Crystal Palace boss Iain Dowie praised his side's spirit after they came from behind to edge a 3-2 win in the first leg of their play-off tie with Sunderland.
After going behind from the spot, Neil Shipperley and Danny Butterfield put them 2-1 in front, but for Kevin Kyle to make it 2-2.
Andrew Johnson popped up late on to give Palace the win and Dowie was delighted - although he knows they still have a fight on to get to Cardiff.
"It thought it was some game. I they were two very good sides," Dowie said after the match.
"This tie was never going to be over. Mick has got a great side and they caused problems for us. We are delighted with a slender lead.
"They are going to cause problems, they have got great players. We have had a lot of questions asked of us but we have answered them.
"We have got one huge question being asked on Monday and we have got to get the right answer.
"I'm delighted to be taking a lead but we're not getting carried away. We know it will be a tough task."
Man of the Match Wayne Routledge was delighted with the victory and hopes it is the first step towards the Premiership.
"It's just nice to win. Victory puts us one step closer to the final and we hope promotion," said Routledge.
"We were not at our best but we were quite solid in the first half. We gave away two soft goals, the penalty was a very touchy decision, but apart from that we did alright.
"Hopefully we'll go up there and get the result we need. We'll take it one step at a time and train tomorrow and look forward to Monday.
"It's a big opportunity."
