April 9 2016

Jason Puncheon

Crystal Palace won their first league game of 2016 with a 1-0 success at home to Norwich City.

Jason Puncheon's winning goal moved out-of-sorts Palace 10 points above the relegation zone to 37 points which also increased the buffer between them and lowly rivals Norwich.

This six-pointer produced few clear-cut chances with Eagles keeper Wayne Hennessey appearing nervous when faced with routine crosses.

Norwich had appeals for a penalty turned down when Matt Jarvis clashed with Damien Delaney in the penalty area, which was the highlight of a turgid first half.

Palace looked slightly sharper for the goal after the break with the best chance coming from centre half Scott Dann who fired wide from an acute angle at the far post.

After miss-hitting a gilt-edged chance, Puncheon finally got the breakthrough on 68 minutes, swapping passes with Joel Ward, before curling home from 20 yards to score his first goal of the season.

Hennessey made a smart save to push out Ryan Bennett's effort as the visitors fought back. While down the other end, substitute WILFRIED ZAHA threatened on the counter attack and twice forced saves from keeper John Ruddy.

Despite Ruddy's forays in attack for set-pieces in the final moments, Palace ended up securing a long-awaited victory – their first in the league since December 19 – to ease their relegation worries.

2015/16 match reports

2015/16 squad stats

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