Crystal Palace - 0
Preston North End - 2 (Healy 8. Alexander 24.)

Although some Palace supporters have a tendency to leave before a match is finished in an effort to get away from the ground before the crowd, this match actually saw supporters that have not walked out on a match for 20 years or more, leaving early. To say that the level of performance of the side upset them would be a gross understatement. For the third match in a row Palace failed to score, but despite this we failed to bring on a substitute striker; surely now we need to have a rethink? I am not too sure that either Dougie Freedman or Ricardo Fuller will be able to achieve any greater success, but we have already shown this season that it the management constantly tinker with the starting line-up the side never really has a chance to settle. Alan Smith did not leave the dressing room for nearly an hour after this match, and his comments on the radio were not very complimentary to the players. Thank goodness it is the responsibility of the management team and not of us, the supporters, to sort the side out.

Good luck, Alan.

This match kicked off in bitterly cold conditions, and for the first eight minutes or so of the match it looked as if Palace were finally going to show the home supporters what a good show they could put up. In the opening seconds Steve Thomson got clear on goal, his shot unfortunately being volleyed over the bar. David Healy replied in kind, but then Palace forced a corner. As usual Simon Rodger put in a great cross from the flag, and Clinton Morrison met the ball first time, his shot being cleared off the line. Tommy Black then won another corner, and this time the ball came off the post and was once again hacked off the line.

Perhaps at this point we should have sounded the final whistle, for the performance then went down somewhat rapidly. In a breakaway move Preston swept up the field, and Healy had the simple task of sweeping the ball past a despairing dive from Alex Kolinko in goal. Against the run of play we were suddenly behind, and it was somewhat alarming to see the heads of the Palace players almost immediately drop.

Mikael Forssell did manage to get a shot on goal a few minutes later, but once again it was cleared from the line and Preston were starting to become a little more confident in their moves down the field. They managed to hit the underside of the bar shortly after, but a rare move from new loan signing Amir Karic saw him blasting a shot over the top. Tommy then made a good move into the area, but his final touch let him down, the pass going straight to the opposition. A move by the visitors was well cut out by Alex, but we then saw Mark Rankine manage to get past Fan Zhiyi before Dean Austin hacked him down from behind. A penalty was certainly deserved, but the tackle, in hindsight, was not really needed as it looked as though the move was going to break down anyway. Graham Alexander took the penalty shot, and suddenly it was 2-0, and the game was all but over for the Palace players on the pitch.

Three more good chances fell to Preston, but a mixture of good defending, particularly by Karic, and a little luck, saw the scoreline remain at 2-0 until the break. Only one move between Clinton and Mikael looked promising, but it broke down just as things started to look good.

Harsh words would have been the order of the day during the break, but obviously they had little effect, as Palace looked no better throughout the second period of play.

Before the restart Andrejs Rubins came on as a precautionary measure for Fan who was making his comeback after a long injury layoff. Alex dealt well with a Preston raid, and then Clinton shot wide of the mark. Andrejs had a shot cleared away from the danger area. Tommy put in a good cross, which Clinton failed to get to, but the ball seemed to now be pumped upfield by the Palace players, rather than playing their recent passing game. Our strikers really need the ball on the ground, particularly against such a tall defence.

A concerted period of pressure should have led to the visitors third goal, but a combination of the post, denying Jonathan Macken, and a misdirected shot from Healy kept the status quo. Mikael then put a shot wide, and a cross to Clinton saw him once again failing to get to the ball. Tommy put in a cross that saw a first-time shot from Mikael hit the back of Michael Jackson and fly safely away from the danger area.

In end-to-end football chances at both ends were squandered, Mikael and Hayden Mullins being the chief offenders for us, whilst Macken wasted chances at the other end. A final chance fell to Clinton, and though his header appeared destined for the top corner a great reflex save from the keeper denied him a consolation goal.

Every move of the final 10 minutes seemed to be towards the visitors goal, but none of our players seemed capable of putting the ball in the back of the net. Just as worrying for the management is the fact that we are still conceding goals at an alarming rate. A lot of the supporters, and even the players, are calling for the reinstatement of Neil Ruddock in the heart of the defence, but one would assume that Alan will stick to his guns and not play Neil again in the first team. A shame really, particularly considering that Neil is the player that we at CPISA decided to sponsor this season, but one doubts that there is anything we can do about that situation. The management will certainly have its' work cut out getting the team up for the visit of Birmingham on Tuesday, but we will all be there again watching and "supporting". A Palace fan is nothing but not optimistic.

Colin Pryce

Crystal Palace: Alex Kolinko, Amir Karic, Matthew Upson, Dean Austin, Jamie Smith, Fan Zhiyi (Andrejs Rubins 45), Simon Rodger (Julian Gray 71), Tommy Black, Steve Thomson (Hayden Mullins 62), Clinton Morrison, Mikael Forssell.

Substitutes not used: Dougie Freedman, Ricardo Fuller.

Preston North End: Tepi Moilanen, Graham Alexander, Michael Jackson, Sean Gregan, Colin Murdock, Rob Edwards, Mark Rankine, Paul McKenna, Lee Cartwright, David Healy (Brian Barry-Murphy 89), Jonathan Macken.

Substitutes not used: David Lucas, Ryan Kidd, Bjarki Gunnlaugsson, Iain Anderson.

Attendance: 15,160

Referee: Mr R Jordan (Peterlee)