey for an emphatic finish in the top corner.

"We think up these plays on the training ground – me and the staff," said Johnson. "A bit sad, aren't we?"

In contrast, City's winner, which came deep into injury time and just five minutes after the home side had equalised through a Ben Watson penalty, was nothing but pure, glorious opportunism. Carle pounced on a poor Palace clearance and squared to former Arsenal trainee Noble, who unleashed a rasping 35-yard drive into the top left-hand corner.

The winner was deserved, with City, who were spearheaded by the tireless Dele Adebola, the more penetrative side up front.

Palace enjoyed long spells of possession, but their final ball was consistently poor, both in open play and from set pieces.

Palace's dead-ball taker Watson finished well from the spot on 85 minutes after defender Jose Fonte had gone down owing to the close attentions of the goalscorer Carey.

However, Watson had repeatedly wasted corners and free kicks in promising positions, often hitting the first defender with his attempt or sailing the ball over his team-mates and out of play.

The only time that Palace gave City a genuine fright in open play came after 63 minutes when right-back Danny Butterfield floated a sumptuous cross towards captain Mark Hudson, only for the less well-placed Watson to nip in front of his team-mate and head over.

Butterfield later fell to a terrible challenge from City midfielder Marvin Elliott, who caught his opponent on the knee with his studs. Only a yellow card was shown, much to the consternation of Palace boss Neil Warnock.

"That was a straight red," he added. "We should have been playing 10 men after that. You could see by the look on Elliott's face. He thought his season was over. You get booked for throwing the ball away!"

Warnock also expressed shock at the visitors' full-time celebrations, calling their behaviour "arrogant."

True enough, the City players' raucous dash towards their fans at the whistle was a little unusual. However, it would be a shame if their mature display was forgotten amid the post-match recriminations.