Hodgson plays up Zaha factor as Palace move out of relegation zone with win
Roy Hodgson paid tribute to the role of Wilfried Zaha in his Crystal Palace team as the London side moved out of the relegation zone yesterday with a 2-0 triumph at Huddersfield Town.
A first-half strike from defender James Tompkins and a penalty in the 68th minute from Luka Milivojevic gave Palace the victory and leapfrogged them up to 16th in the Premier League table, with Southampton, who are on FA Cup duty this weekend, dropping into the bottom three.
Hodgson highlighted the role Zaha, making his first start since February 4 after being out with a knee injury, in helping inspire Palace to their first win in eight games.
“He is so good at carrying the ball and we noticed that in the second half for us,” Hodgson told the BBC. “He is an outlet for us.
“He got past people and drew fouls, and that put us in their part of the field and give our defenders a rest.”
The victory ended a run of four defeats in a row for Palace, but Hodgson said he had not been unduly worried by the sequence, which included losses to Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Chelsea.
“I don’t think I have ever had a feeling we are on a slide,” he said. “We are getting players back to fitness and our squad is looking like what it was when we were getting results.
“We are happier now to be playing teams where at least we are not having to come across the sort of quality we have in the last two or three weeks.”
Palace are now two points clear of safety and only one point and one place behind Huddersfield, and Hodgson said it had been crucial they had triumphed over a relegation rival.
“All the points teams get down near the bottom are vitally appoint,” he said. “We have had a difficult run of games and not got any points but to get something here at least puts us back in some sort of equilibrium.”
Meanwhile, Stoke City are three points adrift of safety after two goals from Cenk Tosun gave Everton a 2-1 victory in their clash.
Stoke had to play the last hour with 10 men after Charlie Adam was sent off for a late challenge on Wayne Rooney.
“I couldn’t ask more for the effort. We had 10-men for most of the game and got ourselves back into it,” Stoke manager Paul Lambert said. “It’s a disappointing result, but effort, I couldn’t have asked for anymore.”
Bournemouth scored twice in the last 13 minutes through Jordan Ibe and Junior Stanislas to consign bottom side West Bromwich Albion to their eighth successive loss as they went down 2-1.
West Brom, who are 10 points behind 17th-placed West Ham United, had led through a Jay Rodriguez effort.
“The team deserved more than they got today. It is really hard on our players,” manager Alan Pardew said. “It was an unbelievable effort and we have nothing to show for it.”