Phil Brown remains confident automatic promotion is still possible after Hull captain Ian Ashbee grabbed a late winner against Crystal Palace.Ashbee rose to meet Dean Marney's corner with a tremendous header five minutes from the end of a pulsating contest, which had earlier seen Scott Sinclair cancel out Fraizer Campbell's opener.

The result leaves Hull two points behind second-placed West Brom in the standings - with the latter having a game in hand against Southampton on Monday - and three adrift of Stoke.

Hull therefore have to win at Ipswich next weekend to stand any chance of a top-two finish.

"We needed to fulfil our side of the bargain, and we did that," said Brown.

"Because of the injury to Dean Windass, the final score had already gone at Layer Road and I knew Stoke had won, so I was about to throw complete caution to the wind, but then we got the goal.

"The second half performance was powerful and certainly worthy of winning the game, particularly as they only had one shot on target in the entire match.

"Next weekend is a must-win game, but if the players can handle the pressure here, I'm sure they can against Ipswich.

"All is not lost, as Leicester still need a result (against Stoke on the final day) and Southampton also have a hell of a game against West Brom on Monday.

"We've got here on merit and there is still a possibility of finishing the season second, or maybe even first."

Palace manager Neil Warnock was upbeat after watching his side suffer their first defeat in 11 outings.

"The pleasing thing is that it is still in our hands to make the play-offs," said Warnock after finding out several play-off rivals had dropped points.

"I didn't really see a threat coming from them, so to give away a goal to a free header is disappointing.

"We can only get stronger though, and we've really enjoyed the second half of the season.

"No-one can complain if we don't make the play-offs, because we've given it a fantastic shot, and we've already surpassed everyone's expectations this season."

Both sides hit the woodwork in the opening minutes. Mark Hudson challenged Michael Turner following a corner from Ben Watson, and the ball cannoned off the upright, and then Windass saw a curling free-kick smack against the crossbar.

Campbell notched his 15th goal of the campaign with a low right-footed shot from 20 yards to give Hull the lead after 18 minutes.

However, with Windass hobbling off to receive 20 stitches following a poor tackle from Shaun Derry, and Henrik Pedersen also leaving the pitch with an injury, Hull's play was disrupted.

Sinclair poked home the equaliser seven minutes before the break after pouncing on a mistake from Wayne Brown.

Hull dominated proceedings in the second half though, and Ashbee met Marney's pinpoint delivery in the dying minutes to ensure Hull still have a chance of clinching a top-two spot.

More Football News from TEAMtalk