Darel Russell's solitary goal at Selhurst Park produced some welcome statistics for City against Crystal Palace.

The win was City's first in South London for just over 20 years and their first points over the Eagles in the last six attempts.

But the only facts and figures that boss Tony Pulis will be interested in this weekend, are the 1-0 scoreline and the three points that joined the victorious City squad on the bus back to the Potteries.

The win was only City's second away from home, following the 4-0 thumping of Leeds United last month but just as sweet for the travelling band of City fans.

It was a complete performance by the Potters - strong in attack, solid in defence - that should have resulted in a much bigger win when all's said and done.

Steve Simonsen was a relative spectator throughout, despite a bombardment of the visiting goal after the break.

City was superb in the first half going forward and rarely looked like surrendering the lead in the second 45 minutes as a Danny Higginbotham-marshalled defence cleared wave after wave of Palace attack with ease.

And a sweet left footed strike by Russell, his third of the campaign, was the icing on the cake as City bounced back into the top half of the Coca Cola Championship table.

Man of the Match Higginbotham again defied medical science to start the game despite still suffering from the thigh injury he picked up at Leicester City two weeks ago.

So with Vincent Pericard replacing the suspended Ricardo Fuller up front, boss Pulis made just one change from the side that started the 1-0 win over Coventry last week.

Lee Hendrie continued to impress on the left hand side and could have added to his goal tally in the seventh minute when he forced a smart save from Gabor Kiraly.

Mamady Sidibe, clearly lacking in confidence in front of goal, squandered another excellent chance soon after when he chose to square the ball to Luke Chadwick rather than fire at Kiraly's goal.

Salif Diao's timely tackle prevented Jobi McAnuff from opening the scoring with Palace's first attack of the game on the edge of the area, while Higginbotham's outstretched leg came to the rescue after half an hour when McAnuff had beaten Simonsen with a superb strike from inside the box.

But Hendrie was on form and his perfectly weighted ball allowed Russell to ghost into the area on the left hand side and ram home at Kiraly's near post.

It was no more than City deserved after dictating the play without punishing the beleaguered Eagles.

Diao and Pericard both could have added to the score before the interval but City breathed a sigh of relief as Clinton Morrison's header flew a whisker over the bar on the stroke of half time.

The match threatened to boil over in the second period when Russell was booked for an unsavoury incident with Tom Soares.

But when normality was restored, City cruised to victory as Palace were wayward in front of goal.

Substitute Dougie Freedman saw an effort saved well by Simonsen, while Mark Kennedy and Shefki Kuqi both wasted gilt-edged chances.

Pulis threw on Dave Brammer to sure up the midfield midway through the half as City struggled to get the ball out of their own half.

But they held on for the three points against one of the pre season promotion favourites and a clean sheet to boot. Not bad for a team staring relegation in the face just over a month ago.

It's no secret that the influx of loan stars at the Britannia Stadium has turned a potentially daunting season into a positive one.

Two points outside the playoff places certainly puts City in a prime position ahead of the Christmas period to announce themselves as a key figure in the league this season.

And who knows, it could be the City squad receiving the playoff winners trophy from Football League chief Lord Mawhinney at the Millennium Stadium in May and heading for the promised land of the Premiership.

Crystal Palace (4-4-2): Kiraly; Butterfield, Cort, Hudson, Granville; Soares (Freedman, 60), Kennedy, Hughes (c), McAnuff; Morrison, Scowcroft (Kuqi, 70). Subs (Not Used): Flinders (GK), Lawrence, Fletcher.

City (4-4-2): Simonsen; Hoefkens, Duberry (c), Higginbotham, Griffin; Chadwick (Brammer, 69), Russell, Diao, Hendrie; Pericard, Sidibe. Subs (Not Used): Bangoura, Pulis, Wilkinson, Paterson.

Nick Clowes