Cardiff have lost their place in the Premier League but not their faith in their manager. Andros Townsend had just scored Crystal Palace’s third goal, ending any hopes the Bluebirds had of turning this game around and taking their battle for survival to the final day, when a chant broke out among the home supporters. “There’s only one Neil Warnock” reverberated loud and clear, followed by widespread applause.

Although this is the third time that Warnock has been relegated at this level, the season will never go down as a failure. Cardiff had exceeded all expectations by winning promotion in the first place and it says much about the grit, determination and spirit that Warnock has harnessed in his players that they were still in with a chance of staying up with two matches remaining.

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Ultimately, the gulf in class was too wide to bridge and, as Warnock admitted afterwards, this was one of those occasions that exposed their limitations. Palace, bristling with attacking intent, ruthlessly took advantage of some benign defending to continue their outstanding away form – 19 points on the road in 2019 – while at the other end Cardiff’s profligacy in front of goal cost them dear.

Warnock sounded a little emotional. He admitted that he had a tear in his eye when the fans were singing his name but also went on to cast doubt on whether he would continue as the club’s manager. There was an extremely poignant moment, too, in his post-match press conference. “Somebody asked me [before entering the room] about Emiliano [Sala] – you spend two months trying to get a player. But I think that also puts things in perspective. We’ve got relegated. The lad lost his life.”

That tragedy will be the first thing that comes to mind when anyone at Cardiff thinks back to this season in years to come. Sala, a 28-year-old Argentinian striker, was on board a plane that went missing in the Channel on 21 January, little more than 48 hours after Cardiff had announced he had joined them in a club-record deal. “It was so difficult, there’s no point saying it wasn’t,” Warnock added.

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The Cardiff manager had joined his players on a lap of appreciation here – the number of supporters that stayed behind said everything about how much they appreciated the efforts of a team that had been written off before a ball was kicked – and the assumption has always been that Warnock will lead the club in the Championship next season. That, however, seems far from certain in the wake of Warnock’s comments.

Asked whether it was his intention to stay on at Cardiff, Warnock said: “I think we’ve just got to relax for a few days and have a think about everything. I’ve not spoken to anybody. You can’t make rash judgments at this stage of the season with one game to go.”

Warnock then added: “I will be working next year, I will have a year somewhere. I am looking forward to that challenge again now. It’s been a great experience for me [here] and probably my best job ever to have done what we’ve done with the club. I’m right proud of the club.”

With their goal difference vastly inferior to Brighton, Cardiff knew that they had to beat Palace and Manchester United in their final two fixtures to have a shot at Premier League survival. That was always going to be a tall order, and in many ways the win-or-bust scenario played into the hands of a Palace side that love to play on the counterattack.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Andros Townsend celebrates after scoring what proved to be the winner. Photograph: Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images

Wilfried Zaha’s pace troubled the home side throughout and it was no surprise when the winger, who had a loan spell at Cardiff five years ago, put Palace ahead with a low shot from the edge of the area.

Martin Kelly’s farcical own goal levelled things up – the Palace defender got in a terrible tangle trying to clear Leandro Bacuna’s cross – but Michy Batshuayi soon restored Palace’s lead following a one-two with Jordan Ayew in the Cardiff area.

Plenty of chances then came and went at both ends before Townsend, carrying the ball from just inside his own half, stepped inside Joe Bennett and drilled a low shot that went in off the near upright. Typically, Warnock’s team still kept plugging away and got reward when Bobby Reid pulled a goal back in the 90th minute.

“Cardiff have never given up this season,” said Roy Hodgson, the Palace manager, “and I feel they deserve a lot of credit for that.”