Crystal Palace 2-0 West Brom: Bolasie and Cabaye send Alan Pardew’s side third in the table
Yannick Bolasie and Yohan Cabaye goals were enough to send Crystal Palace third in the Premier League as they beat West Brom in the weekend’s early kick off.
The first half was a cagey affair with neither side creating anything of note but wingers Bolasie and Wilfried Zaha looked dangerous.
The goal from Bolasie came with 20 minutes remaining as he headed in Cabaye’s cross before the latter converted from the spot on 88 minutes.
The defeat means West Brom remain four points clear of the bottom three.
It was a very slow start to the action at Selhurst Park with only a hopeful Saido Berahino chip amid a number of wasted opportunities in promising positions for both sides.
Palace stepped up and looked dangerous whenever Zaha was on the ball as he terrorised Chris Brunt, playing at left back for West Brom, all afternoon.
Brunt went off briefly when an accidental clash left him with a claret mask as blood gushed from the gash on his nose, and Zaha revelled in the temporary extra space.
Cabaye had a chance with a vicious volley but it was straight at Boaz Myhill in the Baggies goal before Jason Puncheon fired over.
Five minutes before half time Zaha continued to exploit the right-hand side and he twice cut inside and got shots off but was twice denied by Myhill.
The frustration for Palace fans continued after half time as Bolasie and Zaha continued to run riot but their final ball often let them down, allowing the West Brom defence to clear.
Cabaye had a shout for a penalty on the hour mark when his free kick looked like it hit Craig Gardner’s arm in the wall the referee waved away the protestations.
However, on 67 minutes the hosts finally broke the deadlock and again Cabaye was involved as he cut inside from the left before floating in a lovely cross to the back post for Bolasie to nod in.
The goal was the first West Brom have conceded on the road this season and the first Bolasie has scored at Selhurst Park since New Year’s Day 2013.
On 88 minutes, the second goal arrived, Brunt driving in on the tricky Zaha in the box which gave Cabaye the opportunity to score from the spot - which he duly dispatched.
And despite a more energetic West Brom for the remaining 20 minutes, they were still unable to create anything clear-cut as Tony Pulis was dealt his first away defeat of 2014/15.