Pompey went into the game knowing victory was vital if they were to stand any chance of avoiding a first relegation to England's third tier since 1983.

They recovered from a slow start to take the lead on 32 minutes when Scott Allan's shot deflected off Nathaniel Clyne and beyond Julian Speroni.

Allan then turned provider 10 minutes into the second half, curling a corner onto the head of Greg Halford who nodded home from six yards.

Eagles substitute Darren Ambrose ensured a nervy finish by converting a 70th minute penalty but Pompey held on to keep their slim survival hopes alive.

The south coast club are now five points behind City with just two games to play.

"All the pressure is on Bristol City as far as we're concerned," Appleton said.

No pressure

"There's no pressure on us. It's for them to throw away rather than us to achieve it.

"We knew if we'd won the game and they'd beaten West Ham, we would have been down anyway. We can't control their results. We can just control our results.

"We'll try and win again on Saturday and we'll give it everything we have got because we've got pride and we've got dignity. If the worst-case scenario does happen, hopefully we can do it with a little bit about us.

"I would love it to go to the last game of the season because I think that would be a massive achievement for everyone associated with the football club - the players and staff.

"When it gets to that situation, if it gets to that situation, anything can happen. We've seen dramas up and down the country in the last 10 or 20 years. You just never know."

Wasted opportunities

Crystal Palace boss Dougie Freedman felt his team wasted opportunities to claim a point at Fratton Park.

"We didn't take our chances. I thought our performance was fantastic pretty much from start to finish. I cannot criticise the players' work rate," he said.

"It was a night where we played some fantastic football; our attacking display was great. We just couldn't quite get the goals I thought we deserved. It was a difficult result to take after looking at our performance."