Dyche in despair as Burnley fail to even throw a punch

THIS was no sucker-punch. Crystal Palace had Burnley on the ropes for 90 minutes at Selhurst Park and a beaten and bruised Sean Dyche could not help himself afterwards.

‘When fear comes into performances, it’s like losing the eye of the tiger,’ the Burnley boss quipped. ‘We need to get the gloves on and start fighting. That usually comes from hard work.’

One can only hope Tyson Fury’s heavyweight meeting with Deontay Wilder overnight is a little less one-sided.

While Palace managed 29 shots, the visitors tried four, none of which were on target. They were beaten 2-0 by a side who had previously scored twice at home all season and both of those were penalties.

Palace did not complain, of course. Their ‘ultras’ were back and so were the winning ways, as Roy Hodgson’s side secured their first victory at Selhurst Park at the seventh time of asking.

On the same day that a row between the club and their Holmesdale Fanatics was put to bed, Palace gave their supporters two very different goals to shout about. The first was far from a masterpiece as James McArthur crossed and the ball crept in at the back post. The second, however, was a thing of beauty from Andros Townsend.

A Goal of the Month contender, Townsend cut in from the right wing and whipped a shot that curled into the top-left corner, leaving Joe Hart with no chance.

‘We were clearly the better the team from start to finish,’ Hodgson said. ‘It [the win] has been a long time coming.’

With Burnley now in the bottom three, Dyche added: ‘The best side won. They were good.

‘They deserved it. I knew this would be a real tough season.’

He did not get a goal but Wilfried Zaha did what he does best by winding Burnley’s defenders up with his trickery and downright doggedness.

When Zaha has the ball, he may as well be an orchestra conductor with a baton. One moment in the fifth minute showed how Eagles fans hang off his every move.

When he received possession on the left wing, all was quiet as Selhurst Park waited to see what he would do. Zaha then ghosted past Matthew Lowton and the levels rose. The roof was raised when he fired a ferocious cross through the six-yard box. Palace thought they had their opener but Cheikhou Kouyate missed out on the killer touch by a matter of inches.

Not to worry, though, as Palace finally got their goal in the 16th minute.

McArthur had possession on the right wing and was looking for options. When few presented themselves, he produced a low cross intended for Max Meyer. The former Schalke man failed to get a touch but the ball drifted in at the back post nonetheless.

Zaha crashed a shot off the crossbar in the 68th minute and fans began to fear a smash-andgrab by Burnley. Then, Townsend put Eagles minds at ease.

He was close to 25 yards out but his shot sailed sweetly into the top corner. Hodgson and his backroom staff went ballistic in celebration and why not?

They had their first win of the season at Selhurst Park. Burnley left, surely feeling embarrassed