Crystal Palace - 0
Charlton Athletic - 1 (Rommedahl 90.)

Palace went into this match, needing to pick up points to put a bit of breathing distance between themselves and the relegation positions, but of course it was not to be. Many will moan about the decisions that did not go our way, but we really must learn to put the ball into the back of the net, and let the rest take care of itself. Our position is not yet critical, but a win against Blackburn now looms as a real six-pointer.

This match got underway, and the first action saw a foul by Luke Young on Andy Johnson, with Michael Hughes taking the free kick. Palace finally forced a corner that was sent in by Wayne Routledge, but the attack failed to connect with the ball, relieving the pressure on the Charlton goalmouth. Danny Murphy tried a shot that was well saved by Gabor Kiraly, and following a foul on AJ by Jonathan Fortune it was Ben Watson who fired in the ball and AJ saw his shot well stopped by Dean Kiely.

Jerome Thomas tried his luck, Gabor again rising to the occasion, and then Jonatan Johansson saw his shot suffer the same fate, but shortly after Johansson had to be replaced, Dennis Rommedahl taking his place. Radostin Kishishev had a shot that went well wide of the upright, and Matthew Holland saw his shot go the same way. Joonas Kolkka got a good cross in that was cut out by the defence, and then Hermann Hreidarsson made a good clearance as Palace pushed forward once more.

Murphy was then booked for dissent before Rommedahl sent his shot wide once again. A corner to our visitors was cleared by the Palace defence, and then Shaun Bartlett handled the ball, the free kick going nowhere, much to the anguish of the Palace supporters.

Joonas sent in another cross that Aki Riihilahti met, his header hitting the woodwork, and Kishishev was booked by the referee, again for backchatting the official. Another corner to Palace saw the Charlton defence clear the ball, and then Ben was booked for unsporting behaviour.

Jerome Thomas saw his shot saved by our keeper, the resulting corner again being cleared by the Palace defenders, who were back in numbers, and before we knew where we were the first half had come to an end.

Iain Dowie would have been pleased that we had not conceded so far, but he would have been urging the players on in the second half to go out and get that elusive goal, for it was certainly starting to look as if a single goal might be enough to settle this contest, once and for all.

The second half started somewhat slowly, with neither side seeming to gain the advantage before Bartlett sent in a cross that was well cut out by Gabor. Tony Popovic tried a shot that sailed over the crossbar, whilst at the other end Murphy saw his shot blocked by Fitz Hall. Talal El Karkouri then fouled AJ, and the referee had little hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot. AJ stepped up to take the kick, but his attempt was well blocked by Dean Kiely in the Charlton goal. The fact that he was well on the move and off his line really meant that the kick should have been taken again, but the officials missed it, and we were left simply to rue the day.

Murphy tried another shot that was saved by Gabor, and Joonas tried at the other end, only to see Kiely pluck the ball out of the air. Another corner to Palace was cleared by Thomas before Rommedahl saw his shot saved once again by our keeper. Bartlett was caught offside, and Palace decided it was time to make a change, replacing Joonas with Vassilios Lakis. Charlton took advantage of the break to make another change of their own, with Francis Jeffers replacing Bartlett, and there was only about fifteen minutes left for either side to make that telling blow.

There was little action for a while until Fortune was caught offside, and then AJ had a shot well saved by the keeper and Aki was booked for a foul on Thomas. Aki was almost immediately replaced by Dougie Freedman before a corner to Palace was well cut out by the Charlton keeper.

Two minutes of time was added on, and believe it or believe it not, in the third minute of that added on time Rommedahl latched on to the ball and powered it into the back of the net, despite a despairing dive by Gabor. Charlton had "pinched" the three points, and though we now bemoan the fact that the whistle did not go earlier, had we scored we would hardly have been complaining!

Roll on Blackburn; we are ready for you.

Colin Pryce

Crystal Palace: Gabor Kiraly, Emmerson Boyce, Danny Granville, Fitz Hall, Tony Popovic, Michael Hughes, Aki Riihilahti (Dougie Freedman 86), Wayne Routledge, Ben Watson, Andrew Johnson, Joonas Kolkka (Vassilios Lakis 76).

Substitutes not used: Julian Speroni, Wayne Andrews, Mikele Leigertwood.

Charlton Athletic: Dean Kiely, Talal El Karkouri, Jonathan Fortune, Hermann Hreidarsson, Luke Young, Matthew Holland, Jonatan Johansson (Dennis Rommedahl 19), Radostin Kishishev, Danny Murphy, Shaun Bartlett (Francis Jeffers 77), Jerome Thomas.

Substitutes not used: Stephan Andersen, Paul Konchesky, Jason Euell.

Attendance: 20,705

Referee: Mr M Messias