Palace slipped to another defeat at Maine Road this afternoon, a defeat which means that a play off place is now a possibility, rather than the probability it appeared only a month ago. In truth Palace got what they deserved from this game in what has become the normal lacklustre performance of recent weeks. There was plenty of huff and puff but very little guile and craft. The winner came after only 10 minutes, when Kevin Horlock headed home past the stranded Matt Clarke following a teasing run by Shaun Wright-Phillips. Palace were more intent on stopping City from playing than taking the game to their hosts, reflected in the fact that their one and only shot on target on target came in injury time. There must be a 100% improvement in next weeks performance against Walsall or Palace can kiss goodbye to any hopes of reaching the play off positions.