CRYSTAL Palace defender Scott Dann admitted his first goal for the Eagles may have upset one or two family members at Everton on Wednesday night but was nonetheless delighted with helping his side to a massive three points.
Dann, who hails from Merseyside, was a Liverpool fan growing up, so scoring against their city rivals would have been even sweeter.
The January signing powered home a header from a corner shortly after the half-time break to give Palace a 2-0 lead at Goodison Park and was glad to see something from the training ground pay off.
And now he says Palace will be "brimming with confidence" ahead of tomorrow's London derby at West Ham United.
"It was a great performance from start to finish and we deserved it in the end," Dann told the Advertiser.
"Everton came on strong but the way we performed going to a ground like Goodison Park, it was a massive win.
"It's always nice to score – I should probably score a few more and it's probably the first chance I've had so it was I was just grateful to do and it helped us the win we wanted.
"We work a lot on set-pieces and once the ball comes into the right areas, you have got to make sure you're there.
"Fortunately for us I was in the right place at the right time and I managed to put it in the back of the net.
"I had a lot of family and friends at the game. A lot of them were Blues as well, so they weren't particularly happy, but it was nice to go to a place like that and not only get the three points but play as well as we did."
Jason Puncheon got the ball rolling with the opener to continue his goalscoring form of four goals in his last three games – and Dann agreed that the winger is Palace's man of the moment right now.
"Definitely - he's been great since I've come to the club but especially the last couple of weeks," said the centre-back.
"He's been the match-winner for us. That's what we've needed, and I think the manager dropped him five or six games ago maybe to give him a little bit of a rest and he's come back fresh and won us games.
"He put us in front and a platform to build on."
Having reached that 40-point mark, Palace look like they're pretty much safe from relegation although Dann says and his team-mates will continue to pick up points until it is truly confirmed due to results from the bottom three sides.
"The gaffer has told us to keep pushing on and we've got four games left and that we've done well," he added.
"We will continue to work until we're mathematically safe. You can never say never but I don't think, looking at how many games are left, that we're going to be caught.
"There are still games and point to play for. We won't be changing anything in the way we play come Saturday at West Ham.
"We've won four on the bounce now. Beating the likes of Chelsea and Everton, it's a massive boost, it breeds confidence, and going into Saturday's game we should be brimming with confidence.
"We just have to make sure we rest and recover. It will be another tough game, it's a London derby."
