But it was the midfield battleground where Palace asserted themselves early on with the rugged Shaun Derry putting himself about to good effect.
Jack Cork got stuck in but the Sky Blues continue to lack the authority and experience that Sammy Clingan provides in the middle.
City’s new-look back line also earned credit as new signing Richard Wood made a solid debut alongside Barnett rather than the flakiness that has hampered the club’s progress in the last seven weeks, a period in which, amazingly, City used seven different central defensive combinations.
But these two look to have the makings of an impressive partnership that will hopefully get time to grow.
Both attack the ball well and Wood showed a decent turn of pace and even thrilled the spectators with a surging run past the halfway line before a give and go move that was reminiscent of another blast from the past,‘Big Mo’ Konjic.
