Bristol City 1-0 Crystal Palace
Adam Baker reports from Ashton Gate

Nicky Maynard's late goal earned City a controversial 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at Ashton Gate.

The striker bagged his second goal of the season a minute from time, rubbing salt into the wounds of Palace - who had a clear goal ruled out in the first half.

Freddie Sears' goal seemingly had put the visitors into the lead on 33 minutes but after much deliberation referee Rob Shoebridge ruled out the effort.

Video replays showed the ball had reached the back of the net following the on-loan West Ham striker's close range shot before bouncing straight back out off the net framing.

City felt they should have been awarded a fifth minute spot-kick when Clint Hill wrestled with Bradley Orr in the penalty area but official Rob Shoebridge was having none of it.

Jamie McCombe, back in the side after a knee injury, was the next to take aim at the Palace goal with his head. However, from Jamie McAllister's corner, the big defender's goalbound header hit a Palace body en route to goal and the chance was gone.

Palace boss Neil Warnock had a message for the officials

Maynard saw a shot blocked soon after, while it took until the 21st minute for Palace to test Dean Gerken for the first time. Danny Butterfield's right-wing cross was headed towards the bottom corner by Alan Lee but Gerken was down to make a smart save.

Moments later another McAllister corner caused havoc in the box and Maynard's driven shot was blocked out by a cluster of bodies around the penalty spot.

The controversial decision arrived on 33 minutes as Speroni's long ball forward was allowed to bounce in the box and Sears stole in ahead of Cole Skuse to stab in the opener - or so he thought.

Just as the on-loan striker wheeled away to celebrate, his joy was cut short by the referee who hadn't awarded the goal.

Then came a period of around 90 seconds as the referee checked with his assistant on the far side - the wrong side of the pitch to where Sears had fired in - and between the two they came to the conclusion the ball had not crossed the line.

Paul Hartley is denied by the offside flag in the second half

John Akinde replaced Clarkson at the break and immediately got involved, being brought down on the edge of the box by Jose Fonte. However, from the resultant free kick Paul Hartley curled the ball against the wall.

Paddy McCarthy headed just wide from Darren Ambrose's corner soon after, and Ambrose himself powered a 30-yard free kick inches wide afterwards.

More controversy followed on 51 minutes when Akinde shrugged off his marker and forced Speroni into a parried save. As the ball dropped loose Hartley was on hand to stab home only to see celebrations cut short by the assistant referee's offside flag.

Nicky Maynard celebrates his last-gasp winner for City

Gerken made a smart save with his body to keep out Derry's low shot from 20 yards, and then watched a deflected Ambrose free kick flash wide of his left-hand post.

Maynard appealed for a penalty with ten minutes left, claiming N'Diaye had blocked his powerful shot with an arm, but once again referee Shoebridge missed the key moment.

But Maynard wasn't to be denied a minute from time as Clint Hill and Speroni were involved in an almighty mix-up, gifting the striker a simple finish, from just outside the box, for the winner.