Alan Pardew won't blame Wayne Hennessey for Aston Villa winner

Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew refused to blame Wayne Hennessey for the goal that cost his side in their 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa.

The Palace keeper allowed Joleon Lescott's header to slip through his grasp and between his legs for the winner after 58 minutes at Villa Park.

"Wayne will be disappointed," Pardew told Sky Sports. "His first touch of the ball wasn't good and he got himself in a mess, but he's been terrific for us and it happens with goalkeepers now and again.

"A lot of things went wrong today. We lacked energy, quality and it was one our poorest displays of the season. Whether that came from the effort we put in down at Southampton I don't know, but it didn't click tonight."

Pardew also bemoaned his side's lack of quality up front after a fourth Premier League game in a row without a goal.

He added: "We've been struggling offensively, and maybe [Bakary] Sako wasn't quite right and Connor [Wickham]. But they're trying to get there. 

"We couldn't find an offensive link-up tonight but it's minutes under the belt for Sako, Connor and [Marouane] Chamakh who will need those in the second half of the season."

Pardew was also full of praise for Palace's opponents Villa, and said they fully deserved the victory.

"Villa put in a stint and deserved it," he said. "They worked so hard and didn't give us a moment's rest.

"They really had a go tonight and good luck to them."