Townsend provides Allardyce shred of solace in dreadful Eagles display

You’d have to dig very deep to find positives out of a 4-0 home defeat to Sunderland, but Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce insists the impact of Andros Townsend was at least something to smile about.

The Eagles were humbled in one of the worst performances of their Premier League era, four goals down by half-time against a side also struggling to avoid relegation.

And with barely a thing more to lose, Allardyce threw on former Newcastle United man Andros Townsend at half-time to inject some life into his side, though a remarkable comeback was not to be forthcoming at Selhurst Park.

But with his side at least causing problems in the second half, Allardyce – himself a former manager of the Black Cats – felt he could at least take a slither of solace from a dismal afternoon.

“We changed the system and I actually thought Andros [Townsend] did well – he was causing a lot of problems down the left hand side,” he said.

“But even then we couldn’t convert any of the chances we had and then right at the end, having used all three substitutes, we end up with ten men with Scott Dann going off with a hamstring.

“All the damage was done in the first half and that was hugely disappointing.”