Dowie’s hands off warning on Johnson
The 23-year-old latched on to a Thomas Sorensen fumble for the opener in the 33rd minute and added the second from the spot in the second half to end a run of 11 games without a win.
Wayne Routledge also impressed for Iain Dowie’s side as they ran out deserved winners at Selhurst Park.
After losing out to Everton for transfer-target James Beattie, O’Leary’s lack of striker options were evident, with no clearcut chances created.
However, Dowie is determined to hold the striker who has scored 13 goals this season.
“They’ll get short shrift from me,” Dowie said. “It’s no issue for me, he’s signed a five-year deal here in the summer, his negotiations were as easy as I’ve ever done. He’s our player and will remain so. Me and him get on great, he’s got no reason to go anywhere else, 13 goals speaks for itself. He’s fundamental to what we’re building here, we’re trying to build a developing club.”
Palace recorded a convincing win against Villa, who rarely threatened and did not create a clear opening, which delighted Dowie after the disappointment of losing to Fulham on Saturday.
“It’s a pleasing display, you want a response from players,” Dowie added. “We needed a response after the second-half performance at Fulham. They did that with abundance today.
“For too long we’ve been on a bad run and nobody’s got away from us which is fortunate. We have to take advantage of it, we can’t rely on other people, we have to look after ourselves.”
Indeed, Norwich’s defeat by Liverpool earlier in the day meant the Eagles leapfrogged the Canaries out of the relegation zone. Wayne Routledge was impressive for the home side, his trickery almost earning a penalty early on, but referee Andy D’Urso deemed Mark Delaney’s tackle fair. But Routledge’s trickery gave Vassilis Lakis an opening in the second half and D’Urso awarded the spot kick when Delaney tripped him.
Johnson scored from the spot and Delaney could have conceded another penalty for handball soon after.
“The third penalty is as blatant as anything I’ve seen,” Dowie added. But the former Oldham boss was pleased with the defensive improvement in his side - and how they attacked at pace.
“It was an entertaining game, they had a bit of possession in the first half but we were in the right place at the right time, which is defensively pleasing. We had that zest of last year when we were breaking well.”
Villa boss David O’Leary was unavailable after the game, but assistant Roy Aitken expressed the club’s disappointment at losing out to Everton in the race to sign James Beattie from Southampton.
“It’s disappointing in the sense that we made a big bid for the player, we matched Everton’s bid,” said Aitken. “The player decided over the weekend to go to Everton, it happens at every club at every season. It’s something we have to move on from. So we move onto the next target, it’s not a short term fix it’s a long-term plan. James Beattie would have added quality to our front on but we move on, but we don’t rush into the market. It’s a transitional period for the club.”
: Kiraly, Butterfield (Boyce 75), Powell, Hall, Granville, Routledge, Watson (Leigertwood 66), Riihilahti, Hughes, Lakis, Johnson.
: Sorensen, De la Cruz, Delaney, Ridgewell, Samuel, Solano, Hendrie (Luke Moore 66), McCann, Davis, Barry, Angel.
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