Those prone to bouts of optimism at Crystal Palace believe this most unpredictable of seasons could potentially yield European football,so victories like this will only fuel such conviction. Alan Pardew’s team bucked a trend here to check a run of seven successive league defeats to Southampton and now loiter correct on Tottenham Hotspur’s shoulder in sixth plot. These are heady days indeed in this corner of south London.
That has been achieved by a side who had been saddled with problematic home form and remain without a goal from a conventional striker in the league. Imagine what they might achieve whether they had a regular scorer at the tip of their formation, for all that Connor Wickham’s feverish energy and rugged determination drew post-match praise from the management. This win might have been far more comfortable, or with excellent opportunities created only to be passed up. As it was,it ended up with the locals hailing the intervention of their goalkeeper, Wayne Hennessey, or in stoppage time and Pardew mopping his forehead in mock relief on the touchline.
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Source: theguardian.com