MATCH FACTS
- Date – 3rd December 2016
- Venue – Selhurst Park
- Attendance – 25,393
- Referee – Neil Swarbrick
- Bookings – Tomkins, McArthur, Benteke, Austin
- Goals – Benteke (33, 85), Tomkins (36)
- Star Eagle – James Tomkins (8.7)
TEB VERDICT
First win in eight games along with the first clean sheet of the season is certainly something to celebrate. It has been a long time coming, particularly the clean sheet. It is the first since 23rd August which was in the League Cup defeat of Blackpool but in the league you have to go back further to Everton away on 13th April. This win was more impressive considering the opposition, a Southampton side competing on several fronts and 6th in the table before kick off.
PLAYER RATINGS (courtesy of Who Scored)
13 Wayne Hennessey (7.4) – A good showing from the Welsh stopper, reacting well to most things that came his way.
2 Joel Ward (6.7) – A more unnatural position for the regular right back to which he adapted to more so as the game went on.
5 James Tomkins (8.7) – Superb performance from the former West Ham United defender who is really settling into life in South London. Replaced by 34 Martin Kelly (6.0) on 89 minutes to bring on some fresh legs in the dying minutes.
27 Damien Delaney (7.7) – Return to the first team for the Irishman and certainly proved a point in what appeared a more settled back line.
6 Scott Dann (7.3) – The captain stepped up from recent showings in what was arguably his best game since returning from injury.
18 James McArthur (7.6) – Another superb hard working performance from the dependable Scotsman. Replaced by 4 Matheiu Flamini (6.0) on 89 minutes to help fill the midfield as the seconds ticked away.
16 Joe Ledley (7.2) – Another welcome return to the starting line up and the Welshman linked up extremely well with his midfield partner McArthur.
42 Jason Puncheon (7.7) – This was a massive performance from the local lad providing plenty of composure on the ball and always looking to create from start to finish.
11 Wilfried Zaha (7.1) – For once it was not only Wilf shining and he revelled in the support he was receiving across the pitch. Continued to play his own game out wide, giving the visiting defence plenty to think about.
10 Andros Townsend (6.5) – Continues to be disappointing and certainly being outshone by the other winger in this side at the moment. Replaced by 26 Bakary Sako (6.1) on 80 minutes who provided some energy to the team late on and played his part in the build up to the third Palace goal.
17 Christian Benteke (8.6) – Received a birthday gift from the visitors for the big Belgian to score his first goal at Selhurst Park. Completed his brace late on which sealed all three points in a terrific all round performance for the lone striker.
Unused substitutes – 1 Julian Speroni, 19 Zeki Fryers, 14 Chung-yong Lee, 9 Frazier Campbell
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAID
“I’m pleased for the club and it was important that we won. The discipline was good. When the pressure racks up in the Premier League it is hard, but we got the balance right and we had some good attacking play. When you’ve been manager at Newcastle and the whole town lives and breathes football, you have to be able to cope with pressure. The pressure sometimes there was intense. It wasn’t as bad this week.” – ALAN PARDEW courtesy of BBC Sport.
“It is frustrating because it was a good opportunity for us to stay in the top half of the table. The first half performance was not sufficient. We just played for the last five minutes. We tried to play in the second half with good movement and we created chances, but it was not enough to win the game. We did not keep good concentration. It was a bad day.” – CLAUDE PUEL courtesy of BBC Sport.
MATCH STATISTICS
The Who Scored man of the match was James Tomkins (8.7) while Christian Benteke (4) had the most shots. Cedric Soares and Oriel Romelu shared the most tackles (7) as Sofiane Boufal had the most dribbles (10).
- Team rating: 7.19 – 6.54
- Total shots: 9 – 17
- Shots on target: 4 – 3
- Possession: 42.2% – 57.8%
- Pass success: 71% – 78%
- Dribbles: 5 – 20
- Aerials won: 22 – 23
- Tackles: 23 – 34
- Corners: 4 – 9
- Dispossessed: 25 – 13
POSITION IN THE TABLE
Palace move up to 13th in the Premier League table on 14 points, three points behind Southampton in 12th and level on points with Burnley in 14th.
