Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew believes the first-half penalty awarded to his side was the "turning point" in Saturday's 2-1 comeback victory over Stoke.
After going a goal down to Mame Biram Diouf's 14th-minute opener, Palace levelled in the 41st minute through a Glenn Murray penalty awarded contentiously when referee Andre Marriner adjudged Asmir Begovic to have fouled Yannick Bolasie.
The Eagles swiftly struck again as Wilfried Zaha punished ponderous Stoke defending to score in first-half stoppage time, and while Potters boss Mark Hughes criticised the officiating, Pardew admitted the spot-kick was crucial.
"It thought it was a cracking game today and that Stoke were good -- in the first period we really struggled to stay with them," he said.
"The goal for us was crucial. I haven't seen [the replay] and I think Stoke were unhappy with it. But it was a turning point -- I thought we were good after that.
"I think it was a tough day for the officials today. I thought all of it was pretty fair, but tough -- it was a tough, physical encounter, almost like a Six Nations rugby union match at times in terms of real aggression in the right way.
"The referee had a couple of calls to make and he was never going to get them all right because both sides were as aggressive as each other. But it made for a cracking game."
Information from the Press Association was used in this report.