Saturday 14 March 2015 19:48, UK
Alan Pardew says the goal scored by QPR's Matt Phillips against his Crystal Palace team on Saturday is the best he's ever seen.
The winger rifled a stunning strike past goalkeeper Julian Speroni from 43 yards to give QPR a consolation goal in a 3-1 defeat after Wilfried Zaha, James McArthur and Joel Ward had scored before half-time.
And Palace boss Pardew was generous in his praise after his side's victory, insisting he hasn't seen anything better in more than 30 years in the game.
"No one was going to save that," Pardew said. "That was a freak goal.
"From 25 or 30 years on a training ground, I can't remember seeing a better goal on the training ground let alone on a match day. It puts it into context.
"I remember David Beckham scoring the goal here [against Wimbledon in 1996] and from a technical point of view Phillips' one was better because it was a real, outstanding hit. He can be very proud of that."
It was not just Phillips rolling back the years, as Pardew heaped praise on Zaha and Yannick Bolasie after their electrifying displays.
"I wouldn't say they were the best wingers in the country, but they're exciting," he said.
"There are two flaws in their game, really. One - they don't score enough goals and two - being disciplined in their defensive duties.
"They are two areas we've worked hard on but their individual talent, the way they go past players and lift it over their heads, that's purely from within and what they've learned in how they've been brought up.
"They were fantastic, so exciting in the first half - a kind of throw back."
