Palace simply took chances

Brighton – Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson (above) defended his side’s style after snatching a 2-1 derby win at Brighton on Monday thanks to Christian Benteke’s stunning 95th-minute volley.

The Eagles had just two touches in the Brighton box, but scored with both, whereas the Seagulls saw 25 shots and nearly 75% possession count for little.

“We get so hung up on statistics these days. The game is decided by goals. Goals are a question of how well you take your chances and defend theirs,” said Hodgson.

“Until there are prizes for corners and touches in the box, it's very important we keep in mind that results are borne out by goals you score and goals you don’t concede. I get no satisfaction when we lose and we have more corners or touches in their box.”

Brighton are still looking over their shoulders at the bottom three after a night that summed up so much of the season for Graham Potter’s men.

“That’s the nature of the league, how punishing it is, we have done a lot but clearly not enough,” said Potter.

“The boys were doing everything to score, it felt like it was always in their penalty box, never mind their half.”

Palace were without the talismanic presence of Wilfried Zaha due to injury, but Jean-Philippe Mateta made an impact in just his second start since joining on loan from Mainz.

The Frenchman back-heeled home on the turn and claimed his first Palace goal on 28 minutes.

The hosts equalised 10 minutes into the second period with Joel Veltman’s first goal for the club.

Palace clung on for a point until Benteke snatched all three points deep into stoppage time. –