12/12/11;
Palace recovered from the disappointment of a 2 – 1 defeat at Barnsley to beat Forest 1 – 0 to record their first win in eight matches in the league. In a game where Palace exploited a lack of confidence in a struggling Forest side that now have not scored in four matches and remain in the bottom three. Yet the City Ground is a difficult place to play and we came under pressure and yet our defence dominated the Forest attack and the match was won on the counter attack. Indeed a feature of Palace’s strong season in the first half of 2011/12 campaign has been defensive ability and the partnership between Gardner and McCarthy at centre back. The return of Clyne from injury and the solidity of Dean Moxey and Jonathon Parr has meant Palace have prospered off a mean defence including setting a club record for time on the pitch without conceding a goal.
In the first half Julian Speroni had to be on top form to deny the Forest attack however Palace were aided by an injury to Wes Morgan which allowed the pace and creativity of Wilfried Zaha to exploit Forests insecurities at the back and gave chances to Glenn Murray to test the Forest backline. The goal that decided the game came in the second half after a strong defensive display in the first half allowed Palace to build as Murray, fed by Zaha showed Forest how it was done to capitalise on his opportunity to win the game for Palace. The goal, a crisp finish across Lee Camp inside the far post showed excellent touch ending our seven game winless streak in the Championship producing Palace’s first win in eight league matches.
The win was important as it is a sign Palace are stabilising their league form and moves them to 11th, 5 points off the playoffs and 10 points clear of the drop zone on 30 points. Compared to last season this is a great improvement giving us a shot of the playoffs and when you factor in the cup run and the Utd result this season for us fans is both memorable and enjoyable.
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