Town striker Zian Flemming admitted the Blues lost control of the game during the second half before securing a dramatic late victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

Having come on as a substitute, the Dutchman netted his first Town goal at the death as Gary O’Neil’s side claimed a first away win of the season on a topsy-turvy afternoon in south London.

Axel Disasi’s red card swung the game in the Blues’ favour at 1-1, only for the visitors to be pegged back after letting a lead slip while holding a numerical advantage.

Flemming says that aspect of the performance was disappointing, but that learning from mistakes is more enjoyable after a positive result.

“We just got away with murder a little bit,” he said. “But in the end it’s obviously a lovely feeling to get away with three points.

“We started not as good as we would have liked to, then we were quite good. They also got the red card, so we were then quite dominant.

“In the second half we lost control and we struggled to get the momentum on our side again. It was almost as if they needed to score at 2-2 for us to start attacking and pressing again, which was a bit of a shame because you don’t want to be in that position.

“Now that we’ve won, I wouldn’t say it doesn’t matter because for the process it does, but in May everyone forgets about it and just sees the three extra points.

“For us and for the fans, let’s be happy and see the bigger picture, but also for us inside the building and the manager, we will look into detail about what happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

“It’s probably a very nice position to be in, to be critical when you’ve got three points. Let’s call it that way. I’m 100 per cent sure that [O’Neil] will do that, he’s done it already and he’ll do that throughout the week as well.

“The players were also happy to improve and we know we need to improve, but improving whilst winning is a lot easier than improving whilst losing.”

Town were leading 2-1 when Flemming was introduced in place of Emersonn, who once again impressed and notched his second goal of the season to get the Blues’ scoring started.

The 28-year-old pounced on the rebound after Leif Davis headed against the crossbar to send the visiting supporters into raptures with his first goal since joining the club less than two weeks ago.

Asked what the message was when coming off the bench, Flemming said: “To try and change momentum and get on the front foot again, which didn’t really work until 2-2, but luckily after that we managed to do it.

“Good cross from Julio [Enciso] at the back stick, a great header from Leif and I saw it floating towards the back post. It might sound weird but I’ve seen it go onto the crossbar. I expected it to go on the crossbar and that’s why I anticipated it and that’s why I was at the right place at the right time.

“But there was still a bit of work to do. I’ve not seen it back yet but it bounced a bit awkwardly and it was outside of the angle. It was not easy, even though it might have looked easy. I’ve not seen it back, but I managed to get a good contact to get it over the line.”

On his first few weeks at Portman Road, Flemming added: “I’ve been here 10 proper days so it’s all fresh and new, but I feel like on the pitch I’m good to go.”

Photo: Action Images via Reuters