ALLARDYCE TELLS STAR ZAHA HE MUST KEEP ON SMILING

CRYSTAL PALACE scraped their third consecutive victory without conceding for the first time since April 2014, and quietly, Sam Allardyce is hauling his team away from the drop. His secret? Getting smiles out of a group of players who have had plenty of reasons to be miserable — starting with Wilfried Zaha, the star of this win achieved with the help of a Troy Deeney own goal. ‘I tell him “Wilf… Smile!” — sometimes he doesn’t smile enough,’ Allardyce said. ‘Sometimes I say: “Wilf, come on lad, you need to enjoy yourself.” Your career is over quickly, you’re doing something that you love. He should have enjoyed his game today. ‘Whenever I get a victory — they haven’t been that often since Smiling: Spurs target Zaha REX I’ve been here — I do make sure I enjoy them for a couple of days.’ Allardyce wants to keep Zaha this summer, despite interest from Tottenham — although he fears ‘agents or somebody stirring the pot’. For now, though, he just hopes the 24-year-old winger can keep up his form despite taking a kicking from defenders. ‘He gets terrible treatment because he’s so skilful, maybe he needs a bit more protection,’ Allardyce said. ‘He gets kicked as much as Hazard. Keep going Wilf, it’s a compliment to you.’ SUPER STAT: Crystal Palace beat Watford without having a single shot on target. CRYSTAL PALACE (4-3-2-1): Hennessey 6.5; Ward 6.5, Tomkins 7 (Dann 83min), Sakho 7, Schlupp 6.5; Milivojevic 6.5, Cabaye 7 (Sako 87), Puncheon 6; Zaha 7.5, Townsend 6.5 (Delaney 87); Benteke 5.5. Subs not used: Speroni, Campbell, Lee, Kelly. Scorer: Deeney (og) 68. WATFORD (4-3-2-1): Gomes 6.5; Cathcart 6, Prodl 6, Kaboul 6.5, Britos 6.5; Capoue 6, Cleverley 6.5 (Success 80), Behrami 5.5 (Doucoure 46, 6); Janmaat 5.5 (Amrabat 63, 6), Niang 6; Deeney 6. Subs not used: Pantilimon, Holebas, Zuniga, Okaka. Booked: Cleverley, Prodl. Man of the match: Wilfried Zaha. Referee: Martin Atkinson 6.