Were we up against it from the moment I opened the papers last Tuesday morning? I do not know the answer to that question and far be it from me to be critical of Dougie Freedman especially considering how far he has brought the club along in such a short period and indeed the fact he still has a very exciting journey to go on with Crystal Palace, yet in his pre match press he showed himself as a rookie manager. Essentially in reminding the Cardiff City players and fans of matches prior to Malkey Mackays arrival when in the past they had blown big matches Freedman did Mackay’s team talk for him fired them up and gave away any advantage we had from the first leg. Hence the Cardiff goal in the first eight minutes and the pressure was on from the partisan Welsh crowd for the rest of the night.
What a match though simply as an occasion which even despite circumstances was so nearly different and so nearly history. Despite being down to ten men for 62 minutes following the sending off of Paddy McCarthy for two yellow cards the players in Palace shirts on the night did the shirts proud, defending manfully taking the match to a penalty shootout and to within five kicks of Wembley. Despite what I said Freedman almost proved the tactical genius with backs against the wall guiding the brave team, down to ten through to within touching distance of the final. Had the shootout gone differently all Freedmans pre match comments would have been justified. I just wish Freedman had remembered Clinton Morrisons comments before the Liverpool semi final second leg in 2001 when his words were reported in the press and came back to haunt him at Anfield in the same way Freedmans words haunted him in Cardiff after the shootout.
I am being a touch unfair though I think all Palace fans should look back on this cup run and the club first major semi final since 2001 with immense pride these sort of big events do not come along too often and this group of players will be remembered in the history books as restoring a lot of pride after a very rocky period in the clubs recent times. Indeed this cup run should in my view be looked upon in the same light as the Peter Taylor and Malcolm Allison cup run in the 1970’s when we beat Leeds Utd, after all no one expected us to beat Manchester United at Old Trafford in the quarter finals. There can be no doubt this season has put Palace back on the football radar for positive reasons, restoring faith and belief among supporters and players giving us all strength of character moving forward. It is sad we failed to get to Wembley at the last hurdle but there can be no doubt if we continue making progress as a club Crystal Palace will play at Wembley again, as I am sure Dougie Freedman will manage there at some point in what should be a long and successful managerial career.
It was a fantastic occasion a major domestic cup semi final in a hostile country under lights to a finish in a hostile stadium. A brilliant defensive performance with the indisputable fact that apart from a lot of pressure leading to Antony Gardner’s second leg own goal scoring for Cardiff, they failed to score against Palace once in two matches and a period of extra time, Palace deservedly forcing the match to be decided by a penalty shootout. Although arguably a negative performance where Palace rode their luck at times the defensive effort was supreme and the players were superb their energies made me and all Palace fans proud, they were worthy of a penalty shootout. A penalty shootout is a lottery and as such had it gone differently the result could also have been different. Despite this it is only fair to be magnanimous at times and although I am a biased, partisan Palace fan who would have loved to have gone to Wembley the right team probably won on the night and I wish Cardiff well at Wembley and indeed as representatives of the Football League I hope they win the cup. Good luck to Malkey Mackay he is an excellent young manager I admire very much. I just hope circumstances around the excitement and importance of the tie to both clubs do not sour the relationship between two good forward thinking clubs in Crystal Palace and Cardiff City.
So to what comes next. Never has there been a better time for the A23 Derby against the seaweed with that lot on a high after beating Newcastle and being drawn against Liverpool at Anfield in the FA Cup. With us on a bit of a downer after our penalty shootout disappointment in Cardiff Freedman may feel a bit of personal pressure for the first time since his return to the club with the new owners. What a perfect game therefore, the one he scored his hundredth goal in, Brighton is a match he understands the importance of to Crystal Palace, its fans the club. After all he is the mastermind behind Brightons first league defeat in history at the AMMEX. He will be under no pressure from the Holmesdale, so let us welcome home the heroes of our magnificent cup run and mark the occasion by hammering our Derby foe!
Congratulations lads, COME ON!!!
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