- Bolasie heads home winner
- Palace up to third place
- Cabaye scores late PK
- West Brom had two shots on target
Crystal Palace beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0 at Selhurst Park on Saturday, as Yannick Bolasie’s second half header and a late penalty kick from Yohan Cabaye won it for the Eagles.
Palace were the more dangerous side throughout the match as West Brom invited pressure on their goal and barely threatened in attack. The first arrived from Bolasie with 22 minutes to go, as Cabaye’s sumptuous cross found the winger free at the back post. Wilfried Zaha then won a penalty kick in the 87th minute and Cabaye slammed home.
With the win Palace move up to third place with 15 points from eight games, while West Brom remain in the bottom half of the table with eight points.
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Palace started brightly as Bolasie ran towards goal but sent his effort straight at Boaz Myhill. The Eagles continued to press for the opener as the first half wore on, with Zaha racing clear of West Brom’s defense but he dragged his effort wide of the near post.
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The Baggies continued to struggle and matters were made worse midway through the first half when Jonny Evans limped off injured with a left hamstring injury. James Chester replaced him. Before the break Yohan Cabaye smashed a volley in on goal, plus Zaha forced Myhill into two smart stops at his near post as the Eagles looked more likely to take the lead but were struggling to break down a resilient West Brom defense.
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At half time Saido Berahino was replaced by Craig Gardner as Pulis tried to stem Palace’s rapid attacks.
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The second half continued in the same vein as the first with Palace battering West Brom and in the 68th minute they finally got the break through as Cabaye’s splendid cross to the back post found Bolasie and the winger headed past Myhill. 1-0.
15 - The last time Palace had more pts after 8 games of a top-flight season was in 1990-91 (16) when they ended the campaign in 3rd. Repeat?
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 3, 2015
Late on Palace pushed to double their lead and Cabaye scored from the spot for the second game running, as the Eagles eased to one of the most comfortable 2-0 victories you will ever see.