Eagles are spot on!

September 27 2015

Yohan Cabaye

Crystal Palace returned to winning ways with a 1-0 win at Watford.

Yohan Cabaye's second-half penalty won the game as Palace picked up their first clean sheet of the season and ended a run of two straight defeats.

Boss Alan Pardew recalled keeper Wayne Hennesey, his Welsh international teammate Joe Ledley, fit-again Scott Dann and Dwight Gayle started up top.

The fashioned the only real chance of the half as Brede Hangeland's header from Cabaye's free-kick on the left was saved at point-blank range by Heurelho Gomes.

Watford were very unlucky not to have taken the lead when Jose Jurado's 25-yard free-kick rattled the crossbar with Hennessey well beaten. Hennessey then got down low to stop Almen Abdi's low drive.

The Eagles hit the woodwork themselves with Gayle getting onto the end of Bakary Sako's slide-rule cross from the left but he was denied.

Wilfried Zaha was introduced off the bench by Pardew on 62 minutes and he made an impact by earning Palace a 71st-minute penalty by luring Allan Nyom into taking him down just inside the area. Cabaye converted the spot kick for his second goal of the season.

Gayle shot wide from close range at the far post from Yannick Bolasie's knockdown and later the striker rifled just off target from a Palace breakaway.

The visitors held out for the closing stages as Watford conceded at Vicarage Road for the first time this season. Meanwhile, Pardew's side move up to sixth in the Premier League table.

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Alan Pardew said: "We have good players for an away team because we have pace in the team. But I said to the guys today, let’s not retreat in any shape or form today as an away team. Let’s play it as a neutral ground and take the game to Watford.

"It made the game very even in the opening 45 minutes, which was not great entertainment because the game was so tight, but we didn’t concede any ground and possession to Watford. In the end that bode well for us because it let us grow in confidence and in the end we found some hot pockets."

Great game today, good crowd and 3 points away! @CPFC #cleansheet #cpfc
— Wayne Hennessey (@WayneHennessey1) September 27, 2015

Good result today 3 points tough game! On to the next #cpfc #cpfcfamily
— Yannick Bolasie (@YannickBolasie) September 27, 2015

Premier League away points in 2015: 28 - CRYSTAL PALACE 28 - Arsenal 23 - Chelsea 21 - Manchester United 20 - Manchester City
— STATS Football (@STATS_Football) September 27, 2015