Crystal Palace were yet again frustrated by Sunderland in the televised Monday night football as Sam Allardyce’s side came away with three points after Scott Dann’s costly error.
Last season in the same fixture, Sunderland came to Selhurst and recorded a 3-1 victory, and despite having a woeful away record the Black Cats still managed to engineer a victory over the Eagles again.
Palace had the ball for the majority of the game and looked the most likely to score, but they just could not find a way through Sunderland’s stubborn defence.
Yohan Cabaye had a shot saved in the second-half, but other than that Alan Pardew’s side didn’t create many other clear-cut chances.
And with ten minutes remaining, Jermain Defoe pounced on Dann’s error to give Allardyce a timely win in their battle against relegation.
Crystal Palace ‘over did it’ against Sunderland
A win over Sunderland would have propelled Pardew’s side to sixth: "You've got to win a game of football to go sixth. We over did it a couple of times tonight. We should have been a bit more simplistic and put pressure on that back five,” said Pardew speaking to the club website.
The 54-year-old continued by saying: "In a way it's a compliment that teams are going to put five at the back and three on top of that. Unfortunately we couldn't find a way through tonight.”
Palace have a chance to put things right again this weekend at Selhurst, as they host Pardew’s old side, Newcastle. They are also in the same predicament as there North-East rivals Sunderland.
Better judgment in the final third is what is needed for Palace in the coming weeks: "We should have been cleaner and more incisive, especially in the final third," said Pardew.