Watford 0-1 Crystal Palace: Yohan Cabaye penalty seals Palace win

Yohan Cabaye's second-half penalty was enough to earn Crystal Palace a 1-0 win over Watford at Vicarage Road and send them up to sixth in the Premier League.

It took until the 71st minute for the deadlock to be broken, when Cabaye rifled home from the spot after substitute Wilfried Zaha was brought down just inside the penalty area by Allan Nyom.

Watford - beaten at home for the first time this season - enjoyed plenty of possession during a match where chances were few and far between, a Jose Jurado free-kick that hit the crossbar just after the break their best opportunity.

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The visitors also rattled the woodwork midway through the second half when Dwight Gayle's shot beat Heurelho Gomes, but crashed back off the post.

But 11 minutes later, they had the lead thanks to Cabaye's second goal of the season and, despite a late Watford onslaught, Alan Pardew's men held on for a third away win of the season following two straight league defeats.

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After a quiet start, it was Palace who created the first opening, with Brede Hangeland getting on the end of Cabaye's free-kick in the 13th minute. The defender thought he had opened the scoring, but Gomes did brilliantly to keep out the header from point-blank range.

In a game of very few clear-cut chances, Watford looked dangerous on the counter-attack through the pace of Ikechi Anya and Almen Abdi and the powerful front two of Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney.

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The hosts had one final chance before the break when Ighalo won a free-kick right on the edge of the box after tangling with Hangeland. Abdi struck the ball goalwards but he could not get it over the wall as the first 45 minutes came to a close.

Despite having plenty of possession, it was not until after the interval that Quique Sanchez Flores' Watford side came close to getting on the scoresheet when, after Abdi had been tripped by Joe Ledley, Jurado stepped up in a similar position to before the break and hit a 25-yard free-kick that came back off the crossbar with Wayne Hennessey beaten.

Watford were on the attack again in the 55th minute when Craig Cathcart's long ball found Deeney. The striker chested it into the path of Ighalo, who laid the ball off to Abdi, whose driven shot was well saved by Palace 'keeper Hennessey.

Eagles boss Pardew introduced Zaha from the bench as he tried to stem the flow of Watford pressure and the winger was soon involved, beating Nyom with his pace before being tripped by the right-back right on the edge of the Watford box.

Much to the bemusement of the home fans, referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot but he looked to have made the correct decision as Cabaye stepped up to put the visitors ahead.

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Gayle, who scored a midweek hat-trick against Charlton in the Capital One Cup, should have wrapped up the points with a little over 10 minutes remaining but he could only poke wide from close-range following Yannick Bolasie's knock-down from Zaha's cross.

Just minutes later, Gayle came close again after staying onside and breaking clear to latch onto Bolasie's pass but, after wriggling free in the box, he arrowed a shot just wide before being replaced by Fraizer Campbell.

Watford rallied at the death in search of a point but Ledley's brave block from Jurado's driven attempt summed up their afternoon and, after conceding at home for the first time since their Premier League return, they could not find an equaliser to take a share of the spoils.

Player ratings

Watford: Gomes (7), Nyom (6), Cathcart (7), Prödl (6), Anya (7), Capoue (6), Watson (7), Abdi (7), Deeney (6), Jurado (6), Ighalo (6).

Subs used: Ake (5), Ibarbo (4), Berghuis (5).

Crystal Palace: Hennessey (7), Kelly (6), Dann (7), Hangeland (8), Souare (7), Ledley (7), Cabaye (7), Puncheon (7), Sako (6), Bolasie (7), Gayle (7).

Subs: McArthur (6), Zaha (7), Campbell (5).

Man of the Match: Brede Hangeland