of the FA Cup. His first league match in charge was a 2–1 home win against Tottenham Hotspur. Crystal Palace continued in fine form under Pardew with two successive wins, including a 3–2 victory over Southampton to advance into the fifth round of the FA Cup. His first defeat in charge was a 0–1 home loss to Everton on 31 January 2015. Pardew went on to guide Crystal Palace to their best ever Premier League finish of tenth place. The Daily Mirror reported that Pardew was the first manager to take over a Premier League club in the relegation zone and eventually guide them to a top half finish; and that "Pardew has a legitimate claim to keeping two teams up this campaign" with Newcastle "staying up on the final day of the season – surviving really only on their early season form". The 2015–16 season started well for Pardew – wins over teams such as Chelsea, Aston Villa and Liverpool meant there was talk of a UEFA Europa League spot early in the campaign. After 19 games, the season's midpoint, Palace sat in fifth position in the Premier League, and looked well positioned to challenge for said European spot going into the New Year of 2016. However, this target would ultimately not be reached, as Palace made a dismal start to 2016. They embarked on a 14-game winless run, which came to a halt with a 1–0 win over Norwich City. They would only win one other league game throughout the entire season – a 2–1 home victory over Stoke City on the penultimate match day of the season, enough to keep the club in the division by finishing 15th. Despite the poor league form, Pardew and his team qualified for the 2015–16 FA Cup final after a 2–1 win over Watford thanks to goals from Yannick Bolasie and Connor Wickham. They subsequently lost the cup final 2–1 to Manchester United. After a poor start to the 2016–17 season, and poor results overall in the 2016 calendar year, Pardew was dismissed as manager on 22 December 2016; Palace had won only 6 matches of 36 played in 2016. They had won 1 in 11 and were placed 17th in the Premier League table at the time of his dismissal. Palace chairman Steve Parish said Pardew's "expansive style of football hasn't worked", and, "Now we're going to wind the dial