Palace dodged a first round exit for the first time since 2005 courtesy of John Oster's fortuitous 48th-minute strike to secure a 2-1 win.

The former Reading midfielder - who only moved to Selhurst Park on a five-month deal yesterday - was too embarrassed to even celebrate when his speculative cross-shot floated over Hereford goalkeeper Darren Randolph.

The League One side had taken a deserved lead four minutes before the interval when Moses Ashikodi thumped a powerful header beyond Darryl Flahavan.

The Bulls had looked the slicker outfit, with Palace struggling to even muster an effort in anger, but they were pegged back in first-half injury-time when Australian midfielder Nick Carle crunched a 20-yard shot under Randolph for his first goal in English football.

Coach Neil Warnock said: "I was disappointed with the way we played in the first half.

"I had to go off at the players at half-time and I'm too old to be doing that in a Carling Cup match! But I was annoyed with some of the lads because they turned up and were too sloppy.

"At this stage of the competition, it's just about getting through. Lots of good sides have gone out tonight so it was all about the result.

"I haven't got a great record in the Carling Cup apart from the year I got to the semi-finals with Sheffield United [in 2003]. But it would be nice to win it this year so I will keep picking strong teams and see where we go."

Bulls boss Graham Turner bemoaned his side's concentration in conceding just before the interval, with Randolph singled out for criticism.

He said: "It was a bad moment when we conceded just before half-time - the goalkeeper should have stopped that shot.

"That changed the mood for us entirely at half-time and gave them a boost. It was a shame because we did everything right for 44 minutes and then it fell apart for us. Palace knocked the ball around after the break, as good players will do, but it was in our own hands.

"We don't have a hard luck story. It's now down to the players to show that they have the bottle to bounce back against Yeovil in the league on Saturday."