CRYSTAL Palace could have been celebrating a different result on Saturday had a contentious first half decision gone their way, midfielder Barry Bannan believes.

With the deadlock yet to be broken after 29 minutes,a Palace break saw striker Marouane Chamakh through on goal and take a tumble trying to beat goalkeeper Artur Boruc.

The Frenchman was adjudged to have dived and shown a yellow card – rightly according to replays.

Scottish midfielder Bannan refused to be downhearted after the game.

He said: “I think everyone believes that we're good enough, it is just a matter of getting a win and getting that run of games.

“If we got the penalty in the first half and scored, it is a whole different game. It is things like that which turn games and it happened in their favour today.

“I was behind it and I thought it was a penalty from where I was looking but I've not seen a replay.

“Goals change games. They were starting to get a bit wayward, they were shooting from long distance and they couldn't really break us down.

“I think if you get that goal it changes the game completely, you build confidence from that goal and you have got something to defend and hold onto.

“I think it was a big point in the game.”

The consensus is that Palace were very much in the game in the first half, defending solidly and looking dangerous on the break.

But after four minutes of the second half - which included a strike from Saints record-signing Dani Osvaldo from a ball which should have been cleared and a Rickie Lambert free kick resulting from a soft foul – the Eagles found themselves staring down a two goal deficit.

Bannan said: “I think it was pretty similar to last week.

“We got caught in the second half early on. It was just a mistake and you get punished at this level. Goals kill games and that killed us.”