Wilfried Zaha’s late double for Crystal Palace hits Watford’s survival bid

In their seventh league game of 2022 Crystal Palace cavorted to their first win of the calendar year, two late Wilfried Zaha goals adding gloss to an ultimately emphatic victory over a Watford side whose defensive issues were repeatedly exposed, often voluntarily.

It is hard to blame Roy Hodgson for the failings of a team that so many other coaches have also failed to inspire, but there was certainly nothing in this game to make anyone at Palace regret no longer having him in their dugout as, its defending at one first-half corner apart, their side appeared both better coached and better motivated, strong in defence, vibrant in attack and ruthless in exposing their hosts’ weaknesses.

Saturday’s victory over Aston Villa had applied the defibrillator paddles to the Hornets’ battle against relegation, which in losing so limply to Brighton in their previous home game they appeared to have all but surrendered. The starting XI may have been unchanged from the weekend but the atmosphere was transformed, with the home fans feeling sufficiently positive to give the returning Will Hughes, back at the club he left in some acrimony last summer, a generous ovation before kick-off.

Hughes was one of four changes made by Patrick Vieira to the team that lost to Chelsea, and after a bright start for the visitors it was another, Conor Gallagher, who had the first chance and a third, Jean-Philippe Mateta, who scored the opening goal, while the last, Jack Butland, stood largely untested at the other end.

In the eighth minute Hassane Kamara’s miserable attempt to deal with Zaha’s cross from the left fell to Gallagher inside the six-yard box but the defender managed to get a redemptive toe to the ball before the Palace midfielder could force