A solitary first half strike by former Palace front man Shefki Kuqi proved enough to give Swansea a 1-0 win at Selhurst Park.

The away side dominated much of the first half, but were pegged back throughout the second as Palace pushed hard for an equaliser that just never materliased as Paulo Sousa's men stubbornly held firm at the back.

Swansea began the game in a manner befitting a side with the home advantage and quickly set about capitalising on a lot of space afforded to them on Palace's right flank.

On four minutes Mark Gower pushed on down his left wing and cut in to play the ball to an unmarked Andrea Orlandi, who took a touch before firing a left footed volley low into Speroni's arms.

Palace were struggling to get a foothold in the opening stages and it allowed Swansea to control the tempo of the game and apply the pressure, which paid off for them on 14 minutes.

Nathan Dyer managed to get the wrong side of Lee Hills on the right and play in a speculative lobbed ball to the edge of the box where Orlandi was able to head it back into the six yard box. Kuqi then managed to shrug off Ertl and slip the ball underneath Speroni from four yards out.

In response Palace were limited to a series of half chances. Nick Carle finished off a rare Palace flowing move with a left foot volley that was deflected wide, while shortly after he was allowed the time and space to aim a low drive down Dorus De Vries' throat.

Dyer continued to show his threat just before the half hour mark when he again got the wrong side of Hills. With the Palace left back left on the floor he teed himself up but shot into the side netting.

And as the half wore on Palace began to push hard in search of an equaliser but couldn't find a way through the one of most stubborn defences in the division.

While Alan Lee, sporting his white bandage around his head, thought he was deserved of a penalty when Kuqi bundled him over in the box but referee Mr Scott waved it away immediately.

The Palace striker impressed again up front on his own, tirelessly challenging for every header and more often than not receiving a whack for his troubles. He almost got his reward when he was presented with space for a snap shot on 44 minutes, but it was blocked brilliantly by a Swansea defender.

Swansea though should have extended their lead early on in the second half when Orlandi and Adam Tate combined neatly on the edge of the box. The former received the ball just outside the six yard box and flicked a shot towards goal but Speroni managed to get a hand to it to deflect it past the post.

Neil Warnock then made a double substitution replacing Lee and Danny Butterfield with Calvin Andrew and Kieran Djilali, and the two substitutes almost combined straight away when Djilali was inches away from converting Andrew's teasing cross.

They linked up again minutes later when Andrew knocked on a Speroni long kick to the Palace winger but he hooked his shot over the bar.

From there it was all Palace and they should have got their equaliser on 74 minutes when a cross field free kick from Johnny Ertl was met by Hill with a header to the back post. Both Ambrose and Djilali were following it up, but it was the former who met it with a first time volley that flashed right across goal.

Sean Scannell was brought on to replace a tiring Nick Carle late on and almost squeezed through the Swansea defence to meet a neat Djilali through ball, but it was an epitomy of Palace's evening: so close but not close enough as Swansea managed to see out the late Palace charge.

Att: 12,328

There are two changes from the side that beat Scunthorpe at the weekend with Johnny Ertl and Lee Hills brought in to replace Matt Lawrence and Claude Davis in the Palace back four.

For Swansea, Shefki Kuqi is given a start on his return to Selhurst Park.

Crystal Palace: 1. Julian Speroni, 2. Nathaniel Clyne, 3. Clint Hill, 4. Shaun Derry, 7. Darren Ambrose, 8. Neil Danns, 10. Nick Carle (14. Sean Scannell, 81 ), 15. Lee Hills, 19. Alan Lee (18. Calvin Andrew, 57), 20. Danny Butterfield (21. Kieran Djilali, 57) 22. Johnny Ertl

Subs: 9. Stern John,28. James Comley, 33. Alassane N'Diaye, 34. Alex Wynter

Swansea City: 1. Dorus De Vries, 2. Ashley Williams, 5. Adam Tate, 7. Leon Britton (18. Gorka Pintado,89 ), 8. Darren Pratley, 10. Andrea Orlandi, 12. Nathan Dyer (24. Joe Allen, 84 ), 16. Garry Monk, 21. Fede Bessone, 27. Mark Gower (49. David Cotterill, 67), 42. Shefki Kuqi

Subs: 17. David Cornell, 19. Lee Trundle, 28. Tom Butler, 29. Ashley Richards,