Crystal Palace Deserved Victory - Alan Pardew

 

Alan Pardew felt his Crystal Palace side were fully deserving of their 2-1 win over Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium. The Eagles claimed their first victory of the season as Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha scored either side of Daniel Ayala's equaliser.

Middlesbrough were aggrieved not to be awarded a penalty when Scott Dann appeared to kick the ball into his own arm late in the second half, but Pardew felt his side were good value for the three points.
He said “We had to work really hard today, it was a terrific start by us. We controlled that first 20 minutes, which isn't easy against a team who have had three big results. They had a lot of confidence, you could see that, but I thought we deserved to win. It was a good away performance. We were living on our defensive qualities at the end. There were a couple of near-misses, a couple of shakes here and there, but we should have had it wrapped up before then. We showed some good stuff today.”

Dann's apparent handball was one of two Middlesbrough penalty appeals in the second half, and Pardew admitted they were difficult decisions for referee Neil Swarbrick. He said “That's why I've got the glasses on, I had to go and see them close up! I don't think anyone intentionally handballs them. It's a tough call for the referee. I don't think Scott Dann intentionally handles it. They're always contentious.”

The win lifts Palace up to 12th place in the Premier League after their 1-1 draw with Bournemouth before the international break, and Pardew is pleased with how they have started the campaign.