Crystal Palace moved out of the Championship relegation zone with a convincing 3-1 win over Preston North End at Selhurst Park.

They did it the hard way though after Shaun Derry's mistake paved the way for Paul Coutts to set up Keith Treacy in the seventh minute and he put Preston ahead.

The Eagles came back into it though and were deservedly level when the impressive Sean Scannell put Neil Danns through and the midfielder slotted through Andy Lonergan's legs just before half time.

Paul Hart's men were denied a blatant penalty on the stroke of the break as Elliott Ward handled in the box but they didn't have to wait long to go in front.

Danns set up Darren Ambrose in the box and he thumped in his 19th goal of the season off the crossbar.

Buoyed on by the tremendous atmosphere in the ground, Palace calmed their nerves late on when Lonergan flapped at Ambrose's cross and Calvin Andrew pounced for his first league goal for the club.

Defeats for QPR, Scunthorpe, Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth Argyle as well as a draw for Watford saw Palace move up to 20th place, just two points behind Neil Warnock's hoops who come to Selhurst Park next Saturday.