BRIGHTON – Jordan Ayew's late goal helped Crystal Palace claim a 1-0 win at Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, leaving the hosts without a win in eight Premier League matches this year.
Both teams were wasteful in front of goal in the first half, with Brighton midfielder Solly March failing to convert any of his three good chances.
The atmosphere in the Amex Stadium intensified at the half-hour mark after Palace forward Wilfried Zaha was involved in an altercation with Brighton substitute Ezequiel Schelotto, who was shown a yellow card despite not being on the pitch.
Neal Maupay and Lewis Dunk went close to finding a breakthrough for Brighton shortly after the interval but it was Palace forward Ayew who found the net against the run of play.
Christian Benteke carved open the Brighton defensive line after 70 minutes with a deft reverse pass for Ayew to score his seventh league goal of the campaign.
Palace climbed to 12th in the table on 36 points, three places and eight points better off than Brighton who are now winless in their opening eight league matches of a calendar year for the first time since 1998 when they were in the fourth tier.