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| Jermain Defoe scored the only goal at Selhurst Park |
JERMAIN DEFOE breathed life into Sunderland’s survival bid to secure a first away win of the season.
The forward took advantage of mix-up between Crystal Palace defender Scott Dann and keeper Wayne Hennessey in the 80th minute to fire into an empty net.
It was enough to move Sam Allardyce’s side to within a point of north-east rivals Newcastle, who sit fourth from bottom.
And for Black Cats manager Allardyce there was the double satisfaction of seeing his leaky back-four keep only their second clean sheet of the campaign.
The Wearsiders face a long, hard battle if they are to avoid dropping into the Championship but this was a step in the right direction.
But for Crystal Palace there was only frustration at their failure to improve home record that is holding them back in their bid to establish themselves in the top half of the table.
While Sunderland are fighting for their Premier League lives the optimistic mood at Selhurst Park has been boosted by the growing expectation of fresh investment into the club from the owner of the New Jersey Devils NHL side Josh Harris and his business partner David Blitzer.
Palace chairman Steve Parish confirmed before the game that he expects a deal to be struck before Christmas, with the new funds helping to speed the re-development of the club’s stadium.
Writing in the matchday programme, Parish said: “I can confirm that talks are in an advanced stage which would still see me as the joint largest shareholder alongside David Blitzer and Josh Harris, meaning the day to day running of the club will remain the same.
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| Defoe scored in the 80th minute after Scott Dann's mistake |
“If it all goes ahead then it’ll be great for Crystal Palace football club but we all know that these deals are complicated things so if it doesn’t go through, then we will still be in a good position. I’ve said that we hope to get things done before Christmas if possible but we’ll see.”
Allardyce’s priority is to secure funding from Sunderland owner Ellis Short to strengthen his struggling side in the January transfer market as he bids to steer the Black Cats out of the bottom three.
Sunderland came into this game with only six points and one win from their opening 12 league games.
And after shipping 18 goals in their six away games, it was clear where their biggest problems lie and Allardyce attempted to remedy that by reinstating John O’Shea as a third centre-back.
The fact that Sunderland shipped six goals at Everton when they last employed a back five was hardly promising but the initial signs were more promising last night.
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| Dann knocked the ball beyond Wayne Hennessey allowing Defoe to score into an open net |
The decision to pair Jermain Defoe with Steven Fletcher up front, meanwhile, meant the visitors had an outlet that allowed not to get pinned back.
Palace dominated possession early on but Allardyce’s side managed to protect Costel Pantilimon to the extent the keeper had only a couple of long-range efforts from Yannick Bolasie and James McArthur to deal with during the opening half hour.
In fact the better chances came at the opposite end, with Defoe in particular causing problems from the opening two minutes when he set up Fletcher who fired over.
Defoe was left frustrated by Patrick van Aanholt’s decision to shoot for goal when Defoe was lurking unmarked but had only himself to blame when he later shot wide.
Palace’s attacks similarly lacked composure, with Connor Wickham having only limited impact against his former club, although the pace and trickery of Bolasie and Wilfried Zaha meant Sunderland could never relax.
But while Pardew was full of praise for Zaha’s efforts at Liverpool, describing the winger’s display as his best of the season, Zaha struggled to match those levels against Allardyce’s side.
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| Duncan Watmore battles with James McArthur for the ball |
Jason Puncheon was another Palace player operating below his best and Pardew attempted to shake things up at the break when he replaced the playmaker with Bakary Sako.
Once again, though, it was Sunderland who started the half on the front foot and it took a goal-line clearance from Cabaye to prevent Sebastian Coates from heading home from a corner five minutes after the restart.
And the Black Cats eventually got their goal as a result of Bolasie losing control of the ball in midfield as he tried to perform another trick, and team-mate's Dann's ambling at the back.
The hard-working Defoe, who fired wide in the first half, chased down the Palace defender, pushed the ball past keeper Hennessey and slotted in.
Crystal Palace (4-2-3-1): Hennessey; Ward, Dann, Delaney, Souare; Cabaye, McArthur; Zaha, Puncheon, Bolasie; Wickham. NEXT UP: Newcastle (h), Saturday, PL.
Sunderland (3-5-2): Pantilimon; Coates, O’Shea, Kaboul; Jones, Larsson, MVila, Cattermole, van Aanholt; Defoe, Fletcher. NEXT UP: Stoke (h), Saturday, PL.
Referee: M Atkinson (West Yorkshire).
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