Crystal Palace made it four victories on the bounce in all competitions as they eked out a hard-fought 1-0 Premier League triumph over Ipswich Town at Selhurst Park.
While there were no goals to report at half time, there was no shortage of goalmouth action with 12 shots combined for both teams, although a Jean-Philippe Mateta-less Palace were struggling to find a ruthless edge.
The Eagles squandered two big chances in the opening 45 and may have been lamenting a contentious officiating call, as Jacob Greaves brought Ismaila Sarr down as the Palace winger charged towards goal but escaped with a booking.
Oliver Glasner's men were doing most of the huffing and puffing as the second half progressed, but a combination of their own wastefulness and staunch Tractor Boys defending kept them at bay, albeit until Sarr belatedly broke the deadlock in the 82nd minute with an exquisite finish.
Palace are now knocking on the top-half door as they move up to 11th place in the Premier League table, just three points shy of Aston Villa and Fulham, while Kieran McKenna's men remain five points adrift of safety in 18th position.
SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT
© Imago
Not a single player has managed more than Mateta's eight Premier League goals in the current calendar year, and without the influential Frenchman leading the line after his horror injury in the FA Cup, Palace's attack unsurprisingly lost its killer bite.
Glasner talked up Eddie Nketiah before the game, but the ex-Arsenal striker spurned two big chances and was eventually taken off in favour of Daichi Kamada, as the Palace boss shifted Sarr into a central role.
The 27-year-old may have now given Glasner some food for thought after an extremely well-taken winner late on, one that condemned Ipswich to a fate that they have never suffered before.
Indeed, McKenna's side have now failed to win their first nine league games of a calendar year for the first time in their history, and they can arguably have few complaints after failing to make the most of Palace's earlier wastefulness.
As the Eagles celebrate consecutive win number four, Ipswich have now lost four straight games in all competitions, and a swift return to the Championship is beckoning for the newly-promoted side.
CRYSTAL PALACE VS. IPSWICH TOWN HIGHLIGHTS
50th min: Crystal Palace 0-0 Ipswich (Eberechi Eze hits post)
© Iconsport
Very close to a freak opener for the hosts!
Eberechi Eze lets fly and sees his strike take a wicked nick off of Dara O'Shea, which leaves Alex Palmer praying and hoping, but the Tractor Boys survive as Eze's deflected strike hits the post.
82nd min: Crystal Palace 1-0 Ipswich (Ismaila Sarr)
Where Nketiah failed, Sarr succeeds! The former Watford winger has been occupying a central role since his teammate was taken off, and he delivers with fewer than 10 minutes remaining.
Kalvin Phillips just gets to the ball ahead of Kamada on the edge of the Ipswich box, but a lucky bounce falls the way of Sarr, who produces a fine burst of pace to evade Greaves before lifting the ball over the onrushing Palmer.
MAN OF THE MATCH - ISMAILA SARR
© Imago
Sarr was among the Palace players guilty of letting a gilt-edged chance pass them by earlier in the match, but the 27-year-old came up with two game-winning moments at Selhurst Park, one goal-line clearance and one extremely well-taken winner.
The attacker's short burst of pace and lobbed finish were both things of beauty, but his number one Dean Henderson deserves his own shout-out for making seven stops to keep the Tractor Boys at bay.
CRYSTAL PALACE VS. IPSWICH MATCH STATS
Possession: Crystal Palace 55%-45% Ipswich
Shots: Crystal Palace 19-15 Ipswich
Shots on target: Crystal Palace 4-8 Ipswich
Corners: Crystal Palace 5-4 Ipswich
Fouls: Crystal Palace 8-7 Ipswich
WHAT NEXT?
Palace have no more competitive engagements before the international break, but the Eagles are in friendly action on Thursday, taking on Norwegian outfit HamKam to keep the blood flowing.
Meanwhile, relegation-battling Ipswich host Champions League-chasing Nottingham Forest at Portman Road next Saturday afternoon in their last fixture of the month.
Ben Knapton
