They had taken seven points from nine in their previous three Premier League games and secured their latest when Ward-Prowse scored for a third league match in succession to take them above Burnley and up to 16th as Zaha received a late red card.

Strengthened by the return to fitness of Vicente Guaita, Palace made seven changes from the weakened team that on Sunday eliminated Tottenham from the FA Cup, including replacing Connor Wickham, who scored against Spurs, with Jordan Ayew.

The perception of these teams has long been that of the two, it is only the hosts who are truly at risk of not retaining their Premier League status, but they are level on 23 points, such is the improvement Hasenhuttl has overseen and Palace's struggle for a regular source of goals.

Luka Milivojevic and James McArthur again demonstrated that when shooting harmlessly over from the edge of the area despite time and space from separate chances, and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg almost punished them when testing Guaita with a curling effort from similar range.

Palace continued to stretch Southampton, without creating the clear-cut chances they required to score, and it was a ball falling kindly to them that ultimately led to their goal.

With Andros Townsend preparing to take possession in the area following Ayew's lay-off after an attack down the right, Oriol Romeu slid in and took the ball but watched it roll into the path of Zaha, who scored for the first time since September 15, past former team-mate Alex McCarthy at the near left post.

Romeu put Danny Ings into space early in the second half, and the forward forced a routine save from Guaita. In an almost immediate response, the visitors' Mamadou Sakho then finished but had his effort disallowed for a foul on McCarthy.

When in the 74th minute Jan Bednarek headed off the line from an awkward, goal-bound shot from Sakho following Ayew's knockdown, Southampton appeared most at risk of again conceding.

Instead, within three minutes, Nathan Redmond had found Matt Targett on the left where he then squared to Ward-Prowse inside the area, who connected well to finish first time and low past Guaita.

Substitute Stuart Armstrong quickly forced a fine save from the Spaniard with a curling effort as they threatened a victory, but the match essentially concluded with Zaha's red card.

When the frustrated forward was booked for a tussle with Ward-Prowse, he made the mistake of sarcastically clapping referee Andre Marriner and therefore earning the second yellow and an 87th-minute dismissal.

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