Ten points off the bottom three and nine points off the play-off places, Crystal Palace have resoundingly re-established themselves as Championship mid-table fodder following their 2-1 victory over Preston.

The three points were most welcome after a worrying run of just one win in nine league games, a sequence that had the likes of Clint Hill openly concerned that the Eagles might get dragged into an end of season relegation battle.

Palace looked strong from the outset against Alan Irvine’s men, lining up in a 4-4-2 formation that looked much stronger than previous weeks. Claude Davis was restored to the centre of defence, with Matt Lawrence moving over to right-back in place of Nathaniel Clyne. This immediately gave the back four a much more physical presence against the strength of Preston.

Midfield also looked a lot more balanced, with Paul Ifill on the left, John Oster on the right and the combative duo of Neil Danns and Shaun Derry in the middle. Crucially Neil Warnock started with Shefki Kuqi and the on-loan Anthony Stokes as his two strikers, Alan Lee having only had one goal to his name in his last six starts.

Although Palace did find themselves going behind to Preston, courtesy of a Billy Jones strike just before the half hour mark after the defence had been exposed following a quick throw, it wasn’t long until Warnock’s men were back on terms.

Just three minutes after the game’s opener, Stokes scored a spectacular solo effort to bring Palace level. Bearing down on the Preston goal after being released by Shaun Derry’s header, the Irishman lashed home an unstoppable drive from a narrow angle after turning defender Sean St Ledger inside out.

For the youngsters in the crowd enjoying their first live Palace game for a £1 as part of the Family Day promotion, this was just the sort of goal you wanted them to see. For too long we have watched as we have attempted to score goals by hoofing the ball into the box to whatever ex-Ipswich striker was playing upfront on his own, and then hoping the likes of Victor Moses or Sean Scannell could feed off whatever flick-on or knock-down came their way. Although the next generation of Croydon youth may yet go on to follow Chelsea or Arsenal via their armchair, they did at least witness a victory at home in the league when Neil Danns poked home from close range following Ifill’s low cross, something us regulars at Selhurst Park haven’t seen since the Boxing Day win over Norwich City.

For all those connected with Crystal Palace it felt great to leave the ground having watched a win with a performance that warranted it. Forget the fact that Preston weren’t that great an opponent and have only won three times on their travels, this result was crucial with our next three games all away at tricky opponents.

By the time Steve Coppell brings his promotion challenging Reading side to Selhurst Park for the televised fixture on March 21st, Palace could yet still be at the wrong end of the table, or indeed on an unprecedented late charge for a play-off berth. Most likely we’ll still be mired in mid-table mediocrity, but that’s the intriguing nature of the Championship; you never quite know.