John Oster came back to haunt Crystal Palace as Doncaster Rovers ran out 1-0 victors at the Keepmoat Stadium.

The ex-Eagle shot from well outside the area looked like it was going wide but a big deflection off skipper Paddy McCarthy wrong-footed Julian Speroni.

Palace certainly felt their luck was out, with two penalties appeals turned down in the first and second half.

It means Dougie Freedman’s team have lost three on the bounce in the league and now face games against high-fliers Brighton and West Ham in the space of a week.

The first half was a scrappy affair with neither side putting a real stamp on the game. It was Palace that had the first sniff at goal though after seven minutes. Glenn Murray collected the ball and on the turn fired a shot at goal from 20 yards but it just went over Neil Sullivan’s bar.

A few minutes later Palace were seething after a penalty shout was turned down. A mix up in the Doncaster defence saw Murray go clean through but the Eagles striker was brought down by Shelton Martis. The fervent appeals were waved away by referee Chris Sargison leaving Freedman incensed on the touchline.

Doncaster had their first real chance on 22 minutes. Rovers’ talisman James Coppinger floated a cross field ball to Oster on the break, who in turn broke into the box, pulled the ball back to Jon Parkin who then blazed over from the edge of the area.

Darren Ambrose shot wide after good work from Dean Moxey but clear cut chances were few and far between. Wilfried Zaha was looking dangerous whenever he was on the ball but the young starlet couldn’t quite find Murray after a fine run and cross into the box.

The best chance of the half then fell to the ex-Brighton forward. An error by James O’Connor let Murray through but his shot at goal was well held by experienced stopper Sullivan.

Palace started brightly after the restart with Murray again in the thick of it. Ambrose whipped in a corner deep to the far post and the frontman rose highest but Sullivan pulled off a top-class save.

Palace pressed forward but Doncaster landed a knockout blow. Oster picked up the ball and speculative effort looked to be going wide but a wicked deflection off McCarthy saw the ball past the stranded Speroni and into the net.

Controversy then reigned again. Substitute Jermaine Easter found himself in space in the box but was then brought down. Palace appealed but their shouts fell on deaf ears for the second time as Sargison waved away the protests.

Doncaster then pushed forward in search for a second. Oster’s vicious shot looked to be going in but McCarthy got a head to it to put it over. Shortly after, substitute Milan Lalkovic picked up the ball on the right, cut inside, and curled a lovely shot just wide of Speroni’s post.

Freedman’s men failed to create much after that. Zaha offered plenty of industry and skill but Doncaster were defending resolutely.

It was a frustrating defeat for Palace who now have to lick their wounds and go again as they go into two big derbies in a week.

Teams: Julian Speroni, David Wright (Williams 76mins), Patrick McCarthy, Darren Ambrose, Glenn Murray, Dean Moxey, Sean Scannell (Jermaine Easter 62mins), Mile Jedinak, Wilfried Zaha, Aleksander Tunchev, Peter Ramage.

Subs not used: Lewis Price, Jonathan Parr, Anthony Gardner