Townsend cracker lifts Newcastle out of relegation zone
REUTERS - Newcastle United moved out of the relegation zone after a superb Andros Townsend free kick and a penalty save by Karl Darlow gave them a vital 1-0 home win over Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The result lifted the Magpies to 17th position on 33 points from 36 games. Sunderland have 32 from 35 and Norwich, who visit fourth-placed Arsenal in the 1630 GMT kickoff, have 31 from 34. Bottom-placed Aston Villa have already been relegated.
Following a drab first half in which Palace had the upper hand, Towsend broke the deadlock in the 58th minute when he curled an unstoppable shot from 25 metres into the top right corner past visiting goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.
The home fans held their breath after Moussa Sissoko gifted Palace a penalty when he handled a Yohan Cabaye corner kick, and then erupted in joy as Darlow parried the former Newcastle playmaker's tame spot-kick.
(Writing by Zoran Milosavljevic, editing by Pritha Sarkar)