Crystal Palace - 1 (Akinbiyi 71.)
Coventry City - 1 (McSheffrey 68.)

The winner of this match stood to make a move on the top six places, so there was certainly going to be no lack of effort from either side. Of course, the injury toll, and the number of matches over the last few days was bound to have an effect on the home side, and a waterlogged pitch was not going to help matters. As things transpired both sides put in a very creditable effort, and the final result was probably a fair reflection of the capabilities of the teams. There will probably not be room for both of them come promotion time; let's hope that Palace get the better of the next run of results.

Palace kicked off, but the first action involved a free kick to the visitors, Tony Popovic cutting out the danger and Danny Granville clearing the ball to safety. Lee Mills got clear, but the chance was wasted, then at the other end Danny G got a cross in that was met first time by Tommy Black, Morten Hydlgaard tipping the ball round the post for a corner. The corner was headed away by the Coventry defence, followed by ex-Palace player Dean Gordon heading the ball back to his keeper, the ball going out for another corner to Palace, which was cleared once again. Aki Riihilahti managed to avoid the offside trap, but the keeper was alert enough to cut out the danger, sending the ball out for a throw-in to Palace.

Julian Gray then got free, but his kick at goal went well wide of the keeper, and the post, causing little alarm in the visiting camp. Jay Bothroyd got a good cross in to Dean Holdsworth out on the wing, but Kit Symons headed the ball clear for the first corner to Coventry. Alex Kolinko managed to punch the ball away from the set piece, but Gordon sent the ball back in, the Palace defence dealing with the problem, but not looking all that convincing.

Mills got his head to the next corner, but the ball went slowly, and simply, to Alex in goal, whilst at the other end it was Tony who unleashed a long-range shot, which was deflected behind for another corner to Palace. Dele Adebola managed to head that one wide of the post, and a goal kick ensued. A good ball into the centre was sent in by Danny Buttefield, but Tommy just failed to get to the ball in time, the keeper collecting it quite easily, then Palace won another corner, which the Coventry defence had little trouble with.

Hayden got a good tackle in at the last moment as Richie Partridge appeared ready to take a shot on goal, then Gordon was penalised for a foul on Aki, which saw Alex boot the ball upfield. The ball came back into our area, and we were treated to a most unusual sight, that of our keeper heading the ball away to safety. One can only assume that he was not quite aware of his position on the field, and was concerned that he may have handled the ball outside his area, and thus drawn a free kick against the side; but it really did look most peculiar, as he could well have taken the ball without much trouble.

Kit cut out the next forward move by the Coventry attack, but the following corner needed Alex to be on his toes, cutting the ball out as the forwards swarmed towards the ball. Danny G was caught offside following a pass from Dele, and as the ball came back into our area it was Gordon who fired in one of his trademark long shots, which fortunately went well wide of our goal. We all remember him scoring goals for Palace from similar positions to that.

Palace won a corner, but Hydlgaard appeared to be injured in the melee, and play was held up for a short while as he received treatment. A drop-ball was ordered, and in an example of fair play Dele returned the ball to the Coventry keeper. Alex then repeated his effort of heading the ball to safety, but this time he was quite correct, as he was well out of the area when he made contact with the ball. He then slipped in the box as the ball flew towards him, but fortunately recovered in time to collect the ball before any further damage could be done. The wet conditions were certainly capable of causing problems to both sides.

A couple of corners, at each end, amounted to nothing, and before anyone was aware the halftime whistle sounded, and the lads trooped off for their usual pep talks from the management. Palace seemed to enjoy a reasonable amount of possession, but Coventry were thwarting them in the last third of the field, and they really needed to convert some of the chances into goals.

Coventry got the second half underway, and the first action came from Tommy, his attempt at chipping the ball over the keeper just failing to find the mark. Another corner to Palace was well cut out by the keeper, and Trevor Francis decided it was time to change the attacking options, replacing Dele and Julian with Wayne Routledge and Ade Akinbiyi.

A shot on goal, from Craig Pead, was well saved by Alex low down in the goalmouth, and at the other end Tony floated a good ball in for Ade, but the chance was just a little too high for him. A couple of quick corners to Palace were wasted, and then Tommy and Ade were both caught offside as Coventry made their first substitution of the match, replacing Bothroyd with Gary McSheffrey. Hydlgaard cut out the next attempt by Ade, and suddenly the ball was at the other end. Gary Caldwell fired the ball in, and as Alex dropped the ball McSheffrey fired it through his legs, and into the back of the net. Just as things were looking up for the Palace side we were suddenly a goal down.

Ade tried a shot on goal, but a deflection saw the ball go out for a corner, and though the cross was cleared it was pumped back in by Tommy, and Ade rose above the crowd and simply seemed to hang there forever before he planted the ball past Hydlgaard and into the back of the net to even the scores up once again.

McSheffrey was then booked for a foul, Hayden played in the free kick, and Aki fired from distance, his shot just failing to dip in time to go into the top corner of the net. What a goal that would have been! A couple of corners to Palace were again wasted, and the game settled once more.

Ade was then caught offside once more, and shortly after he was brought down in the box, the penalty appeal being waved away. Wayne fired the ball back across the face of goal, but there was a lack of Palace players on hand to simply tap the ball into the back of the net, and the chance went begging once more. Ade got into position for a one-on-one with the keeper, but he attempted to fire the ball between the keeper's legs, which of course failed, when really he should have simply chipped the keeper and the ball would have been destined for the back of the net.

Three minutes was added for injuries at the end of the scheduled time, but there was little further action, and the game finished at 1-1. A hard earned point it may have been, and maybe two points squandered? I feel sure that Trevor would have been pleased with the overall performance during the Christmas/New Year period, and now we can look forward to a slight change of pace, as we take on Blackpool in the FA Cup Third Round on Saturday/ Will this be the start of another good Cup run?

Colin Pryce

Crystal Palace: Alex Kolinko, Danny Granville, Tony Popovic, Aki Riihilahti, Kit Symons, Tommy Black, Danny Butterfield, Shaun Derry, Hayden Mullins, Julian Gray (Wayne Routledge 59), Dele Adebola (Ade Akinbiyi 59).

Substitutes not used: Cedric Berthelin, Gary Borrowdale, Will Antwi.

Coventry City: Morten Hydlgaard, Gary Caldwell, Richard Shaw, Muhamed Konjic, Dean Gordon, Jay Bothroyd (Gary McSheffrey 65), Craig Pead, Gary McAllister, Richie Partridge, Dean Holdsworth, Lee Mills.

Substitutes not used: John Eustace, Calum Davenport, Gary Montgomery, Robert Betts.

Attendance: 17,362

Referee: Mr C Wilkes (Gloucestershire)