Bournemouth 0, Crystal Palace 2: Sam Allardyce relief as Eagles earn first win of his reign
Bournemouth 0, Crystal Palace 2
Crystal Palace earned their first Premier League win under Sam Allardyce at the sixth attempt as goals from defender Scott Dann and striker Christian Benteke sank Bournemouth on Tuesday night.
Dann fired the visitors into the lead early in the second half and Benteke headed a second in added time to secure Palace’s first top-flight victory since 3 December.
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Results elsewhere meant it was not enough to lift Allardyce’s men out of the relegation zone, but it did put them three points clear of the bottom two, Sunderland and Hull.
Bournemouth slipped to 14th after a fifth consecutive game without a win, although they have a seven-point cushion on 18th place.
“It’s relief for me,” Allardyce said of his first win. “It really should have happened in the first game at Watford and it’s been a long haul since.
“The players today looked like what I would expect a team of mine to look like. It’s a first clean sheet, hopefully of many. It’s three massive points away from home. I’m so pleased about the ‘nil’.”
Dann pounced to score his first goal since September in the 46th minute, after Damien Delaney had flicked on a corner.
Benteke made the result safe from a cross by Andros Townsend, who came off the bench despite speculation linking the England winger with a return to Newcastle.