Blackburn Rovers 1 – 1 Crystal Palace: Rovers Safe as Eagles Playoff Chase Heats Up!

Saturday’s game at Ewood Park reflected the changeable spring weather conditions. Sunshine and showers probably reflected the moods of the respective clubs involved; Blackburn happy to have achieved survival, Palace slightly darker mood to still be unsure of their playoff place given the tightness of the race in which they are embroiled. Indeed the weather reflected Palace’s season as a whole. Moments of bright sunshine in the campaign reflected in some real purple patches of form. Followed by the equivalent of showers where supporters were scratching their heads struggling to recognise performances as coming from the same team.

Mile Jedinak returned to the Palace midfield after suspension in the only change to the starting line up from the Leicester match. Alex Marrow made way with Aaron Wilbraham keeping his place up front. Palace had a strong bench in reserve Phillips, Williams, Bolasie, Garvan and Moritz all available. Stephen Dobbie linked well with Jedinak and Wilbraham and the soon departing Zaha looked busy out wide. Yet Blackburn was always in the match with Josh King looking lively and through Rovers newly crowned player of the year Jordan Rhodes Blackburn always carried a goal threat.

The opening goal took nearly half an hour to arrive. On twenty eight minutes Dobbie neatly controlled a Wilbraham flick on to slot his shot past Rovers Polish keeper Grzegorz Sandomierski. After the goal Palace had the opportunity to add to their tally and secure a playoff place in the process. Dangerously cutting in from wide, Wilfried Zaha set up Murray and Wilbraham to go close. Meanwhile Stephen Dobbie sent a shot from a free kick narrowly over the top.

Towards the end of the half Palace struggled to utilise width in midfield and in the process of pressing Palace back Blackburn got a foothold in the match. Josh King’s pace challenged and occupied the Palace backline, but it took a marvellous Jordan Rhodes strike to level the match. On forty two minutes Rhodes raced clear and chased by Delaney out to a wide position, managed to lift the ball over Speroni and into the net from the acutest of angles. It was a sublime piece of finishing and Rhodes fifth goal in six games. It also showed why the services of the Scottish International striker will be in high demand over the summer.

In a tight and at times tense match Palace pushed for a winner in the second half. The introduction of Jonny Williams and the welcome return of Owen Garvan to the Palace midfield added dynamism and urgency to the Eagles attacking play after the break. The tension was beginning to prey on the minds of the travelling support. Former Palace loan striker David Goodwillie had a golden chance to score for Blackburn but his shot could not find the target.

It was Palace though who had more reason to be dominant in pushing for a winner. The visitors need to secure a playoff place was greater motivation to find a winner than Blackburn’s satisfaction with a point for survival. Twice Palace hit the crossbar. Murray with a chance he would have buried earlier in the season cannoned his shot off the frame of the goal. Jedinak planted a free header from a corner onto the bar and Delaney missed his shot wide when it seemed easier to score. These were chances that seemed to be finding the net earlier in the campaign.

These missed opportunities was perhaps a sign it was not to be Palace’s day for the three points. A feeling compounded when the referee missed a barge on Murray from a cross that appeared to be a blatant penalty not awarded. Yet the return to fitness of Owen Garvan is perhaps a beacon of hope for any possible post season playoff campaign.  He showed a promising understanding with Joel Ward down the right and coming forward which offers the team alternative options to Dobbie and Jedinak for different situations.

Jonny Williams again proved to be a great impact player from the bench in the second half. Wilbraham continues to contribute alongside Murray and seems to be increasingly effective the more game time he gets. The game ended 1 – 1 with no further goals in the second half. Palace left Ewood Park with a more than useful point. In matching playoff rival Bolton’s result they keep their playoff fate in their own hands. With an extra fixture against rivals Millwall on Tuesday night hopefully a place in the playoffs will be secured before next weekend’s final day fixture at home to relegation threatened Peterborough United.

The shared points should also mean Blackburn Rovers play in the Championship next season. After what from the outside as a supporter of another club appears a crazy season and situation for Rovers supporters I wish them well. They were very hospitable supporters to me and I appreciated this as a disabled fan that had come a long way. This illustrates the effort Blackburn fans are going to look after their clubs heritage, trying to keep the football club at the centre of its community despite circumstances.

Palace play at the Den against Millwall on Tuesday night.

Crystal Palace 2 – 2 Leicester City.

At a tense Selhurst Park prior to kick off a frustrated Ian Holloway promised to ring the changes. An injured Jonathan Parr was replaced by Dean Moxey at left back, and Danny Gabbidon replaced Peter Ramage in the centre of the palace defence. In a revamped midfield KG Dikgacoi was partnered by Alex Marrow who replaced the injured Jonny Williams in the middle of the park. Stephen Dobbie replaced Yannick Bolasie out wide and Andre Moritz dropped out in favour of Aaron Wilbraham as Palace shifted to a 4 -4-2.

The changes gave Palace some new impetus as they tried to put the midweek defeat to Ipswich out of their collective memory. Palace started well but with a nervousness defensively which was understandable given the magnitude of the match on top of recent performances. Leicester was immediately below Palace in the final playoff place before kickoff and was fresh off a midweek win over Bolton. Early on Leicester played well on the break with French midfielder Anthony Knockaert proving the orchestrator for the Foxes attacks in the middle of the park.

Nervousness at the back for Palace meant attack would again prove the best form of defence. It was Leicester’s Kasper Schmeichel who was kept the busier of the two keepers in the first forty minutes. He did well to deny Alex Marrow and tipped a back header from his own defender wide following a Dobbie free kick. Palace was caught for pace a lot in defence as Knockeart controlled Leicester’s midfield play with the size of Jeffrey Schlupp and Lloyd Dyer’s pace testing the fresh centre back partnership of Gabbidon and Delaney. This meant Ward and Moxey had to work hard to keep out Chris Wood and Andy King on the break.

Palace’s current goal drought that had lasted since the beginning of March and over six hours of football ended on twenty six minutes. Danny Gabbidon scored his first goal in eight years. The goal arrived when Zaha won a free kick down the right which was whipped in beautifully by Dobbie for Gabbidon to head home. Yet the first half was even and Palace struggled to calmly play out to half time with the lead. Leicester had already gone close to an equaliser through Chris Wood when Andy King pounced to equalise on thirty seven minutes. Paul Konchesky slipped through a tackle and combined with Dyer to set up King to level the scores at 1 – 1 at half time.

In the second half Palace tried to up the tempo. Glenn Murray went close with a header after being set up by Delaney and Aaron Wilbraham smacked the ball against the crossbar from a Stephen Dobbie cross. Wilbraham held the ball up well all game offering an outlet to Marrow and Dobbie in midfield. Alex Marrow also played well breaking up the threat offered by Knockeart in midfield without ever completely stifling him out of the game. On sixty seven minutes Palace took the lead. Murray laid the ball off to Stephen Dobbie who exquisitely curled the ball beyond the despairing dive of Kasper Schmeichel to put Palace 2 – 1 up.

Again Palace could not hold onto the lead. Having nearly scored earlier in the half through Jeffrey Schlupp Palace was again caught out for pace at the back. Another defensive error this time from Delaney allowed Wood to latch onto a ball over the top, race past Delaney and beat Speroni with a shot to equalise. The game ended 2 – 2 which was a fair result as neither side did enough to win or lose an entertaining encounter.

What on the surface may appear a frustrating draw does have its positives as a performance. Statistically Palace needs five points from their three remaining matches to secure a playoff place. The goal drought is over with Dobbie scoring with a fine strike. One thing that has become clear under Ian Holloway is he favours attacking play. Attack may well be the best form of defence for Palace as they struggle with defensive jitters and mistakes. For the remainder of the season such a tactic that plays to Palace’s attacking strengths will be favoured by Holloway as Palace look to cement a place in the playoffs and then compete to win them.

Palace travel to Ewood Park to play relegation threatened Blackburn Rovers next Saturday.

Ipswich Town 3 – 0 Crystal Palace: Individual Errors Prove Costly as Playoff Doubts Surface!

Two individual errors and a piece of brilliance from Aaron Cresswell at the end of the first half cost Palace the game at Portman Road on Tuesday night. Injuries had a hand in the result as the influential Jonathan Parr was replaced by Jazz Richards midway through the first half after having a positive effect on Palace’s play. When Jonny Williams limped off at half time Palace had failed to turn domination of possession into goals. Crystal Palace’s goal drought now stretches five games, and the team have now not scored since the 2 – 2 draw with Leeds United back in March.

KG Dikgacoi replaced Mile Jedinak who is suspended for two matches in the only change from the Barnsley game. Palace started the game well enough, dominating possession, and never really looking threatened by what seemed a poor Ipswich team. Before his injury Jonathan Parr got down the Ipswich left hand side well in support of Yannick Bolasie and the talented and industrious Jonny Williams in the Palace attack. Yet the pattern of the entire game and the result changed in Ipswich’s favour in a mad, error strewn, seven minutes for the Palace back line before the break.

On thirty seven minutes Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni made a rare mistake. In failing to control the ball and clear his line, he was dispossessed by Ipswich Town’s Frank Nouble who put the ball into an empty net to give the hosts a lead against the run of play. Five minutes later and Ipswich scored two goals in a minute to put the game beyond Palace. Town’s second goal was a moment of brilliance and a thirty yard strike from Cresswell that Speroni could do nothing about. The third however was another defensive mistake that cannot be legislated for at this level of the game. Peter Ramage slipped at the back to allow Nouble a free run in on goal to score his second and Ipswich’s third goal.

The hosts could barely believe their fortune. 3 – 0 up at half time Ipswich had barely been in the match, but defensive mistakes had gifted them two of their three goals. At such a crucial stage Palace had the stuffing knocked out of their performance. As this was a side with already fragile levels of confidence. A brilliant Aaron Cresswell strike was the only unpreventable goal from the Palace viewpoint. Given Ipswich’s precarious position in the Championship before kick off the score line was more than welcome from the hosts point of view, especially considering a desire to put right the 5 – 0 Palace win in the reverse fixture in November.

Palace went out in a more attacking fashion in the second half but Ipswich had very little to do to see out the result. Kevin Phillips replaced Jonny Williams at half time, and when Wilbraham replaced Joel Ward on sixty nine minutes Palace had three central strikers in a front five. Ward played well but was replaced as Palace’s need to get into the match increased. Ipswich responded by shifting to a back five with three defensive players across the back, nullifying Palace’s threat. This was another poor Palace performance. Even when Phillips hit the post during an insipid second half display Palace did not look like breaking their current goal drought.

Despite Palace dominating possession for long periods of the game Ipswich was not made to work hard enough for this victory. Palace failed to turn any of their eleven corners into goals and the score line reflected Palace’s wastefulness in possession. Palace build up play was again neat and tidy but lacked a cutting edge. Bolasie and Williams were very much involved in first half play. Wilbraham and Phillips worked hard and were industrious without affecting the result in the second half.

Going into the last four matches of the season and it appears individual mistakes are creeping into the play and changing games in a fashion that cannot be legislated for. A goal drought at exactly the wrong time of the season also does not help given the momentum of the clubs around Palace in the Playoff positions. Exactly how costly the combination of these two factors will be on Crystal Palace’s season may depend on how quickly Ian Holloway can sort them out on the training field. Unfortunately Palace seems to have lost momentum and confidence at the wrong time of the season!

Fortunately with Playoff rivals up next at Selhurst in the shape of the Foxes of Leicester City the team have the opportunity of a response. By beating Leicester Palace could put a big dent in the prospects of another Playoff rival. The prospect of three points would also go some way to removing some of the lingering doubts surfacing over Palace’s place in the Playoffs.

 

Crystal Palace 0 – 0 Barnsley.

Palace’s return to Selhurst Park after the travails of the Easter period will not live long in the memory. A snore draw ended goalless against Barnsley in a match that will be remembered more for the bizarre circumstances of the kit clash that saw Barnsley wearing Palace’s away shirts than anything on the pitch.

This result combined with the 1 – 0 reverse away to Blackpool on Easter Monday has pretty much put paved to any lingering hopes of automatic promotion for Palace this season. It has also somewhat split the Palace supporter base as to Ian Holloway’s attributes for the job. It was always going to be difficult for Ollie following on from his predecessor and in the main he has done a good job. Even after Saturday’s goalless draw Palace finds itself securely ensconced in fourth place more than comfortably positioned for the Playoffs. Looking at who the team was up against in the battle for automatic promotion; Watford played the loan market superbly to their advantage, and Cardiff and Hull both have rich owners with Hull benefitting from parachute payments.

Against these circumstances Ian Holloway has done a good job maintaining the momentum from earlier in the season. This is the first major blip of Holloway’s time with Palace and he is more than capable of putting it right, even if the team are scoreless in four matches. Yet the club have come such a long way in a short period since 2010/11. Unity and backing is required at this stage because finishing in the playoffs is a sign of stable growth and should be seen as progress. This is especially the case when one considers the greater resources of other clubs around Palace in the Championship, and the circumstances of Palace’s individual campaign. Key injuries to key players in key periods, (Garvan, Ward, McCarthy, Moritz, and Gabbidon) has interfered at points this season, but no one was complaining at Holloway’s gung ho attacking play when results went in Palace’s favour.

Saturday’s 0 – 0 draw with Barnsley was a dower affair played out in front of a near capacity 21,281 for another family day. After such strong home form this season it seems harsh to highlight the two most recent performances at Selhurst Park for wider public attention. The fact Sky cameras covered the 4 – 0 reverse at home to Birmingham City and then the goalless draw was selected for the big crowd of family day was unlucky. Palace started well, feeding off the energy of the crowd, but Barnsley involved in a relegation battle themselves was clearly playing for their manager. Galvanised by new boss David Flitcroft, the Tykes did the Palace/Barnsley away shirts proud.

Andre Moritz and Jonny Williams replaced KG Dikgacoi and Stephen Dobbie in midfield from the Blackpool game for Palace, and in a welcome boost for the team Joel Ward returned at right back for Ashley Richards in an otherwise unchanged team from Easter Monday. Palace took control early on in a poor game with few clear cut chances. Luke Steele saved well from Murray, and kept out Moritz’s free kick in the best opportunities of the first half. Manchester United bound Zaha controlled the tempo of the game at will from the flanks throughout with able support from Yannick Bolasie, but poor finishing blighted the game. Jason Scotland looked dangerous at times for Barnsley on the break however when he was substituted for Dagnell after the hour it appeared Barnsley was happy with a point.

The late introductions for Palace of Dobbie, Phillips and Wilbraham failed to improve Palace’s finishing and the crowd was to leave frustrated with a point. Despite all the chances Palace could not capitalise on dominance in midfield as Selhurst witnessed the first league goalless draw this season. There may be a slight imbalance between attack and defence but at least it is exciting. If Holloway gets support to fix the current blip in form then Palace’s timing in terms of returning to form for the Playoffs might just be perfect.

What a wonderful player Wilfried Zaha is! He is one of the finest talents I have personally ever seen in a Palace shirt. A full England international, he is a team player who has the individual talent to win a game on his own. Manchester United are incredibly fortunate to have his signature, he is a local academy product that as Palace fans we should always be proud of. I do not understand why such talent is always the first to be criticised when things go wrong. Enjoy the last few games of Zaha in a palace shirt. Remember while individuals can make the difference, football is won and lost as a team! Supporters, players, managers and owners should show unity at times of difficulty because everything is achieved together.