C Palace 3 - 0 SouthamptonCrystal Palace beat Southampton to ease pressure on manager Alan Pardew
Home team scorersChristian Benteke 33
James Tomkins 36
Christian Benteke 85
Alan Pardew earned himself a reprieve from the sack, temporarily at least, as his Crystal Palace side earned a hard-fought, but well-deserved, win against Southampton.
Two goals from Christian Benteke and one from James Tomkins meant Palace earned their first three points in the Premier League since September. Even more striking, it was the Eagles’ first clean sheet of the season. Watching from the stands, owner Steve Parrish acknowledged the third goal not only with a smile, but with a thumbs up, Roman emperor-style.
Gareth Southgate chose Selhurst Park for his first viewing brief since being appointed England manager this week and for a while it looked like he’d made the wrong choice.
The opening 20 minutes of the match were marked by their caginess, and all the England contenders – James Ward-Prowse, Ryan Bertrand, Andros Townsend and Nathan Redmond – failing to make an impact on the game.
One consolation for Southgate may have been the form of Wilfried Zaha. The Palace winger chose the Ivory Coast over England this week, but flattered to deceive on Palace’s right wing and readily conceded possession from defensive positions.
The home side instead looked to their returning Welsh- and Irishman to set the tone. Joe Ledley harassed Southampton’s midfield incessantly and was highly effective at disrupting play. Meanwhile, Damien Delaney was a no-nonsense presence at the back, something Palace have been sorely lacking in recent weeks.
A pattern of the teams exchanging mutually unsuccessful set-pieces seemed to have been established before a freak moment of embarrassment gave the home side the lead in the 33rd minute. Southampton were in possession and, as is their wont, had pushed their defensive line high up the pitch. Right-back Cédric Soares was forced to turn the ball back from the halfway line, and José Fonte had to chase the ball back to his own corner flag.
From there he played a simple back pass to Fraser Forster, but one that was just a little underhit. As the England goalkeeper came closer to clear it ahead of the advancing Benteke, the ball hit a divot an inch ahead of his clearing foot. The ball span up and over Forster’s boot, into the path of Benteke and the Belgian turned the ball home.
Understandably, given recent events that include last week’s 5-4 surrender at Swansea, Palace’s opening goal was not a cause for wild celebration at Selhurst Park. But, two minutes later, the crowd allowed themselves to erupt as the home side doubled their lead.
A Palace free-kick from deep was cleared for a corner by Fonte. Jason Puncheon drilled the ball low across the box, confusing the Saints defenders. After two deflections the ball fell to Tomkins who could barely believe his luck. He hit his shot at Forster but still the ball squirmed into the net.
With 10 minutes still left of the half, a Southampton siege was expected and duly followed. The visitors dominated possession with Redmond and Sofiane Boufal dangerous on the ball. It was only in added time that Saints forged a chance however, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg driving over from the edge of the box without troubling Wayne Hennessey.
The second half began where the first had left off. Saints looked like a side with confidence that they could dig themselves out of a hole, while Palace, you just knew, would eventually succumb to some jitters. In the 53rd minute, Delaney made a sliding interception on Charlie Austin to deny him a shot. Nine minutes later, the Saints striker skimmed his header wide when well placed at the near post. Claude Puel brought on the latest academy talent Josh Sims with 25 minutes left. The midfielder soon found himself on the end of a lightning Saints break but could only curl his shot over the bar.
Ten minutes later and Shane Long joined the fray, the Irishman’s first touch a header that Hennessey was forced to tip around the post. From the resulting corner there was a game of pinball before Fonte was presented with a chance, 10 yards out. He sidefooted wide.
Palace had offered nothing going forward in the second half, but with four minutes remaining they sealed the game. A free-kick led to a deflected shot from Joe Ledley that Puncheon chased down before any Saints defenders had acknowledged the danger. He duly cut the ball back and gave Benteke a finish only marginally more difficult than his first.
Guardian