A second
half brace from Glenn Murray ended a near month long goal drought to bring
Palace back to life and take the spoils in this South London Derby. Charlton
were beaten after the break as the introduction from the bench of the
experienced and stylish Kevin Phillips brought craft and brains to Palace’s
play that had previously been hurried and disjointed. Phillips’s link up play
got Murray more involved in the game as the Manchester United bound Wilfried
Zaha got crosses in at will. Indeed Phillips’s first contribution after coming
on was to break up play on the edge of the area to set up Zaha who shot wide.
Murray was
now once more effective in front of goal in the Palace attack. The deadline day
arrivals of Kevin Phillips and Stephen Dobbie breathed a new second half
momentum into Palace’s play and their promotion attempt. Yet it could have been
very different Palace started slowly and was lacklustre out of the blocks.
Holloway was forced to make changes to the starting line up and this may have
helped explain the slow start. The Palace midfield was depleted by injuries as
Jedinak’s eye injury and Moritz’s ankle injury presented Alex Marrow the opportunity
to form a new partnership with Stuart O’Keefe alongside Jacob Butterfield. Dean
Moxey replaced Jonathan Parr at left back from the midweek trip to Huddersfield
with Jazz Richards making his home debut at right back.
As a result
of the changes the first half was bitty and disjointed as a new look midfield
tried to build up an understanding alongside each other. A new defensive
partnership in the fullback positions between Moxey and Richards also had to
take shape. Fortunately Holloway had new options to turn to on the bench in the
shape of Williams, Phillips and Dobbie which meant there was plenty of
opportunity to keep creativity in reserve to be introduced when necessary. Alex
Marrow continued his rehabilitation from injury and throughout he typified the blood
thunder and commitment of a South London derby match. The highlight of the
first half from Palace’s viewpoint was a marvellous piece of skill from the
energetic Yannick Bolasie. Taking the ball over his shoulder on the turn he
produced an instinctive bicycle kick shot that tested the reflexes of Ben Hamer
in Charlton’s goal.
After that
chance Palace’s first half faded with Charlton taking charge and Julian Speroni
being kept busy in the Palace goal. For the second time in a week a former
Palace player, this time Ricardo Fuller came back to haunt the Eagles. Scoring
on fifteen minutes he gave Charlton a 1 – 0 lead at half time. Charlton had
their opportunities to press further ahead in the first half with a number of
opportunities wasted. Jackson, Pritchard, and Cort were all guilty of profligacy
in front of goal that would be ruthlessly punished by Palace later in the game.
The game changed in the second half. Holloway changed the system at the break
and the introduction of Phillips and then Dobbie gave greater assurance to the
attack as both Bolasie and Butterfield were tiring. The calm assuredness and experience
the thirty nine year old Phillips brought to the match was a joy to behold.
Experience
in the Tyne and Wear derby must have proved useful for Phillips as he was less
than phased by the firecracker atmosphere present in this South London affair.
Further experience in midfield through Stephen Dobbie produced a fresh impetus
and momentum missing in previous weeks. Dobbie proved the link man in the
Palace midfield allowing the team to flow forward a lot more effectively in the
second half. Palace was attacking at will with O’Keefe going close with a
header from a Zaha cross. Although the intensity levels were much higher from
Palace and despite all the pressure on Charlton’s goal they still had to wait
seventy five minutes for the breakthrough.
Two goals in
four minutes from Glenn Murray saw him end a four game wait for a goal, the
longest he had gone without scoring this season. Far from settling for just an
equaliser though Murray scored twice to turn the match on its head. Clever
movement from the mercurial Phillips showed burgeoning signs of an effective
partnership as the two strikers fed off each other and struck up an
understanding. Murray capitalised on Phillips clever runs to slot home the
equaliser from a Moxey pass. Minutes later Selhurst was bouncing. A cross from
Dobbie was not cleared and Murray, controlling Richards pass in one movement
took the ball away from Hamer and smashed the ball into the net for the winner.
The comeback was complete. Another derby success for Holloway and in the
process Palace recorded their first League double over Charlton since the Cup
Final year of 1990.
After this
important derby victory not just bragging rights were re-established but also
momentum into a flagging season following just one win in nine matches. With
KG, Garvan, Jedinak (mask et al) all still to return from injuries, the return
of Alex Marrow and the bonus of the Zaha loan back until the summer, meant
depth has been added to the squad. The intelligence of Kevin Phillips adds a
new, unexpected dimension to the Palace attack alongside Murray which could
prove more than useful. Both from the bench, as on his debut and from the start
of games his hunger and football brain makes him almost guaranteed to score
goals and make chances at championship level.
Unbeaten at
home since the opening day of this campaign the team to beat us that day,
Watford, are the next opponents for Palace in the reverse fixture. Following
our second half dismantling of Charlton, victory over Watford would really open
up automatic promotion even giving us a shot at the title however unlikely that
may seem! All this despite the disappointing trip last midweek to Huddersfield
town everything remains up for grabs in terms of promotion in the second half
of the season. Murray and ‘Super’ “King” Kev look to have got Palace flying
high again with the season back on track!
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