RESULT! Joyce hits the boos after Latics’ zero shots on target
They bossed it territorially so nobody could begrudge them the winner when it did come from Patrick van Aanholt just past the 30-minute mark.
There were some who doubted the wisdom of paying Sunderland up to £14million for the Dutchman in the January transfer window but if his first goal for the club helps to keep Palace up it could well prove priceless.
Boro, who did not have a single shot on target throughout the first 45 minutes, had only themselves to blame for it as well.
They failed to clear their lines and the lurking full-back, who also used to nick a few up at the Stadium Of Light, somehow managed to squeeze his shot between the post and the fingertips of the despairing Valdes.
No wonder Van Aanholt and his Palace pals celebrated as if their lives depended on it. That pressure was visibly quite a bit lighter.
Allardyce added: “I was really pleased with the quality of that finish. It was a very good goal from Patrick.
“That’s his fourth Premier League goal this season – three previously for Sunderland – and that isn’t bad for a full-back.”
Afterwards Van Aanholt dedicated the goal to his grandfather who died last week.
The player said: “I am so very pleased to get the goal for him. I was very sad to lose him and I have a lot to thank him for.” Aitor Karanka, the Boro boss, sent on Rudy Gestede for the totally ineffective Alvaro Negredo after the interval.
But the Spaniard had hardly received a pass of note from his team-mates before that.
Gestede’s arrival did, however, spark a bit more life into the visitors and Gaston Ramirez gave the travelling faithful from the North East a hint of cheer with a free-kick that tested Wayne Hennessey for the first time in the match.
Sadly for them, though, it looked little more than a false dawn as Palace woke up to the narrowness of their advantage and duly set about increasing it.
It did not quite happen for them, though, and when the ref signalled five minutes of added time you could understand why Allardyce and his right-hand man, Sammy Lee, were so agitated on the touchline.
Agitated enough, in fact, to try to close it all down by bringing Scott Dann on for Wilfried Zaha, a move that did not go down all that well with the Holmesdale Road end of the ground.
None of them would have had to worry if Andros Townsend had not blasted a great chance into Row Z at the death.
But the Palace anthem of Glad All Over aptly summed it up for them at the end. Boro fans had nothing to sing about all.
Disappointed boss Karanka revealed that a fresh injury to George Friend had forced him to change his side’s shape.
He said: “I had to change everything because of that. But I didn’t say to the players how important this game was before because they should have known. I was disappointed with the goal and because we didn’t play in the first half like we did in the second.
“But we know what the position is.” WARREN JOYCE admits tiredness may be affecting the quality of his Wigan players after their stalemate with Nottingham Forest kept them in the relegation zone.
A victory would have lifted Latics level on points with 21st-placed Bristol City, yet they failed to muster a shot on target at the DW Stadium against a Forest side that only managed to register three themselves.
It was a sixth game in 23 days for Joyce’s rejigged side, which was bolstered by eight deadline-day signings in January and he thinks the accumulation of fixtures is taking its toll.
With a free midweek before next weekend’s trip to fellow strugglers Blackburn, Joyce hopes the division’s lowest scorers will be recharged.
“We will prepare all week so hopefully we go into it a little fresher than the slog we’ve been on and give it everything we’ve got,” he said.
“I think they’ve done that over a sustained period. You couldn’t fault their effort and endeavour. Sometimes quality suffers from tiredness or a slog, booed by the home supporters and Joyce admitted he was disappointed that the fans failed to see his reasoning.
“The kid’s come from a lower league, he’s had a lot of games over a sustained period and is running on empty,” Joyce added.
“You’re looking at his minutes and his volume of work. If players end up breaking down because they’ve been pushing their bodies and you lose them for six weeks, that’s more my concern.”
Forest are only six points above Wigan with 12 fixtures remaining, though boss Gary Brazil is not focused on any points target for safety.
“I don’t think about how many points we need,” he said. “There’s 12 games to go and we’ll take as many points as we can. There will be an ability for us to get stronger as we go.”