Bakary Sako marked his Crystal Palace debut with an 88th-minute winner in this afternoon's 2-1 win over Aston Villa at Selhurst Park.
The clash seemed destined to be heading for a draw after Pape Souare's own goal cancelled out Scott Dann's opener in the final quarter.
However, the ex-Wolverhampton Wanderers winger drilled home the winner in the dying minutes of normal time.
Here, Sports Mole analyses how the game was won in London.
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Match statistics
CRYSTAL PALACE
Shots: 16
On target: 6
Possession: 50%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 13
ASTON VILLA
Shots: 11
On target: 2
Possession: 50%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 15
Was the result fair?
On the balance of play, no. Aston Villa will feel desperately unlucky to leave with the capital without so much as a point for their trouble. Having said that, Jordan Amavi, whose inexplicable error led to the winner, was taking big risks from early on in the clash, and manager Tim Sherwood could have perhaps used half time - or one of the two drinks breaks - to inform the Frenchman that he was playing a dangerous game.
Crystal Palace's performance
On a day that saw temperatures exceed the 30-degree mark, Crystal Palace were lukewarm at best. There was far more perspiration than celebration for both sides throughout a sluggish 45 minutes in which Palace, in particular, struggled in the final third.
Sako - playing at number 10 at the time - seemed to be letting his debut pass him by. Yohan Cabaye looked nowhere near the club-record £12.8m paid for him. Wingers Jason Puncheon and Wilfried Zaha toiled against their respective markers. As a result, spearhead Glen Murray lacked service.
With Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur on the horizon for Palace in the coming weeks, manager Alan Pardew will have wanted to ride the crest of a wave into those meetings, but it was clear that a much-improved second-half display was needed to achieve it.
Did it come? Yes. Pardew hauled off Zaha and Murray for Dwight Gayle and Jordan Mutch, with Sako moving to his favoured wide position in a tactical tweak that almost paid off within a minute of the restart. Mutch's excellent cross looked certain to be tapped home by the debutant, but Micah Richards's intervention proved critical.
On 72 minutes, the needle on 'Glad All Over' did not need to be pulled up abruptly this time as Palace - who saw their earlier opener ruled out for offside - took the lead legitimately through Dann, whose towering header left Brad Guzan with no chance. The lead only lasted some six minutes before Souare deflected the ball past his own keeper, but the resurgent Sako, who looked a completely different prospect on the wing, drilled home the winner in timely fashion to snatch all three points.
Aston Villa's performance
"I want us to attack more than we did against Manchester United. We lacked a bit of guile and punch going forward."
This was the message from Sherwood, who stayed true to his word as the Villans dominated the first half but were unable to yield a tangible reward for their dominance. They could, and definitely should, have moved ahead on 14 minutes when Gabriel Agbonlahor raced through on goal, but Alex McCarthy won the one-on-one by virtue of the forward's weak finish.
Sherwood also ushered midfielder Jack Grealish back into the fold following a number of misdemeanors toward the end of last term. In return, the 19-year-old, whom Sherwood labelled "such a talented boy" in his pre-match notes, repaid his boss with a fine performance.
However, Grealish and his teammates failed to retain their momentum throughout the break and the hosts began to dominate, but Villa, and Richards in particular, helped keep them at bay. Parity would not last long, though, as Dann out-climbed Ciaran Clark to thump home the opener.
With the visitors in dire need of inspiration, Sherwood introduced 19-year-old Adama Traore for his debut and, if first impressions are lasting ones, then his impact will live long in the memory of Villa fans. Within minutes of coming on, Traore effortlessly ghosted past three red and blue shirts before delivering the cross that led to their equaliser. It was a run that offered a glimpse into how successful the ex-Barcelona academy graduate can be for the Villans.
A point looked certain, but left-back Amavi, whose sense of adventure was obvious from the opening minutes, inexplicably tried to run the ball out of defence before being tackled by Dann, who fed Sako as he rifled a low shot past Guzan to undermine Villa.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Bakary Sako: Bizarrely, it would probably have to be Sako who, despite his anonymous first-half showing, came to life and thensome when Pardew moved him out wide after the break. From there, he looked much more comfortable, and the goal was a cherry on top of an excellent second-half display.
Biggest gaffe
It has to be Agbonlahor, who raced through one-on-one with McCarthy on the 14-minute mark, but his tame outside-of-the-boot effort was easily stopped by the Palace keeper. It was an incident which summed up the best and worst of the ex-England international, whose blistering pace led to the chance, but his finishing remains something to be desired. Honourable mention to Amavi, but Agbonlahor might have changed the course of the game had he scored.
Referee performance
Keith Shroud incurred the wrath of the home fans after taking 30 seconds to cancel out James McArthur's second-half opener, but replays have proven that it was the correct decision. For this, and the time taken to discuss the incident with his officials, Shroud deserves plenty of credit at a time when a number of his peers perhaps rush into decisions and then stick by them. Excellent performance overall.
What next?
Crystal Palace: The Londoners are back at Selhurst Park on Tuesday for the second-round Capital One Cup visit of Shrewsbury Town.
Aston Villa: Also in action on Tuesday, Sherwood and co welcome Notts County to Villa Park in the League Cup.
Shane Callaghan
