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LONDON -- Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew believes club-record signing Christian Benteke could have proved the difference in Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Tottenham. Benteke, 25, joined Palace in a £27 million deal from Liverpool on Saturday morning -- too late to play in the Premier League match at White Hart Lane. Victor Wanyama's late goal sealed a first win of the season for Spurs but Palace twice went close through half-time substitute Yohan Cabaye before the Kenyan's 82nd-minute header. Pardew lamented Palace's failure to score but said Benteke's ability to "pull a rabbit out of a hat" could be decisive in the future games. "It's galling for us. The players gave everything and we had a little bit more verve and industry in our play," Pardew said in his postmatch news conference. "We had a great spell after half-time but when you come to Tottenham, you have to score in that spell. That's the issue -- and the signing of Christian is to address that. And hopefully one more [signing] yet. "One thing always impressed me about Christian is he gets the goals you'd expect but every now and then he pulls a rabbit out of a hat with a goal. "That's what you need on days like today -- one moment would have changed the whole course of the game and in that 20-minute spell, he could have done something for us." Asked about Benteke's fee, which could rise to £32m with add-ons, Pardew pointed to the sale of Yannick Bolasie to Everton. "It's a different footballing landscape when we receive £30 million. That's the market," he said. Wanyama's winner from a Spurs corner came after seconds after injured centre-back Damien Delaney was replaced by debutant James Tomkins. Delaney signalled to Pardew that he wanted to remain on the pitch, and Tomkins failed to pick up Wanyama, who reacted quickest to Harry Kane's nod-down to score on his home debut. "It was a sickener. It was a corner where we were being stretched -- Spurs were good at corners today -- and to lose Damo was unfortunate for Tomkins," Pardew said. "He went on cold and got blocked. I've seen it again and him and Papa [Souare] should probably do better in that situation."
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