Tottenham Hotspur - 3 (Kanoute 16. 21. 48.)
Crystal Palace - 0

Palace met Tottenham Hotspur in the 3rd round of the FA Cup, and as things transpired it was to be their only appearance for the year. Red and blue balloons were handed out to the Palace supporters to get the match underway, and many thought we might just have a chance considering Spurs recent form. The match served though, to emphasise the ever-widening gap that exists between the Premiership and Division One, and Palace are going to have to significantly lift their game if they ever hope to compete at this level.

Tottenham kicked off in the first half, and though the first action saw Wayne Routledge running towards the opposition goal area he was easily dispossessed, and Kit Symons had to be alert to stop Stephane Dalmat at the other end. Johnnie Jackson beat the defence, but his cross went straight out. Frederic Kanoute was caught offside before Neil Shipperley almost got Andy Johnson free, Gary Doherty just managing to clear the danger. Ben Watson got himself booked for a poor tackle on Robbie Keane, though the free kick was wasted by the Spurs attack.

Keane sent a cross in to Jackson that eluded the Spurs man and went straight out for a goal kick, and then Michael Hughes was booked for a tackle on Gustavo Poyet. We were certainly managing to collect those cards! Kanoute sent a shot wide of the post, but then Poyet sent a simple pass into Kanoute, and he beat Cedric Berthelin at the near post to open proceedings for the afternoon. Wayne then sent a cross in that Kasey Keller easily dealt with, and play went on.

Steve Carr took a free kick that was cleared by the Palace defence before Kanoute sent the ball across the face of goal that Dalmat just failed to get on the end of. Shortly after though Dalmat beat the defence and passed a simple ball to Kanoute who doubled his, and Spurs, lead with an easy tap-in that left Cedric little chance. Palace then won a corner, and though the ball found Michael his header was far too soft, and the keeper had little trouble gathering the ball.

Keane almost got free, but Tony Popovic was on hand to avert the danger before Wayne sent in a good looking cross that Anthony Gardner just managed to get to before Neil could capitalise. Mauricio Taricco then sent a shot wide of the mark, and a free kick to Palace saw Kit just head the ball wide of the goalmouth. Jackson saw his shot blocked by Cedric as Tony just managed to get in the way of the follow-up kick fired in by Keane, and then AJ was bundled over, the free kick hitting the wall as another chance to Palace was wasted.

A good cross in from Carr saw Cedric again block a shot fired in by Kanoute followed by a snap shot from Dalmat that once again went wide of the posts. A corner to Spurs saw Ben head the ball clear, and the follow-up saw Dalmat fire wide once more. Gardner robbed AJ of the ball, and in an exquisite moment Wayne ran at goal, but the defence cut out his cross. Jackson was booked for his attempted tackle on Wayne, but the half ran out with little further action, and we entered the sheds 2-0 down, with presumably just the thought that the damage was not any worse than was shown on the scoreboard.

Just how Iain Dowie intended to turn this situation round was a mystery to the entire Palace travelling faithful, and presumably remains a mystery, even to our own players, to this day!

Palace got the second half underway, and they made an immediate substitution, Dougie Freedman coming on for AJ, who had sustained an ankle injury. Within moments Kanoute put the game beyond doubt as, with the ball floating in from a cross that was sent in by Ledley King, he got round the defence and placed the ball into the back of the net. 3-0, and surely the result was now just a matter of how many the home side might score?

Danny Butterfield won a corner that Tony headed just over the top of the bar, and shortly after Keane raced on to the ball, Cedric coming well out to deny the striker a chance at goal. Kanoute then saw his shot fended away by Cedric, and then Keane fired the ball over the top when he really should have done so much better. Neil was fouled by Doherty, but the free kick was cleared by the Spurs defence, and then Julian Gray fired in a cross that Ben controlled well before shooting just wide that brought a gasp from the 5,000+ travelling Palace supporters.

Danny then made a good turn, firing straight at the keeper, and Dougie won a corner that was cleared by Doherty. A corner to Palace was cleared once again by the Spurs defence, and they then made a change of their own, Simon Davies replacing King. A corner to Spurs was well taken by Cedric, getting two hands to the ball, and then Dalmat got a shot on goal from well wide that went just over the top of the bar. Neil then headed the ball over the top before a free kick to Palace saw Dougie fire the ball into the back of the net, only for the referee to insist on the kick being taken again, and this time the keeper saved it, of course.

Jamie Smith came on to replace Kit, and Keane beat the defence, but not Cedric, who gathered the ball well, and Spurs made another change, ex-Brighton player Bobby Zamora taking the place of Jackson. Danny fired in a cross that Dougie volleyed goalwards, the keeper just managing a reactive save, and then Michael tried a long-range shot that Keller held on to quite easily. Dougie and Poyet then had an altercation that saw Dougie booked but Poyet sent off; maybe it had something to do with the fact that Poyet head butted Dougie towards the end of the fracas?

Danny Granville came on for Gary Borrowdale, but moments later Jamie Smith tangled with Zamora, and though the red card was shown again it was Danny who was sent off, and surely there will be a review of that incident! Just how the referee came to that decision is beyond anyone who was at the ground!

Despite two minutes of added on time the only action saw Palace win a corner that Tony headed straight at the keeper, and the game came to a close with Spurs advancing, deservedly, to the 4th round, and Palace left, as is often quoted, to concentrate on their League position. We now look forward to the return match against Burnley next week.

Colin Pryce

Tottenham Hotspur: Kasey Keller, Steve Carr, Mauricio Taricco, Gary Doherty, Anthony Gardner, Gustavo Poyet, Stephane Dalmat, Johnnie Jackson (Bobby Zamora 73), Ledley King (Simon Davies 62), Robbie Keane, Frederic Kanoute.

Substitutes not used: Stephen Kelly, Helder Postiga, Lars Hirschfeld.

Crystal Palace: Cedric Berthelin, Danny Butterfield, Kit Symons (Jamie Smith 69), Tony Popovic, Gary Borrowdale (Danny Granville 80), Wayne Routledge, Ben Watson, Michael Hughes, Julian Gray, Neil Shipperley, Andrew Johnson (Dougie Freedman 46).

Substitutes not used: Curtis Fleming, Tommy Black.

Attendance: 32,340

Referee: Mr A D'Urso