Basement side Palace restricted the Magpies to slim pickings for the most part, with Andros Townsend – formerly of United – and Wilfried Zaha asking questions at the other end of the pitch, in the first half at least.
However, with five minutes left to play, substitute Mikel Merino rose high to guide home Matt Ritchie’s corner, sealing a fourth Premier League win of the campaign for Newcastle.
Goalkeeper Elliot felt that Roy Hodgson’s side’s showing belied their lowly position in the standings, but paid tribute to the Magpies for another industrious display.
“Fair play to Palace – they are a lot better than their league position tells you. They had a great result against Chelsea, so it was always going to be a difficult game,” he told nufc.co.uk. “I think they did to us what we do to teams – in the first half they frustrated us and tried to hit us on the break.
“But, sometimes, you can’t always win well. You have to just win, and I think that’s the difference with this team – the mentality. We kept going, we got a set-piece – it just shows you how important they are, and it also shows that it’s important to keep going to the end. We could have settled for a point, but we’ve pushed on and got the winner, and it’s another positive result at home.
“It was always going to be a difficult day, but you have to make sure that when days like these come, then if you’re not playing well or it’s tight, you don’t concede. And when you do get half a chance – whether it’s a set-piece or a break – you make the most of it, and that’s what we did today.”
The Magpies now sit a lofty sixth in the Premier League with 14 points to their name, marking their best start in the top flight since the 2011/12 campaign.
Elliot – at 31, one of their elder statesmen – says he has not been surprised by United’s progress this term, and insisted they will keep their feet on the ground as they look to take care of their primary aim.
“I’ve said it before – it’s the youngest squad in the Premier League. There is a lot more to come, but with that comes patience – you can’t expect perfection,” he added. “I’m not saying we’re going to finish sixth at the end of the season, but as long as we keep playing how we are – if we can stay at the right end of the table – that’s the most important thing. The objective, before anything else, is to stay up, and once we get to that marker, hopefully we can push on from there.
“We appreciate we have a manager with a lot of experience. We work hard in training – sometimes it isn’t always fun, but the thing is, when you win on a Saturday, you know that it’s all worth it, and that’s why the gaffer keeps at us. We won’t be having a day off tomorrow – he’s like, ‘No, keep going, because that’s what’s got us where we are.’ And the lads all laugh, because we know that’s what’s got us where we are and we need to keep doing it. We can’t get cocky and think we can just turn up and win.
“The result today just showed the mentality of the team, more than anything – that we can keep going to the end and keep ourselves ready to get the win.”
