Crystal Palace boss Ian Holloway praised his wide men after a comfortable 3-0 win over bitter rivals Brighton & Hove Albion.

Former Brighton man Glenn Murray scored twice – with a glancing header and a coolly taken penalty – to take his tally to 17 goals in 16 games, and Owen Garvan got his third of the season from the penalty spot to leave Brighton licking their wounds on the journey back to the south coast.

But it was Yannick Bolasie and Wilfried Zaha who came in for most praise, especially the former who turned in a man of the match performance.

Holloway said: “We earned that win thanks to the skill of the wide men – they were superb today. We talked about getting the ball to them and they can attack at pace.

“As a defender, you think you have them and then they are past you.”
He added: “I was also pleased with the professionalism of our team after they went down to 10 men, we knocked the ball around and kept patient.

“Our professionalism was summed up by Glenn giving up the second penalty even though he could have had a hat-trick. He is a superb player, really up there with the very best.

“He knew he’d missed some penalties recently and so he gave it up. It shows his professionalism and how we are as a team.”

The Palace push for the Premier League continues with the visit of Holloway’s former employers Blackpool on Saturday.