Scott Sinclair gave Plymouth their first Coca-Cola Championship win in five with a scrappy 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace.

The Pilgrims midfielder struck three minutes after half-time, racing onto Luke McCormick's ball down the left before emphatically firing into the top-right corner from 12 yards.

Palace had chances of their own with £1.25million defender Leon Cort having a fantastic opportunity in the first half before shooting wide of the right post from 12 yards.

Neither side created much in the opening period and were not helped by the stop-start nature of a game largely punctuated by referee Russell Booth's whistle.

Eagles manager Peter Taylor named an unchanged line-up from the side which picked up a 3-2 win at West Brom on Wednesday.

Both sides started sluggishly and it was not until the 14th minute that Palace registered the game's first goalbound effort.

Ben Watson, who has scored two penalties in his last two games, tried his luck from the edge of the penalty area but Argyle keeper McCormick was equal to the effort.

Plymouth - knocked out of the FA Cup quarter-finals by Watford last week - looked like a side without a win in their last five games.

Paul Connolly's cross the only time Palace keeper Gabor Kiraly was called into action in the early stages of the first half.

Things hardly got better for Ian Holloway's side as they became increasingly desperate in their attempts to trouble Kiraly's goal.

Dan Gosling sent a speculative volley from 30 yards out on the right over the bar and David Norris pulled a left-footed shot from the centre of penalty area wide of the right post in the 34th minute.

Palace midfielder Carl Fletcher's finishing was of an equally unimpressive standard, dragging a 20-yard effort past the left post.

McCormick had few problems dealing with Connolly's whipped cross from the left before Cort's chance to make a breakthrough in the 37th minute.

But it was Holloway's men who finally forced an opener, with Sinclair adding to his growing reputation with a cool finish in the 48th minute.

And Argyle could have added to their lead in the 55th minute but for Cort's desperate late block to deny Sylvan Ebanks-Blake's shot from 18 yards.

Norris' outswinging corner provided another opportunity - the ball eventually broke to Lilian Nalis on the edge of the area but his shot was always rising and finished over the crossbar.

Taylor's side offered little in the way of an attacking threat until the final 20 minutes.

Substitute Shefki Kuqi's header from Watson's corner was well saved by McCormick and the keeper had few problems catching James Scowcroft's effort from 25 yards with 13 minutes remaining.

Sinclair almost sealed the game with a second on the counter attack 10 minutes from time but was foiled by Kiraly.

The Eagles dominated late on with Kuqi again coming close but the Pilgrims held on for the three points.

Teams:

Plymouth McCormick, Connolly, Seip, Doumbe, Sawyer,Gosling (Hodges 83), Norris, Nalis, Sinclair,Ebanks-Blake (Fallon 68), Hayles.

Subs Not Used: Gallen, Summerfield, Djordjic.

Goals: Sinclair 48.

Crystal Palace Kiraly, Butterfield, Hudson, Cort, Borrowdale,Soares (Kuqi 71), Watson, Fletcher, Hughes (Freedman 59),Scowcroft, Morrison (Grabban 71).

Subs Not Used: Speroni, Kennedy.

Booked: Borrowdale.

Att: 11,239

Ref: R Booth (Nottinghamshire).