Crystal Palace 1-0 Swansea: Chamakh goal secures top 10 Premier League finish

A rare Marouane Chamakh goal secured Crystal Palace a top-half finish as they beat Swansea City 1-0 on the final day of the season.

Chamakh scored his first league goal since January just before the hour mark to settle a game that was lacking in chances for long periods.

The 1-0 victory was the 10th win of Alan Pardew's 18 Premier League games as Palace boss and it brought down the curtain on a superb six months for the former Newcastle manager.

Pardew arrived at Selhurst Park in January with the Eagles stuck in the relegation zone but 18 matches later they have finished 10th - two places behind today's opponents - setting a club record for the Premier League.

The home side had the majority of the possession and chances in the first 45 minutes, but there was a distinct lack of killer instinct from both sides in front of goal.

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Swansea nearly took the lead in the 17th minute when Leon Britton's cross came off Scott Dann but Brede Hangeland was there to head it out for a corner. Jefferson Montero took the resulting corner, but Jack Cork's near-post header was saved by Wayne Hennessey. 

Birthday boy Yannick Bolasie had a shot on target in the 20th minute after he cut into the box past Kyle Naughton, but he didn’t beat the goalkeeper and the reliable Lukasz Fabianski parried the ball out.

Glen Murray came on for James McArthur five minutes later, as Pardew looked to add some more attacking talent to his team. Bolasie had another shot  25 yards from goal but Fernandez was there to get a head to it, diverting it over the bar to safety.

Swansea had the first real chance of the second half when Marvin Emnes took a shot from outside the box but Hennessey was alert and managed to collect it.

Jason Puncheon created the goal. His long cross into the box was knocked across goal by Scott Dann and Chamakh was there to tap it home. Bafetimbi Gomis should have done better, but he allowed the Moroccan international to push him as they jostled for the ball.

It wasn’t the prettiest of goals but it lifted Palace two places into 10th, their highest finish in the Premier League. Unfortunately for the scorer, he was soon off the pitch as he pulled a hamstring as he bore down on goal. 

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Zaha nearly doubled the home side’s lead 20 minutes from time as he ran at Naughton from the left wing, before cutting in and taking a shot that scraped the side-netting.

Neither side created much as the clock ran down but it was good to see Monk give a Premier League debut to Kenji Gorre, one of the stars of their Academy and another appearance for Modou Barrow.

Player Ratings

Crystal Palace: Hennessey (6); Ward (7), Dann (7), Hangeland (7), Souare (7); Zaha (7), Jedinak(7), McArthur (6),Bolasie (6); Puncheon (7); Chamakh (7).

Used subs: Mutch (6), Murray (7), Campbell (6).

Swansea City: Fabianski (7), Naughton (7), Fernandez (7), Bartley (6), Richards (6), Britton (6), Cork (7), Emnes (6), Dyer (6), Montero (7), Gomis.

Used subs: Grimes (6), Gorre (5), Barrow (6).

Man of the Match: Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea City