(Reuters) - Crystal Palace finally scored in front of their own fans at Selhurst Park as Jordan Ayew secured a 1-0 win in the Premier League on Saturday against an Aston Villa side hampered by the 54th-minute dismissal of Trezeguet.
But Villa were denied an equaliser in the final seconds when Henri Lansbury bundled the ball into the net but referee Kevin Friend disallowed the goal for an earlier dive by Jack Grealish, who was booked.
After two successive goalless draws, Palace looked in danger of further frustration until Ayew finally found a way to beat Tom Heaton on 73 minutes, getting on the end of a James McArthur cross to fire home.
Until that point there seemed no way past Villa's keeper, who twice tipped over free kicks from Luka Milivojevic either side of the break.
McArthur also flashed a shot over Heaton's bar as Palace demonstrated their familiar problems up front but the key moment came after the break when Trezeguet was dismissed for crashing into Wilfried Zaha.
Villa's task had been hard enough with 11 men but with 10 they looked permanently stretched and Ayew took full advantage on 73 minutes, turning inside from the left to fire a right-foot shot into the net.
(Reporting by Neil Robinson; Editing by Christian Radnedge)