Crystal Palace 2 Aston Villa 0: With one bound and two goals from Andy Johnson, of course, Palace sprang from below the dotted line and are looking up. This was their first victory in 11 games and their celebrated spirit, which had begun to look frayed, was in no doubt again.
It proved too much for Villa, who promised well until they fell behind beyond the half hour and fell apart after the interval. On this showing, having failed to secure the signature of James Beattie, they are more in need of reinforcement than Palace. Juan Pablo Angel said he would have welcomed Beattie. "I've been playing mostly on my own up front, which is not the best thing for a striker."
It has not hampered Johnson. The Palace man has scored 13 of his side's 23 league goals. Intuition and speed took him consistently into dangerous places. Angel, on a diet of daft high balls against taller defenders, threatened nothing until a late header which Gabor Kiraly held firmly.
Iain Dowie had called for "no self-pity but steel and hunger". He said afterwards: "We needed a massive response (after defeat at Fulham on Saturday) and got it."
Villa had the better of the first half, sustained pressure spoiled only by poor final delivery. Gareth Barry was the main culprit. With Aki Riihilahti tracking Lee Hendrie into insignificance and eventual substitution, Steven Davis was the main creator, aided by Gavin McCann.
Palace's raids were more spasmodic but more fruitful. Their first goal stemmed from a soft touch from Angel that conceded midfield possession. Ben Watson strode forward and left fly, Thomas Sorensen could not hold and Johnson pounced.
Old belief surged back through Palace. Wizardry by Wayne Routledge on the right floored Davis and JLloyd Samuel, the cross drew Mark Delaney into a foul on Vassilis Lakis and Johnson dispatched the penalty.
With Olaf Mellberg suspended, Villa's defence looked as wobbly as their attack was blunt. By contrast Darren Powell, who made his first league start for Palace standing in for the injured Tony Popovic, was full of assurance. "We've got people to bring in who are very committed," said Dowie. Like everyone he is looking to bring in more through the window. His chairman Simon Jordan has said: "I'll buy four or five if it means we have a chance of staying up."
CRYSTAL PALACE: Kiraly, Butterfield (Boyce 75), Powell, Hall, Granville, Routledge, Watson (Leigertwood 66), Riihilahti, Hughes, Lakis, Johnson. Subs Not Used: Speroni, Freedman, Shipperley. Booked: Hughes, Granville. Goals: Johnson 33, 66 pen.
ASTON VILLA: Sorensen, De la Cruz, Delaney, Ridgewell, Samuel, Solano, Hendrie (Luke Moore 66), McCann, Davis, Barry, Angel. Subs Not Used: Postma, Berson, Whittingham, Stefan Moore. Booked: McCann, De la Cruz, Luke Moore.
Referee: A D'Urso (Essex).
