This campaign was supposed to be about Crystal Palace rising to the next level, ambitions laid bare by the arrival of Yohan Cabaye from Paris Saint-Germain last summer. Yet, in the end, this team had to lean heaviest of all on a core group of seasoned stalwarts to arrest a decline that was threatening their three-year stay in the top flight.
This victory, their first in the league for 112 days and at a stubborn Norwich City’s expense, was inspired by the old guard. It was Scott Dann and Damien Delaney whose refusal to wilt repelled the barrage of late set plays delivered by the visitors. Mile Jedinak was his old self in the centre, authoritative and imposing as he broke up play and wrested a level of control on a nerve-jangling occasion. Wilfried Zaha and Yannick Bolasie, whose partnership was forged in the Championship, countered on the gallop. And then there was Jason Puncheon.
Not since Steven Gerrard’s Anfield farewell last May, 28 appearances ago, had the playmaker who grew up around the corner from the Holmesdale Road end mustered a goal. That dearth is all the more remarkable given how regular and critical his scoring contributions had been over the previous two years, and it had clearly been playing on his mind until he whipped in this game’s only reward from the edge of the area beyond John Ruddy’s dive.
“A very important goal for the club, a very important goal for me as well, and what I’m put in the team to do,” said Puncheon. “I’ve been disappointed with myself, if I’m honest, for not chipping in with more. But we had to stop the rot, however we could, and battle. I still believe in this team.”
That conviction has been tested by the 14-game winless sequence, a run from which the hierarchy will hope to learn if Everton can be seen off on Wednesday and the 40-point mark attained. In some ways it has been a prolonged wake-up call. “The Premier League is unforgiving,” said Alan Pardew. “You need to experience the division, and you only get that with three or four years. We’ve seen a bit of inexperience, if I’m being honest, from a lot of our players. For a lot of those we brought in last summer, it was a step up and they’ve struggled to deal with the pressure the division puts on you at times.
“But every year you stay in it, you get stronger. You could see that in the skipper [Jedinak], Yohan Cabaye, Damo and Dann, Puncheon, and Wilf when he came on, who know how to deal with it. We’ve had some good chats as a group, but talking about playing under pressure isn’t the same thing as doing it. But they showed they could.” His admission that this had been “one of my edgiest days as a manager” exposed the tension that has gripped Selhurst Park.
Norwich must show the same resolve in the weeks that remain to preserve their own status. This defeat checked a three-game burst of form that has forced them free of the bottom three, and there was enough industry and endeavour in evidence to suggest they can remain above the cut-off. Steven Naismith, Robbie Brady and Matt Jarvis were a collective nuisance unsettling their hosts, and the latter might have won a penalty from Delaney’s barge.
Yet the real concern, as it has been for most of the campaign, is the lack of chances generated by bright approach play. Their delivery in the final third was lacking, and they must revert to the ruthless form demonstrated recently against Newcastle when Sunderland visit Carrow Road on Saturday, a game the centre-half Timm Klose could miss with a knee injury. “We were hoping to be solid and nick a win,” said Alex Neil. His team will show greater ambition against the Wearsiders.
Man of the match Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace)
