Ex eagle
Sean Scannell returned to Selhurst Park to make a point in a physical encounter
that ended 1 – 1. The match saw two red cards, the first to Palace defender
Damien Delaney as early as the eleventh minute. Returning Palace captain Mile
Jedinak back from suspension, put a free kick narrowly wide early on but
following the sending off Huddersfield found their way into the match. It was
at this point Scannell made his mark. Forcing Joel Ward into a clumsy challenge
in the box he won a penalty after exploiting gaps in the palace backline left
by the dismissal. The reaction was immediate and one I did not agree with as
former Palace favourite Scannell was booed for supposedly diving when in fact
he was fouled.
Huddersfield
failed to take advantage of their most clear cut opportunity of the half as
Adam Clayton’s weak penalty was saved by Julian Speroni. On thirty nine minutes
Town were punished for their carelessness as despite being down to ten men
Palace took the lead. In a brilliant piece of interplay Bolasie flicked the
ball through to Zaha who exploited the space created for him by Bolasie to
smash the ball into the roof of the net. Zaha had been lively all game placing
a shot narrowly wide earlier in the half. Palace led 1 – 0 despite making
things harder for themselves than necessary but by working hard they got to the
break in front appearing to have the measure of opponents low on confidence.
Julian
Speroni had a busy match, as well as the penalty save he played well saving
from Beckford and Norwood from distance, working hard to support a depleted defence.
Danny Gabbidon replaced Owen Garvan to fill in at the back and Dean Moxey also
replaced Joel Ward. Ex Eagle James Vaughan combined well with the Town midfield
to keep their hosts on their toes and with fourteen minutes to go they got
lucky. A tiring Palace side failed to clear a corner and as the weather
conditions made things difficult Speroni was unsighted by Beckford as he let a
scuffed Keith Southern drive slip through his gloves.
One all
seemed a fair result but for a third match running a match which Palace led in
and controlled for long periods slipped away because of a loss of
concentration. It would be unfair to blame Speroni as he had a good game and
had to work hard to cover for others recklessness in defence. This match
exemplified pulsating and high tempo Championship football and due to an
unforgiving refereeing performance neither side had eleven on the pitch at the
final whistle. Bolasie was tricky and difficult to handle all day and when
Anthony Gerrard was judged to have fouled Bolasie with a foot off the ground he
was given a straight red card. Tempestuous refereeing, influential old boys,
and poor concentration saw the game end all square as Palace lost ground on the
leaders going to Cardiff on Boxing Day in third place.
2012 has
been a year of steady progress for my beloved Eagles. We face Cardiff on Boxing
Day, four points off the top with nothing to fear. After a scintillating 3 – 2 comeback
win at Selhurst against the bluebirds earlier in the campaign, the chance to
record a double over the leaders would send a message of intend to the rest of
the division. If the Championship is a battle of resources Cardiff and Hull may
have the upper hand but as performances have shown this is a side that plays
stylish football, works hard, and deservedly has got plaudits and results. We
welcomed Ian Holloway to the club this year and he has been excited by what he
has seen as our academy received national recognition with a full England debut
for Wilfried Zaha.
As we go
into 2013 and the climax of this exciting season that has already witnessed a
fourteen game unbeaten run I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and happy festive
period. I hope the exciting football of Murray, Zaha, Bolasie, Joniesta and
company gets what it deserves and a shot at Premier League football in the
summer. Merry Christmas!
No comments:
Post a Comment