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Cape Town - Sam Allardyce cut a relieved figure as his Crystal Palace side recorded their first Premier League win under his guidance.
Goals from Scott Dann and Christian Benteke sealed a 2-0 win at the Vitality Stadium and lift the Eagles onto 19 points, in 18th place.
After the match, Allardyce revealed just what the result meant to him.
He explained: "It's a relief for me. I don't think I've quite gone so long when I've taken over at a new club and had to wait for my first win.
"It really should have happened in the first game at Watford, we missed a penalty and it's been a long haul since but I think the players today have looked like how I would expect a team of mine to look.
"In terms of the shape, the discipline and using their qualities whenever they possibly could. Today's game, tactically, was planned out very well by the players and executed very well by them.
"You can't argue with the result with the amount of chances we created today."
Allardyce also praised Wilfried Zaha for his man-of-the-match performance in his first match back after his participation in the Africa Cup of Nations.
"[He was] outstanding," Allardyce added.
"He gets in the positions he gets in and I think he was unfortunate not to score today but he had some good ball retention and was really dangerous against the opposition's defence.
"It's really, really great to have him back. Every player played his part today. I saw every player play a lot better than I've seen, from the goalkeeper all the way through."
Up next for Palace is a home tie with Sunderland, who recorded a morale-boosting goalless draw with Tottenham on Tuesday.
