Ambrose beats beleaguered Boro

12 November 2009

CRYSTAL Palace boss Neil Warnock lavished praise on his squad after they ground out a hard-fought victory over a Middlesbrough side seemingly lacking in confidence, writes Tom Barclay.

Darren Ambrose's composed, 65th-minute strike consigned Gordon Strachan's charges to defeat on Saturday, with the former Charlton winger's purple patch showing no signs of letting up.

Argentine shot-stopper Julian Speroni's great form continued as he came to his team's rescue on several occasions, notably denying substitute Jonathan Franks late on.

"There were 11 stars out there," Warnock said. "The players have done well over the last 10 games - we've had some very tough matches.

"I just asked them to put the icing on the cake against one of the best away sides in the division."

Goalscorer Ambrose took his tally for the season to 10 with his cute finish and is clearly benefitting from the freedom that comes with Warnock's 4-3-3 system.

"I was so pleased the chance fell to Darren - he's full of confidence," said the former Sheffield United manager.

"I spoke to Darren on the day he was released and you could see he was lacking in self-belief.

"I told him what he would be for me - he needs a certain type of manager, but we work well as a pair."

Claude Davis put in a solid performance at the heart of the Eagles' defence, defying any fears that his recent injury lay-off would affect his match sharpness.

"I'm Claude's biggest fan," Warnock added. "For Claude to play three games in a week after being out for so long is credit to him.

"When Claude's playing well, he's got that little bit of arrogance to his play when he knows he has the making of the striker."

Crystal Palace: Speroni, Butterfield, Fonte, Davis, Hill, Derry, Danns (Carle 81), Ertl, Ambrose, Lee, Sears (N'Diaye 88). Subs not used: Clyne, Moses, Djilali, John, Scannell. Att: 15, 321.