Crewe Alexandra - 0
Crystal Palace - 0

With our failure to score for the second game in a row, we now find ourselves six points adrift of the play-off zone, with only a maximum six points available to us. We could be mathematically out of contention as early as Wednesday, when Birmingham play their final outstanding game, coincidentally against our opponents of today, Crewe Alexandra. This may be just as well, as the team may then start to play a little better than they did today, once the "pressure" is off. Let's hope so, anyway. Today's game, by the way, firmly entrenched Crewe in a relegation battle, which hopefully, based on their effort during this game, they will be able to stave off to fight once again in Division One.

Palace played attractive football for the first few minutes of the game, passing the ball around, and generally maintaining possession. Crewe very quickly forced a corner though, conceded by Dean Austin, but the corner kick fell to Efetobore Sodje whose effort hit the post, and the follow up was blasted over the bar. An early scare then for Palace, but with a little luck we survived the moment, and play went on.

Kenny Lunt then gave away a corner at the other end, but a short ball to Clinton Morrison was easily dealt with by Ademole Bankole in the Crewe goal. Ade Akinbiyi was the next to take the ball forward for Palace, his cross finding Aki Riihilahti, who fired a great shot through to Clinton, who found himself, not for the first time this season, offside.

Another corner to Crewe only resulted in a very poor shot by Dean Ashton, and this was immediately followed by a clearance finding Dougie Freedman, but the keeper was once again equal to the task. A good chip into the area by Dean found Clinton in a good position to score, but unfortunately he totally missed the ball, and the opportunity once again went to waste. Ashton then fired in a long-range shot that went well wide of the mark, before finally Palace forced another corner.

Julian Gray took the corner. The ball was played to Aki, and though his cross found Clinton the shot from our usually prolific striker went sailing wide of the goalpost, causing no concern whatsoever to the Crewe custodian. Rob Hulse then played Rodney Jack in well, but Alex Kolinko was awake to the move, and cleverly cut out any danger, but then Ashton got back into the action, once again firing the ball over the top of the crossbar. Jack then also fired wide, and though the chances were not exactly causing the Palace team major concerns, they were certainly worrying enough for the few Palace faithful that were at the ground.

A corner to Crewe saw Alex outjump Hulse, but the resulting corner went wide of our keeper, but also fortunately wide of the post. Hayden Mullins then tackled well to avert another Crewe buildup, then an early substitution came from Palace, with Simon Rodger coming on for Steve Thomson. Steve was hurt earlier in the game, let's hope that he is alright for the remainder of the season.

Curtis Fleming was then caught offside before a free kick to Crewe almost resulted in a goal, with Jack firing in a shot that went just over the top. Julian then took a corner for Palace, but the keeper snatched the ball away before any danger even looked like approaching the home side's goal.

The next corner, which also went to Palace, saw Julian fire in a cross that Ade managed to get his head to, but the chance hit the bar and bounced away to safety. Hulse then fired a shot over the top before Ashton headed the ball goalwards, Alex pulling off a great save to once again save the day.

And so the halftime whistle sounded, and though neither side deserved to be ahead on the scoresheet, Crewe had certainly had the better of the exchanges, and it was obvious that Trevor Francis would be less than pleased with the team's efforts so far. A reflection of this was very evident at the start of the second half, when an immediate substitution was made by the Palace manager with Tommy Black coming on for Clinton.

The first shot of the second half came from Kenny Lunt, but it was wayward, and Alex simply had to watch the ball sail over the bar to safety. Dougie then made some ground for himself, his shot being deflected behind for a corner, but once again the keeper dealt simply and easily with the cross that came in, this time from Tommy. A corner to Crewe followed, and once again Alex had to be alert to stop the ball from a Sodje header before Dave Walton hit the ball wide of the goalpost.

A free kick to Palace saw Danny Granville float the ball in to Ade, but his effort was cleared off the line by Lunt, and then Dougie fired a shot wide of the post. A cross in from David Wright was well dealt with by Alex who set Tommy free up the centre, but his final touch let him down, the keeper easily saving the attempt on goal. Simon then played a good ball in to Ade, his header going wide of the post, but inevitably the ball ended up at the other end of the park, and once again Alex had to save the day.

Crewe forced another corner, but the cross in from Shaun Smith sailed over the top of everyone in the goalmouth, and bounced safely away from the danger area. Jack then fired a shot into the side netting, often spectacular looking, but never a goal, and we all breathed a little easier after our moment of disquiet. Danny then put the ball forward for Dougie, the keeper advanced, and Dougie tried to lob the ball over his head. Unfortunately the ball also lobbed over the top of the bar, and the opportunity was lost once again.

A free kick to Crewe went safely, and easily, to Alex in goal, and his clearance saw Dougie play Tommy in well. Just as he was about to shoot the dreaded decision of offside once again went against us, and this time it was the Crewe supporters that breathed a sigh of relief. Crewe used this time to make a couple of substitutions, Steve Foster and David Vaughan coming on for Sodje and Gareth Whalley. About seven minutes remained on the clock for either team to stamp their authority on the match, but neither side seemed capable of doing so.

A series of corners to Crewe were scrambled away by the Palace defence before Neil Sorvel fired a shot wide of the mark once again. Ade was then fouled on the edge of the area, which earnt Walton a yellow card and us a free kick. The effort, taken by Danny was deflected behind for a corner, and as we substituted Tommy to bring on Andrew Frampton the 4th official signified two minutes of added on time. Still enough time for either side to break the deadlock.

The corner was played out to Dean, but once again the keeper was equal to the task, and as the final whistle was blown Aki was still trying to get a shot on goal, but it was never going to be enough to worry the keeper at the other end.

So, a disappointing afternoon for Palace, and presumably for the TV audience that once again witnessed a 0-0 draw for their televised feast. Trevor stated after the match that he was not impressed with the performance, and that he expects better performances from the team for the final two matches of the season. Let's hope he gets his wish, as it also ties in neatly with the wishes of the fans, wins galore for Palace!

Colin Pryce

Crewe Alexandra: Ademole Bankole, Shaun Smith, Efetobore Sodje (Steven Foster 83), Dave Walton, David Wright, Kenny Lunt, Neil Sorvel, Gareth Whalley (Dave Vaughan 83), Dean Ashton, Rob Hulse, Rodney Jack.

Substitutes not used: Clayton Ince, Wayne Collins, Steve Jones.

Crystal Palace: Alex Kolinko, Dean Austin, Curtis Fleming, Danny Granville, Hayden Mullins, Julian Gray, Aki Riihilahti, Steve Thomson (Simon Rodger 36), Ade Akinbiyi, Dougie Freedman, Clinton Morrison (Tommy Black 45, Andrew Frampton 90).

Substitutes not used: Cedric Carasso, Andrejs Rubins.

Attendance: 6,724

Referee: Mr B Knight (Orpington)