Van Aanholt overwhelmed by Palace fans

Match-winner Patrick van Aanholt revealed that the Selhurst Park atmosphere made all the difference in Crystal Palace’s vital win over Middlesbrough.

A January signing from relegation rivals Sunderland, Van Aanholt got his first Palace goal in the 34th minute as Sam Allardyce’s men moved out of the relegation zone and into 17th.

And after such a crucial intervention, he praised Palace’s faithful fans.

“It was an unbelievable moment for me –  for myself and my teammates and for the club. It was a good three points,” he said.

(Photo by Alex Morton/Getty Images)

“We were very good [defensively]. In the first half we came out and were dominant, like, ‘we’re here to win this game’ we created a lot of chances, Christian (Benteke) had a couple of chances in the box and I’m very happy I scored the goal.

“We trained very hard because we didn’t have a game last week and after that we got a couple of days off, because rest is also important. We came back together, worked hard in the week and that’s paid off today. I think we showed everyone we were up for winning the game today and we did.

“The atmosphere was unbelievable today. It was my second home game and throughout the whole game they showed us support.”