Neil Warnock was beside himself with rage over the goal that never was during Crystal Palace's 1-0 defeat in their Coca-Cola Championship clash with Bristol City at Ashton Gate.

Palace striker Freddie Sears raced away to celebrate an apparently perfectly good strike on 34 minutes.

But his shot ricocheted back out of the net off the base of the goal and, after consulting a linesman, referee Rob Shoebridge awarded a goal kick.

Warnock had to be restrained from remonstrating with the fourth official but at half-time he somehow found the composure to direct his players away from the referee and into the dressing room.

Warnock said: "We can put a man on the moon, time serves of 100 miles per hour at Wimbledon, yet we cannot place a couple of sensors in a net to show when a goal has been scored.

"We were cheated. And I'm not saying that against the referee because he didn't mean to get it wrong."