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.
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