Crystal Palace deserved victory over Middlesbrough, says Alan Pardew

Alan Pardew felt his Crystal Palace side were fully deserving of their 2-1 win over Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium.

The Eagles claimed their first victory of the season as Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha scored either side of Daniel Ayala's equaliser.

Benteke strikes in Palace win

Read our match report from Crystal Palace's 2-1 win over Middlesbrough.

Middlesbrough were aggrieved not to be awarded a penalty when Scott Dann appeared to kick the ball into his own arm late in the second half, but Pardew felt his side were good value for the three points.

"We had to work really hard today," he said. "It was a terrific start by us. We controlled that first 20 minutes, which isn't easy against a team who have had three big results. They had a lot of confidence, you could see that, but I thought we deserved to win. It was a good away performance.

"We were living on our defensive qualities at the end. There were a couple of near-misses, a couple of shakes here and there, but we should have had it wrapped up before then. We showed some good stuff today."

Dann's apparent handball was one of two Middlesbrough penalty appeals in the second half, and Pardew admitted they were difficult decisions for referee Neil Swarbrick.

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"That's why I've got the glasses on, I had to go and see them close up!" he said. "I don't think anyone intentionally handballs them. It's a tough call for the referee. I don't think Scott Dann intentionally handles it. They're always contentious."

Benteke's goal, a towering header from Zaha's cross, was his first since his club record £32m switch from Liverpool, and it was also a good day for his younger brother Jonathan, who made his debut as a late substitute for his sibling.

"It was a nice moment for the family," said Pardew. "The young boy Jonathan is just here to learn his trade but we had injuries today so we had to use him. He ran around for us and helped us get the points."

The win lifts Palace up to 12th place in the Premier League after their 1-1 draw with Bournemouth before the international break, and Pardew is pleased with how they have started the campaign.

"I think we've played well this season," he said. "We had to go to Spurs and we almost got a point there. The West Brom game was touch and go the whole time. Every game has been close. This game was close but we came out winners. If we do that for 38 games we're going to be more than OK."