Burnley - 1 (Cook 13.)
Crystal Palace - 2 (Forssell 75. Morrison 90.)

Meeting Burnley could become habitual - this is the 4th meeting between the two sides this season. I guess we were lucky that we did not meet them in the FA Cup! This result certainly gave Palace the edge over the four games, as though it worked out as one win each and two draws Palace had the advantage of the away goals rule in the Cup matches and progressed to an eventual semi-final showdown with Liverpool. Burnley though have done fairly well with their season following their promotion from the Second Division last term and they currently hold down 10th position in the League, still some 6 points ahead of Palace.

The match kicked off in wet and windy conditions, which had a profound effect on the whole of the game, making it difficult for either side to control the ball. The early minutes of the game saw Mikael Forssell and Clinton Morrison miss opportunities to open the scoring, with firstly Mikael failing to find the net and Clinton then not only missing but failing to pass to Mikael when he was in a position where he couldn't fail to score. Palace were to regret this apparent flamboyance when Glen Little made a good run down the right before crossing for Paul Cook who ran smartly on to the ball and fired it past Matthew Gregg in the visitors goal. Clinton then tried again, but Nik Michopoulos, who was certainly Burnley's man of the match, managed to get a foot to the ball, keeping the home side in the lead. Jamie Pollock then had the ball kicked away from his feet in front of goal before Mikael saw his shot turned around the corner by an athletic dive from the keeper.

This was followed by an incident that almost put paid to Palace's chances. A corner to the home side seemed to swirl in the breeze before falling neatly for Ian Cox to head the ball goalwards bound. The only thing that stopped it going over the line was the presence of Andy Payton, who got in the way of the ball and it bounced harmlessly away to safety.

This brought a close to the first half action, and though Palace had certainly had the better of the exchanges Burnley were ahead on the scoreboard.

The second half saw Burnley holding their own, and starting to appear capable of holding on to their solitary goal lead, until Alan Smith made a double substitution, bringing on Tommy Black and a very impressive Julian Gray. If Julian does not start the match next week there is no justice in this world!

Shortly after this Payton made a good run on goal, his shot being beaten down by an alert Matthew in goal. The rebound though flew to Ian Moore, but his hastily taken shot hit the underside of the bar and fell simply into the keeper's waiting arms.

The clearance from a very grateful keeper immediately flew to the other end of the pitch, with Julian being the instrumental presence in the side. His cross picked out Mikael just 6 yards from the goal line, and being totally unmarked he simply slotted the ball home to even up the score.

The match could have been finished much earlier than was eventually the case with Julian taking too long about his shot, and soon after Mikael sending his shot wide of the mark. As it was the match meandered on, and with three minutes added on for injury time it appeared as though we would have to settle for a solitary point. With practically the last move of the match it was once again Julian that hit a stinging shot at the keeper, which he failed to hold. Clinton, as usual always lurking close by, pounced on the ball and ensured that the few visiting supporters went home the happiest.

Burnley fans will be starting to get concerned over the number of matches that have got away from them lately, but as Alan said "They are young…they have no fear… and I am proud of them." So are all of us, Alan, so are all of us.

Next week's fixture see us host Norwich City. This match always holds a special place in my heart, as it was Norwich City that we met in 1956 at Selhurst Park that was the first match I ever saw, the result being a 2-0 win with Peter Berry and George Cooper scoring. Though the same players will obviously not score a repeat of that scoreline, with perhaps Mikael and Dougie (Clinton is suspended for the match) providing the honours would be very welcome at this stage of the season.

Colin Pryce

Burnley: Nik Michopoulos, Paul Weller (Brad Maylett 75), Graham Branch, Steve Davis, Ian Cox, Glen Little, Paul Cook (Paul Smith 46), Lenny Johnrose, Micky Mellon, Andy Payton (John Mullin 80), Ian Moore.

Substitutes not used: Paul Crichton, Gordon Armstrong.

Crystal Palace: Matthew Gregg, Dean Austin, Jamie Smith, Craig Harrison, Simon Rodger, Andrejs Rubins (Julian Gray 68), Jamie Pollock (Steven Thomson 75), Andrew Frampton (Tommy Black 68), Hayden Mullins, Clinton Morrison, Mikael Forssell.

Substitutes not used: Dougie Freedman, Wayne Carlisle.

Attendance: 14,973

Referee: Mr W C Burns (Scarborough)