Defoe clinches Sunderland win over Crystal Palace

A late goal from Jermain Defoe gave Sunderland a dramatic 1-0 Barclays Premier League win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Monday.

LONDON — Jermain Defoe pounced on a defensive blunder to score into an open net in the 80th minute and give struggling Sunderland a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace on Monday in the Premier League.

Palace defender Scott Dann misplayed a long through ball, allowing Defoe to round onrushing goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey and give Sunderland just its second league win of the season.

Palace offered little threat going forward as Alan Pardew’s team was unable to build on a 2-1 win at Liverpool, slipping to its fourth home loss in seven league games.

After a strong start to the season, Palace has slipped down into 10th place on 19 points. Sunderland is 18th, with nine points from 13 games.

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.