Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce praises defensive display in win over Crystal Palace

Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce has hailed his side's defensive performance in their 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

The Black Cats claimed their first win on the road this season as Jermain Defoe scored the only goal of the match 10 minutes from time.

Allardyce feels that his side's display at the back was vital to their success as the club kept just their second clean sheet of the campaign after nullifying the Eagles' attack throughout the contest.

He told Sky Sports News: "It is a massive result for us and it is no coincidence that zero [goals] against got us a victory. Our two clean sheets this season have got us six points. It is the way to go and always has been. Today we frustrated the crowd, we frustrated Crystal Palace, and then we got a fantastic three points, our first away win of the season.

"Keeping the crowd quiet here is very difficult because the team have a lot of players who get in wide areas and put the ball in the box, but we dealt with it extremely well today with five at the back. "With Defoe and [Steven] Fletcher up front, if we get opportunities we can score. We got a few today and one perhaps gifted to us. The longer it went on, the more anxious they got and the more spaces they left, which ultimately Jermain capitalised on after a little bit of a mix-up."

Sunderland moved up to 18th in the Premier League as a result of their win.