PALACE QUICK ON THE DRAW TO SET PULSES RACING

WHAT can you do in two minutes and 14 seconds? Win a football match, apparently.

Well, you can if you’re Crystal Palace, Alan Pardew’s men destroying Stoke with a quickfire first-half double that left Mark Hughes’ crestfallen side in a daze.

It was a rapid combination the Potters never recovered from; Jonathan Walters’ own goal and Scott Dann’s header securing Palace a second successive league win in the first 11 minutes.

This was far more than smash and grab; Palace were enthralling, two further goals in the second half testament to their dominance.

The pace and power of wide men Andros Townsend and Wilfried Zaha; the control of central midfield duo Joe Ledley and James McArthur and organisational skills of skipper Dann.

‘It was a performance that you have a vision for,’ said Pardew. ‘When you’re trying to build, as we have in the summer, you’ve got to utilise their strengths.

‘We did that well today. Now we have to look to consistency. If we can have that level of performance again, we’ll have a good season.’

Just days after being hit with an FA misconduct charge, Hughes — whose side are bottom with just one point from their opening five league games — is trying his hardest not to panic.

He said: ‘We’re not doing the fundamentals you need in the Premier League. We have work to do. We have ambitions this season and, if this run continues any longer, we won’t be able to achieve them.’

The crucial first-half moments came when Walters, under pressure from James Tomkins, diverted Townsend’s teasing free-kick past Shay Given at the back post.

Then, exactly two minutes and 14 seconds later, Dann beat Ryan Shawcross to Jason Puncheon’s corner to power a header past Given as Palace doubled their lead.

The third was fortuitous, McArthur’s strike taking a wicked deflection. Townsend’s followed soon after, a rifling finish from 20 yards.

Late on, a goal arrived for Stoke, Marko Arnautovic brilliantly striking home from the edge of the box with the final kick of the game.

By then, though, the damage had been done.