Crystal Palace made it three successive Premier League
wins for the first time since 1994, beating Aston Villa 1-0 to power towards
safety.
After referee Howard Webb had reversed a decision to
award Palace a second-half penalty at Selhurst Park, Jason Puncheon fired the
ball in off the post following fine work from Yannick Bolasie.
Puncheon's 76th-minute strike, his third goal in two
games, ensured Palace's impressive revival under Tony Pulis continued.
The result leaves the London club, who have kept four
clean sheets in their last five matches, seven points clear of the relegation
zone.
Villa, meanwhile, have lost four straight games and now
sit just four points above third-bottom Fulham.
Lambert welcomed back Karim El Ahmadi, Fabian Delph and
Gabriel Agbonlahor following injuries, while Ciaran Clark was also recalled.
Pulis named an unchanged team but, after Kagisho Dikgacoi
went off injured, he was forced into an early substitution, sending on Marouane
Chamakh and reverting from a 4-5-1 formation to 4-4-2.
Almost immediately, Chamakh's strike partner, Cameron
Jerome, hacked Agbonlahor's downward header off the Palace goalline.
Then, following neat build-up play from Delph and Grant
Holt, Damien Delaney flung himself in the way of Ashley Westwood's piledriver
to make a decisive block.
In the 36th minute, Palace created a great opportunity
with a cleverly worked free-kick. Mile Jedinak shaped to shoot but instead gave
the ball to Puncheon, who slid the ball through for Bolasie inside the area.
Bolasie claimed to have been impeded by Holt as he looked
to shoot, but as the ball drifted wide the referee waved away Palace's penalty
appeals.
Four minutes after the restart, Agbonlahor tried his luck
from the edge of the box, but Julian Speroni made a comfortable save.
Jerome then missed a glaring chance to score only his
second goal in 26 Premier League games this season. Bolasie tricked Matthew
Lowton with step-overs and unleashed a shot, which Brad Guzan blocked. The ball
fell to Jerome, unmarked at the back post, but with the net unguarded he fired
the ball against the crossbar.
The lively Bolasie's low drive from the edge of the box
went just wide on the hour as Palace ramped up the pressure.
Webb pointed to the spot in the 68th minute when the
Palace players appealed for handball against Clark, but changed his mind after
talking to one of his assistants.
Bolasie then sprinted down the left and provided a fine
cross for Puncheon, who controlled the ball neatly, swivelled and fired a low
shot home.
Puncheon hit the bar after a quick counter-attack, but
Palace had Speroni to thank for keeping all three points.
In the 88th minute, the in-form Argentinian goalkeeper,
who turns 35 next month, made a superb save to deny Andreas Weimann from close
range, leaving Villa to reflect on an increasingly perilous position in the
table.
Culled from Soccerway
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