Soccer-Palace thrash Leeds as Hodgson revival gathers steam

LEEDS, England (Reuters) - Crystal Palace came back from a goal down to win a second successive Premier League game under manager Roy Hodgson with a commanding 5-1 victory at Leeds United on Sunday

Despite the absence of injured top scorer Wilfried Zaha, four second-half goals moved Palace up to 12th in the standings while Leeds are 16th -- two points above the relegation zone.

Leeds dominated the early stages and tested goalkeeper Sam Johnstone several times before Patrick Bamford broke the deadlock after 21 minutes with a well-directed header from a corner for his 50th goal for the club.

Johnstone kept Palace in the game with a string of saves and the visitors made them pay, equalising on the stroke of halftime from a set-piece when Marc Guehi scored from close range.

Palace came out firing in the second half and scored two goals in two minutes as Jordan Ayew gave them the lead with a header before Eberechi Eze made it 3-1, 21-year-old Michael Olise creating both goals.

Palace silenced a stunned Elland Road crowd with a devastating counter-attack and Odsonne Edouard fired low into the bottom corner for his first league goal since October as Olise grabbed his third assist in 16 minutes.

Ayew scored his second when a blocked shot fell kindly to the unmarked forward who fired the ball home with no one but the keeper to beat as Palace moved six points clear of the drop zone.

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)