Neil Warnock is breaking out the bubbly after Crystal Palace maintained their push for the play-offs with a 2-1 win over Colchester.Ben Watson's second-half winner kept the Eagles within three points of the top six, and Warnock has his sights set on Simon Jordan's drinks cabinet after masterminding their remarkable climb up the table.

"I'm going to crack open a bottle of champagne tonight because now we're safe," he said.

"When we were second from bottom, if you'd told my chairman we'd be three points off the play-offs with nine games to go he'd have said you were in cloud-cuckoo land.

"So it's a great night for us and I haven't had a glass of champagne since I've been here. They keep them locked up here, but I'm sure the chairman will let me have a drink."

Hapless Colchester defender Phil Ifil's second own goal in a week put Palace on their way, turning Danny Butterfield's cross past his own goalkeeper with James Scowcroft lurking.

But within 90 seconds rock-bottom Colchester were level, Kevin Lisbie racing clear to slot his 12th goal of the season past Julian Speroni.

Palace should have had the game wrapped up long before Watson's winner, with the midfielder twice rattling the woodwork and and Clint Hill also hitting the post.

Watson eventually struck when he got on the end of a right-wing cross from another of Warnock's young guns, 18-year-old substitute Ashley Robinson.

Fellow rookies Victor Moses, Lee Hills and Sean Scannell were all key figures in Palace's second win in nine games, leaving Warnock toasting his batch of talented teens.

"It's great for the fans to get behind them, but they are not in on sympathy, they are in on merit," added Warnock.

"I didn't think any team of mine would have four teenagers in it, but they are a breath of fresh air."

Warnock also revealed skipper Mark Hudson had been dropped after contract talks with the defender stalled.

Colchester boss Geraint Williams admitted survival is a tall order after the Essex club slipped nine points adrift of safety.

The Welshman felt refereeing decisions cost his side, however, after Lisbie had a late equaliser ruled out for offside.

"Scowcroft was three yards offside in the build-up to their goal and Lisbie was level with their last man with the goal which was disallowed," he said.

"You have to give Palace credit but it's disappointing, when you prepare your team well, and two major decisions go against you.

"We can't get away from the statistics, we've got a mountain to climb and if we don't beat Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday we will have an awful lot to do.

"We haven't won enough games this season, we've drawn too many and in tight games like this we've come up one goal short."

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