Crystal Palace players did brilliantly under pressure, says manager Sam Allardyce
Saturday 25 February 2017 18:24, UK
Sam Allardyce says his players performed brilliantly under a lot of pressure after picking up only his second Premier League win as Crystal Palace manager.
The Eagles faced a huge relegation game against Middlesbrough on Saturday, but produced a solid display to beat their rivals 1-0 at Selhurst Park thanks to a Patrick van Aanholt strike in the first half.
The south London side had lost their last five games in front of their home fans, but after a two-week break, were able to break their winless run to lift themselves out of the bottom three for the time being.
Allardyce was full of praise for his players - especially with their first half performance - and hopes the result can spur the side on to more success.
"We were under a lot of pressure today and the lads dealt with that pressure brilliantly. They gave a spirited and certainly in the first half, an excellent performance," he told Sky Sports.
"I think the only thing we're missing with that is that final little bit of quality in front of goal but obviously Van Aanholt showed that in what was an outstanding finish.
"We struggled a little bit in the opening 20 minutes of the second half but taking into account our defensive resilience today, it was good to see because it has been one of our weaker areas all season and that all-important clean sheet which I keep going on about because what a difference it makes.
"We've won 1-0, taken three points and moved out of the bottom three. We're in the pack of seven and we have to try and finish above them as far up as Bournemouth so a big three points today to relieve the pressure on us and hopefully we can build confidence from that."
Crystal Palace had a number of chances to increase their lead with penalty appeals coming thick and fast, including a controversial incident where James McArthur looked to be fouled by Stewart Downing in the box, eventually seeing a yellow card for simulation.
Despite a few decisions going against them, Allardyce was pleased that his players did not let it affect them and believes his side deserved their victory.
"In the areas we had and the amount of the ball we had in their box, we maybe should have got another one. I thought James McArthur was going to get one when he came on and we could have had a couple of penalties," he added.
"It was Stewart Downing both times on McArthur and Zaha and then strangely enough, McArthur gets booked for something that isn't a dive so that has gone against us but it hasn't cost us a result. Since I've been here, when those decisions have gone against us, it has cost us a result so at least today, it hasn't cost us anything.
"We've still got a long way to go to get even better hopefully. The players showing their capabilities in possession in terms of creating chances against a very stubborn Middlesbrough defensive unit.
"I'm sure they are disappointed but hopefully everyone will see that we deserved the win today and it's a very big three points."
