Crystal Palace - 0
Nottingham Forest - 0
Palace kicked off, the first free kick falling to Forest, the attempt being cleared by the home defence. A good build up by Palace finally saw an attempt on goal by Steve Thomson, his shot being deflected behind for a corner. The set piece was wasted as there was a foul on David Johnson, and Forest were able to relieve the pressure. Dele Adebola then set up Hayden Mullins for a shot; but Steve got in the way and the ball was deflected to safety, at least from the Forest point of view.
Julian Gray then did well to dispossess Jack Lester, and as the ball floated up the other end it was Dele who got a shot on goal, the attempt being deflected behind for Palace's second corner. Darren Ward managed to get to the ball first and punch it away, and then Marlon Harewood got clear on goal, but as he delayed his shot Darren Powell got a crucial tackle in to rob him of the ball. A ball to Johnson (David) resulted in a foul on Tony Popovic to break down the momentum of the next Forest attacking raid.
Nik Michopoulos sent the ball forward, and it was Andy Johnson who managed to get on the end of it, his shot being punched away by the keeper. A cross into the centre of the Palace area was well held by Nik, and a mistake by Steve at the other end allowed D Johnson a blast at goal, his shot going well over the top, and wide. A free kick to Palace saw the ball sail goalwards from Danny Butterfield's kick, and though the keeper got a touch to it he was unable to hang on, and the ball went behind for another corner.
The ball came in, and though Tony was the first to it, his header going behind for a goal kick. Palace then forced another corner as the defence seemed to panic, and as the cross came in the best the attack could do with it was to force yet another corner. That one was duly cleared, but as it was the League's top scorer, David Johnson, went off the field obviously in some discomfort. Harewood then won Forest's first corner, and though that was wasted Forest did finally take the opportunity to replace Johnson with Eoin Jess.
A free kick to Palace on the edge of the penalty area saw Julian's attempt to get the ball over the wall only succeed in going over the top of the bar. Dele then got a strike on goal, but this time the keeper was alert enough to stop the ball, and though the ball rebounded Danny B was unable to capitalise, though he did win a corner kick.
The ball was sent in, but the keeper once again pushed the ball out, and as it raced up the other end a free kick was awarded to Forest in a dangerous position. The ball was fired towards the top corner of the goal, but Nik sailed through the air, and tipped it round the corner of the bar, conceding the corner but not the goal. The kick in from the corner was well cut out once again by Nik, stealing the ball off the head of the attacking Riccardo Scimeca.
A little of that inevitable end-to-end play then ensued, but Palace had obviously had the better of things in the first stanza of play; unfortunately though the goal did not come.
David Prutton did have time before the break though to fire a shot over the bar and Harewood managed to get caught offside. Lester took a tumble in the penalty area, but all he got for his troubles was a yellow card from the referee for "unsporting behaviour". Without further ado the half came to a close, and really Palace should have gone in a goal ahead in the match.
Forest kicked off the second half and Darren had to be on his toes to get the ball away from our danger area. Shaun Derry got a shot on goal at the other end, but his attempt sailed well over the bar. A cross in at the wrong end for the Palace faithful saw Prutton and Harewood both being caught offside. Jess managed to get the ball into the back of the net, but once again the offside flag was up, much to the relief of the home crowd
Finally Forest managed to avoid the offside trap, having been caught a number of times, but as Harewood bore down on goal Nik got down and parried the ball away. Surely Jess should have buried the rebound, but Nik was up in a flash, and somehow miraculously pulled off yet another fine save. Those two saves alone should have earned him the man of the match award. Tony then forced the ball behind for a corner, unfortunately at his own end of the pitch, though that was preferable to where the ball was headed, and the danger was cleared.
Good play by the Palace midfield saw the ball come through to Dele, and his cross in to the goalmouth found Shaun, his shot going behind for a goal kick. Kit Symons came on for Steve as Danny B forced another corner for Palace. A free kick to Palace was wasted once again, and Forest forced a corner at the other end, Prutton managing to head the ball well wide of the mark.
Steve Kabba, who had returned in midweek from Grimsby following the injury to Dougie Freedman, came into the play in place of Dele, and he immediately started to cause problems for the Forest defence. Perhaps he was just a little quicker, being fresh onto the pitch. Once again Harewood was caught offside, and Julian went down injured, immediately being replaced by Aki Riihilahti. Danny G got a yellow card for a late tackle on Harewood, but the resulting free kick was placed wide by Prutton.
Steve did well to get the ball through to Hayden, but his shot went sailing over the bar. Another corner to Palace was wasted, and then Ward did well to take the ball from the feet of Steve as it looked as if he might claim a late winner. A couple of late corners to Palace saw a good chance go astray by Tony, his header going just wide of the post, and even though three minutes were added on there was little further action, and the game came to halt, still locked at 0-0.
So, Palace surrendered their run of consecutive wins, but maintained their unbeaten run, which now stands at 11 matches in all competitions. A stern test will come next weekend when we travel to Carrow Road to face Norwich City. Can Palace get back to winning ways there?
Colin Pryce
Crystal Palace: Nikolaos Michopoulos, Danny Butterfield, Danny Granville, Tony Popovic, Darren Powell, Shaun Derry, Julian Gray (Aki Riihilahti 72), Hayden Mullins, Steve Thomson (Kit Symons 58), Dele Adebola (Steve Kabba 65), Andy Johnson.
Substitutes not used: Tommy Black, Alex Kolinko.
Nottingham Forest: Darren Ward, Jim Brennan, Michael Dawson, Mathieu Louis-John, Des Walker, Jack Lester, David Prutton, Riccardo Scimeca, Gareth Williams, Marlon Harewood, David Johnson (Eoin Jess 31).
Substitutes not used: Barry Roche, Christopher Doig, John Olav Hjelde, Craig Westcarr.
Attendance: 18,971
Referee: Mr C Wilkes (Gloucestershire)