Crystal Palace 2-0 West Bromwich Albion: Yannick Bolasie header and Cabaye penalty puts Alan Pardew's men in top three

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Crystal Palace move to third ahead of Saturday's 3pm kick-off
Alan Pardew's men dominated affairs at Selhurst Park but had to wait until the 68th minute to open the scoring
Yannick Bolasie headed home to break the deadlock after a corner in the second half
The result was given respectability by Yohan Cabaye's coolly-taken spot-kick two minutes from time
Wilfried Zaha inspired the hosts with his brand of trickery on the wing, giving Chris Brunt a torrid time

Published: 08:37 EST, 3 October 2015 | Updated: 18:58 EST, 3 October 2015

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Sometimes in football, patience is all you need. Crystal Palace fans have become used this season to lingering deadlocks but who cares when the outcome is a happy one?

They moved to third in the Barclays Premier League table ahead of the 3pm games thanks to Yannick Bolasie’s header midway through the second-half and Yohan Cabaye’s late penalty.

It means that 15 of the 18 goals in Palace’s league games this season - scored and conceded - have come after half-time. You just need to sit tight and hope the chances come your way.

That it was Bolasie on the scoresheet - timing his back-post run to perfection to meet Yohan Cabaye’s cross - was a nice touch. It was his first Selhurst Park goal since New Year’s Day 2013, over 1,000 days ago.

Scroll down for video

Yannick Bolasie flies at full stretch to head past West Brom keeper Boaz Myhill and hand hosts Crystal Palace the lead

Myhill keeper can only watch as he dives the wrong way for Yohan Cabaye's decisive penalty to make it 2-0

The vociferous Palace crowd holds its breath as Cabaye send his penalty calmly to Myhill's left to make it 2-0

Cabaye (centre) celebrates his goal with his team-mates after sealing victory in a match they dominated from the start

Bolasie leaps above the defence to break the deadlock and give Alan Pardew's side the advantage

Bolasie is mobbed by team-mates Yohan Cabaye, Wilfried Zaha, Dwight Gayle and James McArthur (left-right)

PLAYER RATINGS, PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE AND MATCH ZONE STATS

Crystal Palace (4-2-3-1) Hennessey 6; Kelly 6.5, Hangeland 7, Dann (c) 7, Souare; 6.5 McArthur 6, Cabaye 7.5; Zaha 8.5 (Ledley 89), Puncheon 7, Bolasie 7; Gayle 6.5 (Campbell 73)

Substitutes not used McCarthy (GK); Mariappa, Gray, Sako, Bamford

Manager Alan Pardew 8

Scorers Bolasie 68; Cabaye 88 pen

Booked Souare, Campbell, Yacob

West Bromwich Albion (4-4-2) Myhill 6; Dawson 6, McAuley 6, Evans 5 (Chester 24, 6), Brunt 4; Morrison 6 (McManaman 69, 6), Yacob 6, Fletcher (c) 6, McClean 6; Berahino 4 (Gardner 46, 5), Rondon 5

Substitutes not used Lindegaard (GK); Gamboa, Lambert, Anichebe

Manager Tony Pulis 6

Booked McClean, Chester, Zaha

Referee Jonathan Moss (Sunderland)

Attendance 24,037 (1,337 away)

Man of the Match Zaha

Palace's first goal was from a well-worked corner -CLICK HERE for goals, heat maps and stats from our brilliant Match Zone

All those of a Palace persuasion knew what to expect here. Tony Pulis in the West Brom dug-out is hardly a stranger in these parts and everyone knows his teams usually resemble immovable objects.

His stubborn back line had gone 391 minutes without conceding in the Premier League when Bolasie ensured Palace’s irresistible force found its reward and we were spared from what seemed an inevitable midnight slot on Match of the Day.

Alan Pardew’s team had done all the running, with Wilfried Zaha outstanding, and were thoroughly deserving of a result that keeps their positive opening to the season going.

It was inevitable that Zaha, who tormented Chris Brunt all afternoon, should coax a foul to win a penalty in the final few minutes, allowing Cabaye to sweep home for the second.

‘He’s just too good for you,’ mocked the home support as Brunt was again left staring at Zaha’s heels.

When Pulis, who kept Palace in the Premier League with an astonishing run of results in the 2013-14 season, returned here for the first time at the tail end of last season, West Brom won 2-0 despite having just 32 per cent of possession.

Pardew was understandably keen to avoid a repeat and his side, backed by the incessant noise and backing that makes Selhurst Park such an enticing ground to visit, dominated the first-half.

Palace's Yohan Cabaye (left) is felled by West Brom midfielder James Morrison near the Palace penalty area

Cabaye evades the attentions of marker Morrison (left) as his midfield artistry inspires a victory for Alan Pardew's men

Saido Berahino leaps above the crowd to win a header for West Brom, with Palace's Dwight Gayle (centre left) on his tail

Palace star Wilfried Zaha (centre) leads James McClean and Claudio Yacob (right) a merry dance on the wing

Pardew went public after Palace’s recent 1-0 loss at Tottenham with his criticism of Zaha, saying the flying winger lacked desire and concentration during games.

That accusation couldn’t be made here as the winger, clearly heeding his manager’s words, starred with his acceleration and trickery.

It was easy to feel a bit sorry for Brunt. Zaha continually tied him in knots on the Palace right and the bloodied nose was far from just metaphorical.

Brunt and Zaha collided in a 50-50 challenge on the edge of the Palace box during a rare Albion sortie forward and the Northern Irishman was left needing treatment after being caught in the face.

He was fine to continue but the same couldn’t be said for his compatriot Jonny Evans, who hobbled off after 22 minutes after pulling his hamstring.

It is a worrying development for Northern Ireland ahead of qualifiers with Greece and Finland this week that will determine whether they can make their first major tournament since 1986.

Zaha fired a warning early on when shooting into the side-netting when perhaps he should have looked up and squared to Jason Puncheon.

The Baggies' James Chester (left) fails to stop Palace forward Frazier Campbell from shepherding the ball

West Brom forward Salomon Rondon tries his best to keep opposing defender Brede Hangeland (right) at bay

Chris Brunt (left) and man-of-the-match Zaha challenge for the ball mid-air, but it was the Palace winger who ended up happier

Palace skipper Scott Dann celebrates at the end of the hard-fought match in which his side picked up a deserved win

Hangeland and rarely-tested keeper Wayne Hennessey embrace at full time amid a celebrating Selhurst Park

DISTANCE STATS
	MINS	KM	MILES
Crystal Palace		115.1	71.5
Yohan Cabaye	90	12.4	7.7
James McArthur	90	11.7	7.3
Jason Puncheon	90	11.6	7.2
West Brom		115.4	71.7
James McClean	90	11.8	7.3
Claudio Yacob	90	11.6	7.2
Craig Dawson	90	11.2	7
Data courtesy of the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, the Official Player Rating Index of the Barclays Premier League

And the punishment doled out by Zaha only increased as the half progressed. He turned Brunt before striking a powerful shot to the near post that Boas Myhill blocked somewhat unwittingly with his chest.

Moments later, Zaha had again left Brunt bamboozled before cutting sharply inside James McClean and pinging in another effort that Myhill pushed away.

Aside from these incursions, West Brom were characteristically resolute but they were hopeless going forward. Saido Berahino was replaced at half-time a frustrated man, while Solomon Rondon was equally hard to notice.

The second-half soon began to resemble a siege, with West Brom dropping further and further back. Zaha again broke away and cut back to Puncheon to fire over.

Palace had a strong shout for a penalty when Yohan Cabaye’s free-kick struck Craig Gardner on the arm but referee Jon Moss waved away the appeals. It probably didn’t help that Cabaye was the only one to claim the spot-kick.

It became an irrelevance when Bolasie broke the deadlock a few minutes later and you wondered how a Berahino-less West Brom would come back into contention. They didn’t.