Crystal Palace Reserves finished their Totesport.com Combination League campaign on a high note with a 4-3 win over Brentford Reserves at Staines Town's Wheatsheaf Lane stadium.
The victory was their fourth from their last six games and took them to 43 points at the top of the Central Division table, nine points clear of Brighton Reserves who still have three games yet to play.
The Eagles were made to work for their win though by a resilient and, at times, superior Brentford side who came back from two goals down to lead 3-2, until some final moments of class proved the difference and sealed the win for Palace.
Reserve Team Manager, Ronnie Jepson, was without regular centre half pairing of Jack Holland and Jerry Nnamani and so brought in trialists Christoper Arthur and Nick McCoy to supplement their absences.
Theo Davis started in midfield as the only other new face with the rest of the starting line up made up of Reserve regulars.
And Palace got off to the perfect start when they took the lead within the opening five minutes.
Kieran Djilali, operating in a wide left role, picked the ball up on the corner of the 18 yard box, dropped his shoulder to lose his marker before drilling a low effort that goalkeeper Simon Moore could only parry. The ball spilled out to the edge of the six yard box where Kieron Kenlock beat an onrushing Kieron Cadogan to smash it into an empty net.
Cadogan was unfortunate not to see more come of some good work on the right on 15 minutes when he controlled a drilled pass out wide to him from Arthur, skipped easily past his marker before firing an effort that cannoned off the defender's leg and into the keeper's arms from 20 yards out.
Two minutes later Brentford responded and should have levelled the scores when a free kick to the back post was met by an unmarked Paleyo Gomez, but he could only send it high over the bar from six yards out.
Instead Palace doubled their lead on 24 minutes when Djilali floated in a teasing cross just beyond the penalty spot and Cadogan stole a yard on his marker to thump a header past Moore for the Eagles' second.
At that stage of the game Jepson's side were coasting and enjoying the better of the play, until the 34th minute when the home team pulled an unexpected goal back.
A throw in from the right was controlled on the edge of the box by Loui Hazlewood, who did well to work himself some space before turning and firing a snap shot that deceived Ashlee Jones who could only deflect it high into the top of his net with an outstretched right arm.
The same man then restored parity five minutes later, this time with an effort that Jones could do nothing about.
A throw in from the left found Gomez in the box, who controlled it with his chest and slipped Jack Ward in on the wing. The forward then pulled a speculative ball back to the edge of the box where Hazlewood was unmarked to smash a fine left footed drive high into the far corner.
The home side should have completed the turnaround shortly before half time when captain Mark Phillips shrugged off his marker to head a corner over the bar eight yards out.
However, the turnaround was complete two minutes into the restart when Danny McGuire, on for Davis at half time, handled the ball inside the area. The decision did seem harsh as the ball skipped up at his hands and there was little time for him to act, but the referee was well positioned to make the decision and there was little protest from the Palace players.
On his hat trick Hazlewood challenged Shaun Lucien hard to be the one to take the spot kick, but the striker shrugged him off to step up and smash it emphatically into the roof of the net to make it 3-2.
Djilali was then close to making it 3-3 five minutes later when his powerful run and shot was expertly tipped over by Moore, but there was no denying him on 64 minutes.
Finding himself surrounded by two defenders on the left side of the box he somehow managed to turn on a sixpence to escape both of them before carrying the ball along the by-line and lifting it past Moore and from the tightest of angles.
With the scores finally back on level terms Palace almost found themselves giving the lead away again four minutes later when a series of defensive mix ups almost allowed the home side to restore their advantage.
First Hakeem Adelakun was robbed just inside his own half by Lucien who then played the ball up to Gomez, but his pass was slightly off target and Kenlock looked set to clear it when the ball bobbled off his toe and back into the path of its intended target.
Gomez, inside the box, managed to hold off Kenlock to then pull the ball back across the edge of the six yard box for Lucien, who had continued his run, but under the challenge of Arthur he screwed his lines and scooped it over the bar.
Incredibly the Eagles then missed an even simpler chance up the other end when substitute Joel Ledgister played in Djilali with a cutting through ball.
One on one the winger tried to slip the ball underneath the advancing legs of Simon Moore but it deflected off the goalkeeper's legs and into the path of Pinney who, with an open goal and just ten yards out, smashed it high over the bar.
In the end though the miss did not prove costly as Cadogan converted Pinney's cross with a simple finish from six yards to make it 4-3 nine minutes from time, and Palace saw out the remaining minutes to claim the win.
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Crystal Palace: 1. Ashlee Jones; 2. Kieron Kenlock' 3. Theo Davis; 4. Christopher Arthur (16. Danny Maguire, 45); 5. Nick McCoy; 6. James Comley (12. Joel Ledgister, 63 )7. Kieron Cadogan; 8. Hakeem Adelakun; 9. Nathaniel Pinney; 10. Kasim Yaser (14. Taurean Macdonald-Roberts, 80); 11. Kieran Djilali
Brentford: 1. Simon Moore, 2. Lewis Ferrell, 3. James Zanelli, 4. Jake Reeves, 5. Mark Phillips, 6. Chris Bush, 7. Loui Hazelwood, 8. James White, 9. Shaun Lucien, 10. Pelayo Gomez, 11. Jack Ward
Subs: 12. Kyle Vassell, 14. Luke Hacker, 16. Darren Sarll
