Jason Puncheon admitted his “long hard season” has been even tougher because of his local roots after his goal gave Crystal Palace their first league win in 15 games.

After a tense 68 minutes Puncheon finally broke the deadlock against Norwich at Selhurst Park, cutting inside to curl a 20-yard shot into the bottom corner.

The goal was enough to move Palace six points clear of Norwich, and ten clear of the relegation zone.

Puncheon’s strike was his first goal of the season, and after the game he admitted he hasn’t contributed enough goals throughout this campaign but was delighted to have finally broke his duck.

“It’s been a long hard season for me,” he said.

“I don’t feel I’ve chipped in with the goals in the way that I feel I should be.

“I’ll take that on the chin but it’s pleasing to score today.”

Puncheon looked to be in tears as he celebrated the goal in front of the Holmesdale Road end, and spoke of the emotion behind the goal.

“I was very emotional, closed my eyes a bit, but at the end of the day we got the three points,” the midfielder said.

“It was a good feeling. I missed two – I missed a sitter against West Ham last week, missed a sitter in the first half today, one just hit the back of my leg – so sometimes you feel it’s not going to go for you but it did.”

Puncheon – along with the rest of the Palace squad - has come under criticism this season for a lack of goals, and the 29-year-old from Croydon admitted he has felt the club’s bad form more than his other teammates.

When asked if Palace’s form affects the local players more than others, he said: “Probably. You carry your heart on your sleeve and people obviously question you, whether you’re doing the right things as a player, as an individual and I see that, and it’s hard.

“But I believe I’ve just kept on going, the manager has shown faith in me, my teammates have shown faith in me through this patch of not scoring.

“I think everyone puts a cloud on it considering the season I had last season, the season before and they expect more from you, which I understand.”

Despite the added pressure, Puncheon revealed the looks on fans’ faces when he misses has motivated him, as well as his teammates’ encouragement.

“I believe I’ve done the right things, my manager’s stuck by me, my teammates pulled me over in the first half and said ‘don’t worry, you’ll get it’ – they have stuck with me the whole time,” he added.

“The goals is obviously a big factor, I haven’t scored goals, but I’ve done my job within the team.

“Sometimes you see it as a player, I missed the one in the first half, you see people’s faces, what they want to say to you, but I think that’s helped.”

Palace face Everton at Selhurst Park on Wednesday night knowing that a win could all-but seal their Premier League status.

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