Palace goalie Wayne Hennessey allowed a header from Joleon Lescott at a corner to dribble out of his grasp and over the line after halftime.Villa ended its 19-game, club-record winless run in the league to renew hope of surviving relegation and maintaining its unbroken status in the Premier League. Villa is provisionally eight points from safety.
"We suffered so much in the previous weeks and today we are very happy," Villa manager Remi Garde said. "The players showed pride."
Palace winger Wilfried Zaha struck a shot against the post in the first minute but manager Alan Pardew said his seventh-place team "lacked energy and quality."
"One of our poorest displays of the season," Pardew said.
On the mistake for the goal, Pardew added: "Wayne Hennessey will obviously be disappointed with the goal — he got himself in a mess. But he's been terrific for us and that's the nature of goalies."
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