W ilfried Zaha's brilliant first-half goal clinched Crystal Palace a 1-0 win at Huddersfield, whose winless Premier League run continued. Zaha, the game's outstanding talent, underlined his importance to Roy Hodgson's side with a moment of magic to seal their first league victory since the opening day. Palace's talisman, back in the starting line-up after a groin injury, tricked his way into the penalty area seven minutes before half-time and curled the ball into the top corner. The Londoners rode their luck as Huddersfield chased an equaliser throughout the second half, but they held on and extended the hosts' winless start to the league campaign to five matches. Zaha turned Philip Billing inside out before laying on the game's first chance for Andros Townsend, but his shot was blocked. Huddersfield's first clear opening arrived via the excellent Chris Lowe's pin-point cross in the 17th minute, which Steve Mounie headed narrowly over the crossbar. Several robust challenges from players on both sides caused tempers to flare midway through the first period. Cheikhou Kouyate and Palace team-mate Luka Milivojevic were lucky to escape cautions, but referee Lee Mason booked Huddersfield defender Mathias Jorgensen for his late tackle on Zaha, who was shown a yellow card soon after for a challenge on Florent Hadergjonaj. Zaha then showcased the better side of his game to give Palace a 38th-minute lead they barely deserved. The winger slipped in between Hadergjonaj and Elias Kachunga after a couple of step-overs and feints and curled a superb shot into Jonas Lossl's top left corner from just inside the box. Winner: Zaha snuck between two defenders and fired palace in front / Getty Images Zaha almost stole in for a second moments later, but shot tamely at Lossl as he slipped, while Huddersfield responded through Rajiv van La Parra, who took Lowe's cross into the area neatly on his chest, only to hook his effort off target. Huddersfield went straight on the offensive after the restart. Kachunga was flagged offside as his header forced Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey into a point-blank save and when Billing volleyed home following a corner, referee Mason had already blown for a push by Jorgensen. Town were gathering steam and were denied by the frame of the goal on the hour-mark when Aaron Mooy met Lowe's cross with a thumping volley which struck the base of Hennessey's left post. Palace midfielder James McArthur then spurned a chance to kill the game with 16 minutes left when he fired over following more fine work from Zaha. Town boss Wagner sent on forwards Isaac Mbenza and Laurent Depoitre for Jorgensen and Van La Parra as his side gamely sought to salvage a point.<doc-sep>It was a fiery clash as Crystal Palace defeated Huddersfield Town 1-0 at the John Smith's Stadium yesterday (Saturday). Wilfried Zaha netted the only goal of the game as the Eagles recorded a second away win of the season to move up to 11th in the Premier League, ahead of a home game with Newcastle United next week. But what did we learn from the game? Our Crystal Palace correspondent Robert Warlow was in West Yorkshire to discuss the talking points, below. Zaha is the central figure again Palace's record without Wilfried Zaha is clear for all to see. The Eagles have not won a league game without their talisman since September 2016, and he again underlined his importance as he made the difference with his goal. His superb solo effort was worthy of winning any game, and was his eighth goal in his last ten Premier League matches. And Palace have now averaged 1.5 points per game in the 33 Premier League matches he has played since the beginning of last season - and no points in the ten he has missed. But it wasn't just his goal, with Zaha being central to most of the big moments in the game, including a couple of poor challenges - one on him by Matthias Jorgensen and one by Zaha on Florent Hadergjonaj. This meant that Zaha was once again the man everyone, including fans, managers and pundits alike, was talking about after the game. Tomkins is also a key figure The Crystal Palace defender's return from injury coincided with another clean sheet for the Eagles. And given his record with Mamadou Sakho at the back for Palace, it is probably little surprise. In 16 games together now at the heart of Palace's defence, the duo have only lost once. And the former West Ham defender was impressive once again, putting in another assured display for the Eagles, as he showed calmness and composure at the back. More away day joy for the Eagles at a happy hunting ground Crystal Palace claimed another away win - their second of the season. But while this was a second away win of the season for the Eagles in the Premier League, it was a third on the road this season for Palace, following their win in the Carabao Cup at Swansea City. And perhaps, given the recent results at Selhurst Park and the question marks over the current situation with the Holmesdale Fanatics, the Eagles are enjoying their away days more at present. But in winning, Palace claimed victory at the John Smith's Stadium for the second time in six months, following on from their 2-0 win against Huddersfield in March. And this was their fourth victory against Huddersfield in the top flight, all of which have included a clean sheet for the Eagles. A crossing point Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson said afterwards that Huddersfield made life difficult for his side with their direct style of play. But the Eagles manager will have had cause for concern from the fact that Huddersfield were able to deliver 23 crosses into the Palace box from open play. It meant Palace had plenty of work to do defensively, and while they dealt admirably with the aerial bombardment, he will want his side to do more to stop the crosses coming in. Ayew the better option? There may have been some surprise among supporters to see Jordan Ayew line up as the focal point in the front three, in the absence of Christian Benteke. But the Ghanaian did a good job up front, working hard for the team and impressing with his hold up play, bringing others into play and allowing the Eagles to break at times. He may not be the same physical presence that Benteke is up front, but he did a good job for the team and shows he can provide a different option for Hodgson, who also has Alexander Sorloth to be able to call upon. Keep up to date with the latest news, features and exclusives from football.london via the free football.london app for iPhone and Android. Available to download from the App Store and Google Play.<doc-sep>
It was an important win for Crystal Palace as they won 1-0 away to Huddersfield Town yesterday (Saturday). Wilfried Zaha once again was the man to make the difference, with Palace's star man scoring the only goal of the game at the John Smith's Stadium. But did you spot all of these moments in the victory for the Eagles? Our Crystal Palace correspondent Robert Warlow picks out four moments, below. Zaha's celebration We have seen it before, and Wilfried Zaha was at it again as he cupped his ears to the Huddersfield fans. He had been getting stick from the home supporters for much of the first half, after his reaction to a couple of fouls, and his own challenge on Hadergjonaj. But he silenced the crowd in the best way possible with his goal, before recreating the gesture he gave to Watford fans last season at Selhurst Park. Wan-Bissaka almost injuring Townsend The pair worked closely to keep Huddersfield quiet down the left hand side, but perhaps too closely at times. Indeed, Townsend was nearly injured by his team-mate towards the end of the first half, having to receive treatment after being caught by Wan-Bissaka. Tomkins' calmness When Rajiv van la Parra looped a ball back across the face of goal just before the break, it could have caused panic in the Palace box. But Tomkins was coolness personified as he simply got his body between Steve Mounie and the goal to allow Wayne Hennessey to claim the ball. A new fans' favourite? He was only making his second start for Crystal Palace, but Cheikhou Kouyate is already becoming a popular man among the Eagles supporters. The travelling support sang his name after a solid display in midfield, and the Senegalese midfielder did his bit to ingratiate himself with the fans by going over at the end of the game to give his shirt away, allowing one supporter to be their first to get their hands on the new yellow third kit. It was a nice gesture from the 28-year-old. Keep up to date with the latest news, features and exclusives from football.london via the free football.london app for iPhone and Android. Available to download from the App Store and Google Play.