Pardew proud of Palace resilience

Alan Pardew hailed a “tremendous” effort from Crystal Palace as they battled back to earn a 1-1 Premier League draw with Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

Palace spent long spells chasing the ball, but remained resolute at the back, with Wayne Hennessey making a couple of crucial saves to keep his side in it.

And their determination eventually paid dividends as Pardew’s plan to frustrate Arsenal reaped its rewards, Bolasie finishing a swift counter-attack involving Emmanuel Adebayor to cancel out Alexis Sanchez’s opener.

“They deserve tremendous credit, it is tough to play here,” Pardew told Sky Sports.

“We had a game plan that was to start slow and build as the game went on and we did. In the end we had half a chance to win it, but we didn’t deserve that. We had a good strategy, the guys were terrific.

“I was disappointed to concede before half-time. We hadn’t looked after the ball well enough in the first half. Sometimes you have to make sure they [Arsenal] don’t get into fourth or fifth gear and we kept them in third, we knew we could get better and we did.”

The point moves Palace nine clear of the bottom three with four games remaining and Pardew believes it should be enough for his side to survive.

He added: “With 39 points and our goal difference it means two teams below us need 40 points. 

“We’ve still got games to go and need to pick up more points. We are still in touching distance of mid-table which is where I think we belong.”