Alan Pardew claimed he couldn’t recall Marco Cassetti’s challenge on Wilfried Zaha in the 2013 Play-Off Final but he had no doubt referee Anthony Taylor made the correct decision in penalising Allan Nyom’s tackle on the winger that again led to Crystal Palace beating Watford 1-0 this afternoon.

Although both sides had hit the woodwork, there had been few clear chances for either side until the Hornets’ right-back was adjudged to have brought down Zaha and Yohan Cabaye confidently fired the spot-kick past Heurelho Gomes to score what was to prove to be the winner.

The Palace boss said: “It was a penalty. The ball was travelling just outside the line I thought at the point of impact but of course it took place on the inside of the box.

“I can’t recall the challenge in the Play-Off Final if I’m honest. I was on holiday luckily so I can’t comment on that, but it was a good finish.

“I wasn’t sure who was going to take it. Cabaye is our penalty taker but obviously Dwight (Gayle) got the two in the week [against Charlton Athletic] so I let them sort it out.”

Commenting on the game, Pardew said: “From a manager’s perspective it was a great day for me and my team because concentration levels were really high I thought. The front two of Watford we respect greatly but our two centre halves and Joe Ledley did a super job on them and gave us the platform to break into wide areas. There was some really good wide play and in the end that kind of won us the game.”

Although the Eagles were beaten on their Premier League travels at Tottenham Hotspur last time out, they have a superb record on the road under Pardew and the manager remarked: “We’ve got good players for an away team because we’ve got pace obviously. But I said to the guys today let’s not retreat in any shape or form today as an away team. Let’s play it as a neutral ground and try and take the game to Watford and it made the game very even in the first 45 minutes.

“It wasn’t great entertainment because it was so tight but we wouldn’t concede any ground or concede any possession to Watford and that bade well for us because it made us grow in confidence and in the end we found some pockets and we exploited them.”