Crystal Palace 1-1 West Ham United: Zaha strike earns deserved point

Roy Hodgson says his Crystal Palace side should "not be concerned" about the sides below them after the Eagles edged up the Premier League table with a draw at home to West Ham.

The point puts Palace into 13th place, four points above the relegation zone.

"I'm entitled to have faith in this team," said Hodgson, "I believe that they should be less concerned about the teams below them."

Zaha surged into the West Ham area in the 75th minute, and saw his shot from a tight angle hit the boot of Issa Diop before looping into the net to cancel out Mark Noble's first-half penalty.

"There are a lot of games to play. I can continue to hope these performances can get us into the top half of the table," Hodgson added.

"My perception is that I think I've got a very good football team and they showed it today."

The home side should have been level earlier in the second half, but James McArthur shot against the post despite being free inside the six-yard box.

And Zaha could have put his side ahead just after his leveller, but West Ham keeper Lukasz Fabianski made an excellent save to his left.

• Relive the day's Premier League action
• Relive the action from Selhurst Park

The Ivorian's goal was his third in as many games and came as he returned to the side following his ban for a red card against Southampton in January.

The result sees West Ham climb two places into 10th after their second 1-1 draw of the week, while Palace climb one place into 13th to sit three points above the relegation zone.

Palace earn point the hard way

The home side's second-half performance meant that they were good value for a point, but for so long their finishing looked like they would draw yet another blank on home soil.

They had scored just eight times at Selhurst Park in the Premier League prior to West Ham's visit, and they were chasing the game after goalkeeper Vicente Guita's clumsy challenge on Michail Antonio gifted the away side the chance to score from the spot.

McArthur's miss from close range could scarcely be believed, and when Martin Kelly headed over the bar despite being free in the area another frustrating result for the hosts looked on the cards.

But Zaha showed the kind of ruthlessness Palace needed in front of goal, just a few minutes after substitute Michy Batshuayi missed the target despite also finding space in the area.

• Wilfried Zaha handed ban and fine for improper conduct at Southampton

Diop can count himself unlucky that Zaha's shot struck him to deceive Fabianski, but the goal was just reward for Palace who tried 17 shots after the break.

The Eagles have gleaned five points from a possible nine of late to edge up the table, but they will need to take their chances if they are to stay away from danger.

West Ham's game of two halves

West Ham could have put this game out of reach before the break, even before Noble stepped up from the penalty spot.

Ryan Fredericks and Robert Snodgrass both had chances after coming in off either flank, but in each instance Guaita made important saves.

Palace's Spanish keeper was sent the wrong way by Noble, but another important block to deny Javier Hernandez in the first half proved to be one of the last occasions he had much to worry about.

While the hosts were trying their 17 shots in the second half, West Ham managed none and Manuel Pellegrini looked to shore things up by bringing on Pedro Obiang and Pablo Zabaleta.

The Chilean also introduced striker Marko Arnautovic to a mixed reception from his own fans following the recent wrangle over a potential move to China, which ended with a new contract for the Austrian.

Felipe Anderson was excellent in the first half but faded after the resumption, while the home side's revival was typified by Zaha's tormenting of Fredericks and then Zabaleta right the way to the final whistle.

In the final analysis, it was West Ham who looked more grateful to have come away from South London with a draw.

Man of the match - Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)

'Good, but frustrating' - What the managers said

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson speaking to Match of the Day: "I am frustrated as it was such a good performance. The first half I thought was even, but in the second half it was pretty much one-way traffic.

"We had to work hard for our equaliser, we had 17 attempts in the second half, we swarmed around the goal but we found Fabianski in very good form.

"We have a group of players who don't put their heads down, they fight for each other and they believe we're a good team, even if our position does not indicate that.

"I'm not concerned about what is going on below us, if we keep doing our bit and with performances like today we will get points off our own backs. We know we are good enough to stay out of it."

West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini speaking to Match of the Day: "It was a good game; in the first 45 minutes we had a brilliant performance and played better than Crystal Palace.

"In the second half we made a mistake and dropped inside our own half and allowed them to have to the ball too much.

"They were a bit lucky with the goal but they had other chances so the draw was the logical result.

"In 95 minutes I think that was the fair result. We have a lot of players missing, we play away so I'm happy with the first 45 and not too happy with the second 45."

Noble on the spot yet again - the stats

• 55% of West Ham midfielder Mark Noble's Premier League goals have come from the penalty spot (21/38). Of players with at least 30 goals in the competition, only Leighton Baines (63%) and David Unsworth (58%) have scored a higher proportion from the spot.
• West Ham are unbeaten in their last eight Premier League meetings with Crystal Palace (W4 D4).
• Only Southampton (12) and Huddersfield (5) have picked up fewer home points in the Premier League this season than Crystal Palace (13).
• West Ham didn't manage a single attempt on goal in the second half, while allowing Crystal Palace 17 shots after half-time.
• Wilfried Zaha scored his first home goal in 11 games in all competitions for Crystal Palace, since netting against West Brom on the final day of the 2017-18 campaign.
• Wilfried Zaha had six shots on goal for Crystal Palace in this game, as many as the entire West Ham team managed.

What's next?

Palace face a tricky away trip to Doncaster Rovers in the FA Cup on Sunday, 17 February at 16:00 GMT before returning to Premier League action at Leicester City on 23 February at 17:30. West Ham, out of the Cup, don't play until Friday, 22 February when they host Fulham with a 19:45 kick off.

• Follow Palace v West Ham live
• Follow all the Premier League games live