Bournemouth (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Sam Allardyce finally secured his first win as Crystal Palace manager as the struggling Eagles beat Bournemouth 2-0 on Tuesday.

Palace had taken just one point from five matches since former England boss Allardyce replaced the sacked Alan Pardew in December.

That barren run had left Palace in the relegation zone, but the south Londoners’ boosted their survival bid thanks to second half goals from Scott Dann and Christian Benteke at Dean Court.

Palace remain in the bottom three, but crucially the victory keeps them two points behind fourth bottom Swansea, who also won on Tuesday.

Allardyce gave Patrick van Aanholt his debut after signing the defender from Sunderland on Monday, while winger Wilfried Zaha was back in the starting line-up after African Cup of Nations duty with the Ivory Coast.

Some impressive footwork saw Zaha lose Bournemouth’s defence before his low shot hit the post in the early stages.

Palace were on top for much of the first half but couldn’t find a goal.

They had to wait just 55 seconds for one after the restart however.

Yohan Cabaye’s corner was punched away by Artur Boruc but the ball fell to Van Aanholt, whose quick pass gave Jason Puncheon time to curl the ball back into the box.

Damien Delaney’s flick fell to Dann, who slotted it home to score his first goal since September.

Bournemouth piled on the pressure after the goal but despite a number of chances, they conceded a second in stoppage time.

Andros Townsend, who had been linked with a move back to Newcastle, whipped over a cross to the unmarked Benteke, who had an easy task to head home from close range.

Bournemouth have conceded at least two goals in six of their last seven home league fixtures as they slip to 14th in the table after failing to win a single match in January.