The Australian midfielder came on in the 80th minute with Palace holding a three goal buffer over their Championship rivals.

The important win came with news there was a potential buyer on the cards after the current administration had announced money to finance the club was running out.

Striker Stern John scored his first goal for the club with a back post header after half an hour.

Irishman Sean Scannell doubled the lead just after the break, making the most of his chance after the ball rebounded after he had hit the post.

Watford goalkeeper Scott Loach could only parry a Scannell shot and midfielder Neil Danns was on hand to strike home Palace's third before Carle came on.

The Hornets had hit the woodwork on at least three occasions before substitute Danny Graham pulled one back.

Palace defender Lee Hills was sent off for a second bookable offence in the closing stages with the visitors going into celebration mode minutes later.

It leaves Palace in the relegation zone, one point away from Watford, who still have a game in hand.

In Scotland's First Division, Greenock Morton beat Ayr United 1-0 in another relegation battle.

Ayr's Ryan McGowan put in a full shift and was denied on several occasions in his bid to open the scoring.

He was denied in the 57th minute when his header was brilliantly stopped and the 64th minute when put through one-on-one.

Morton's Erik Paartalu came on in the 84th minute, five minutes after fellow substitute Steven Masterton had put his side ahead.

Ayr United are three points adrift of Greenock Morton and safety, but do have a game in hand to get out of the relegation play-off zone.

The English League Two clash between Dean Bouzanis's Accrington Stanley and Barnet was postponed less than an hour before kick off due to a waterlogged pitch.

It was a similar story in Scotland's First Division, with relegation-bound Airdrie United's clash with Queen of the South postponed for the same reason, leaving Aussies Simon Storey and Frank Lagana on the sidelines.

In Asia, midfielder Goran Subara put in a full shift as Gombak United lost 1-0 to Beijing Guoan in S-League action overnight.