Aston Villa 1 - Crystal Palace 0: Lescott boosts survival hopes as Garde finally wins

JOLEON LESCOTT completed a transformation from villain to hero in three days with a headed goal which gave Aston Villa a first win under Remi Garde and fresh hope in the bleakest of seasons.

 

Joleon Lescott scored his second Aston Villa goal of the season to bag three points

 

The central defender had been involved in an angry exchange with fans at Wycombe on Saturday after they took exception to him and Brad Guzan competing on who could spit their chewing gum farthest from the dugout. 

It was a fallout which had not been forgotten before kick-off with the captain’s name roundly booed. But by the end of a 90 minutes low on quality but high on significance, he ended it back in their affections on a night which saw Villa register their first three-point haul since the opening day of the season. 

Villa’s win against a Palace side lacking cohesion will not move them from the bottom but it will provide much-needed cheer. 

Lescott’s crucial intervention came from a set-piece, the defender getting a first header on Jordan Veretout’s corner from the left just before the hour.

 

And it owed plenty to a horrible fumble from Wayne Hennessey in the Palace goal, the keeper letting the ball through not only his hands but somehow conspiring to let it slip it through his legs as well. 

Villa had made five changes to the side which drew with Wycombe at the weekend with Garde, above, resisting the temptation to pitch the returning Micah Richards into the centre of defence after recovering from a foot injury. 

It proved to be a fortuitous decision with Lescott looking secure against a lacklustre Palace and providing the difference at the other end of the pitch. 

Palace manager Alan Pardew’s side came into the match unbeaten on the road since October 28. They very nearly got off to the perfect start when Wilfried Zaha’s shot grazed the far post in the first minute.

 

Damien Delaney also sent one just wide, this time past the other post, after 28 minutes, latching on to Yohan Cabaye’s floated free-kick and glancing a volley close. 

In between there was much bluster and little quality from both sides. Villa failed to create any clear-cut chances. The effort there but the quality was not. A stalemate at half-time was a fair reflection of the play. 

Villa grew in confidence after the break with Libor Kozak forcing Hennessey to tip a scuffed shot around the post. It took Lescott’s scrambled effort – with the help of the hapless Hennessey – to separate the sides. 

ASTON VILLA (4-1-3-2): Bunn; Bacuna, Okore, Lescott, Cissokho; Westwood; Veretout, Gil (Clark 90), Gueye; Kozak, Ayew. Booked: Veretout, Gueye. Goal: Lescott 58. NEXT UP: Leicester (h), PL Sat. 

CRYSTAL PALACE (4-2-3-1): Hennessey; Ward, Dann, Delaney, Souare; McArthur (Jedinak 78), Ledley (Wickham 45); Zaha, Cabaye, Puncheon; Sako (Chamakh 62). Booked: Ward. NEXT UP: Manchester City (a), PL Sat.