Crystal Palace 0-1 Everton

Romelu Lukaku gave Everton the lead when the sides met at Goodison in September before Palace came back to win 3-2

• Everton's second win in 14 games

• Alan Pardew's first defeat as Palace boss

• Marouane Chamakh carried off after head injury

• Romelu Lukaku with ninth goal of the season

Romelu Lukaku's second-minute goal gave Everton their first victory in nine matches as Alan Pardew suffered his first defeat as Crystal Palace manager.

Lukaku bundled in after Palace keeper Julian Speroni deflected Steven Naismith's cross on to the striker.

Palace almost equalised straight away when Dwight Gayle's flick was cleared off the line by Phil Jagielka.

Marouane Chamakh also went close but the Toffees kept only their second away clean sheet of the season.

The result eases the pressure on Everton manager Roberto Martinez after a run of one win in 13 games in all competitions and two points from 18 in the league.

Palace had won all four of Pardew's matches in charge, coming from behind in three of them, but could not do so again despite creating the majority of the chances.

Belgium winger Kevin Mirallas started after recovering from the hamstring strain that forced him off following his controversial penalty miss in Everton's last match against West Brom, but had a quiet afternoon.

The Toffees, with Aiden McGeady returning from suspension to replace Ross Barkley, have lacked confidence lately but got off to the perfect start.

Palace had barely touched the ball before Martinez's men were ahead, Naismith taking advantage of Damien Delaney's misjudgement to deliver a cross that deflected off Speroni's hand towards Lukaku.

The home team responded immediately as Gayle's flick past Everton keeper Joel Robles was cleared by Toffees skipper Jagielka with most but, crucially, not all of the ball over the line.

Scott Dann and Chamakh had goal-bound shots blocked by 20-year-old centre-half John Stones as Palace pressed.

Shortly after, a clash of heads with Seamus Coleman left Chamakh with a bloody nose. He was carried off on a stretcher and new signing Jordon Mutch came on to make his Palace debut.

They continued to dominate possession in the second period but did not offer as much threat, with Jagielka, Coleman and Stones excellent at the back.

Eagles striker Gayle, who had scored four in his previous three appearances, almost had an opening but Coleman was quickly over to clear.

With Palace pushing forward in the latter stages, gaps appeared and Everton looked the more likely to score as McGeady forced Speroni into a flying save.

Shortly after, the Republic of Ireland winger's cross just evaded Lukaku, before the Belgian striker shot into the side-netting.

With Liverpool and Chelsea to come in their next two league games, it was an important win for 12th-placed Everton and ensured they would not go winless in January for the first time since 1979.

Everton manager Roberto Martinez:

"We created the best chances of the game. I thought we defended extremely well, it wasn't a fortunate win. We were a strong unit. It's not easy to keep a clean sheet in this place. We anticipated really well when the ball was coming in.

"Now it's for everyone at Everton to enjoy this victory and three points. We were very focused on performing well. Now I think we can kick on."

Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew:

"We had enough possession and enough chances but couldn't find that bit of quality. Going behind so early gave them something to sit on and they defended well. You can't keep going behind because it's going to catch up with you and it did so today.

"I couldn't have asked for more effort in the second half. It's disappointing for our fans but they know and we know that there is a long way to go. We need to react well in the next game."

Marouane Chamakh was making his first league appearance since mid-December but had to be replaced after 25 minutes

Jordon Mutch (left) came on for Chamakh to make his Palace debut

Dwight Gayle had scored four goals in his last three matches

Everton skipper Phil Jagielka made a crucial clearance just after Everton took the lead

Lukaku's winner moves Everton seven points clear of the bottom three