Preston North End - 1 (Fuller 68.)
Crystal Palace - 2 (Powell 69. Kabba 86.)

Crystal Palace went into this match as the outsiders, at least according to the bookies; and I suppose as we had not won away to Preston since the 1978/79 season, this was a reasonable call. As an offset to this Trevor Francis gave a run-on start to all four of our close season signings, though as things transpired the man of the match was, without a doubt, Matt Clarke.

Curtis Fleming was named as skipper, but it remains to be seen if he will hold that honour throughout the season, or if it gets passed on from time to time.

Preston kicked off the season, and in little time the ball was at the wrong end of the pitch, at least as far as the Palace fans were concerned, and Eric Skora put in a useful looking shot that Matt did well to tip away from the goal. The home side's first corner led immediately to another, and then Palace got the ball down the other end for a corner of their own.

A free kick to Palace saw Andy Johnson win the ball, and Aki Riihilahti really should have done better, his header being sent behind for another corner. Dougie Freedman managed to latch on to this chance, but his shot went agonisingly just wide of the upright. Tony Popovic did well to keep Richard Cresswell out, and then Danny Granville made a good run upfield, his cross failing to find Dougie.

A free kick to Preston relieved the danger at their end, but it came straight back, Tony trying to find AJ in the centre. Ex-Palace player Ricardo Fuller put in a good cross to Robert Edwards, but Hayden Mullins did well to keep him from making a clean shot. AJ then put a cross in at the other end that was bundled over for another corner, but this one was well dealt with by the Preston defence.

A free kick to Preston just outside the area was simply dealt with by Matt, but they came straight back, and Cresswell really should have done better with his chance, being unmarked only about 6 or 7 yards out. The first yellow card of the season was then brandished, the unfortunate recipient being Darren Powell for a tackle on Edwards. The resulting free kick was easily cut out by Tony, but a succession of free kicks to the home side started to look a little worrying. Danny Granville finally relieved the pressure, booting the ball way upfield.

Matt did well to snatch the ball from the feet of Fuller, and at the other end a good series of passes saw Tony with a shot that went just wide of the mark. Skora gave away a silly free kick with a tackle on Danny Butterfield, and shortly after Shaun Derry had to be alert to avert the danger from the advancing Skora. A corner to Preston was well taken by Matt, and though his clearance found Dougie in a bit of space Skora once again was guilty of a bad tackle, and this time he found a yellow card of his own.

The resulting free kick was put in well by Danny Butterfield, but Tony, although he managed to get his head to it, simply glanced the ball behind for a goal kick. A couple of dangerous moves for Preston were undone by poor shot selections, and then Fuller managed to run himself offside. A long ball up to AJ saw him return the favour of poor control, and Chris Lucketti snuffed out any further danger.

So, a long 45 minutes was prolonged by a further 5 minutes of injury time, and many Palace fans wish that had not been the case. Fuller got in a cross that was cut out by Tony, and though no-one seems to know exactly what happened AJ ended up, obviously in trouble, on the ground in the middle of the pitch. The game was stopped for quite a while, whilst various reports went round that the Preston doctor at one stage had to give the kiss of life to the player, and then he was placed in a neck brace and very slowly stretchered off the field. Tommy Black came on to replace him and without further ado the whistle went to signify the end of the first half proceedings.

The injury to Andy was officially listed as a neck injury, but to date there has been no further news on his condition. Let's all hope that it is not as bad as first seemed.

Palace kicked off the second half, but a very quick free kick to Preston once again saw Matt deal well with the situation. The clearance went to Tommy, and when he was clear on goal Skora deliberately pulled him back, and for his efforts he received his second yellow card of the match, which became an automatic red card, and he left the field with only two minutes of the second half elapsed.

The question now, of course, was could Palace turn their numerical advantage on the field to an advantage on the scoreboard? Many was the time last season that they could not.

A free kick to Palace saw Danny Granville aim the ball straight at Teuvo Moilanen in goal who made no mistake with a simple save. Fuller then beat the defence and a shot from Paul McKenna was deflected behind for a corner. Cresswell should have scored from the cross in, but the ball deflected away for a simple goal kick. A corner to Palace went straight to the keeper, and then Dougie and Curtis played a good one-two which resulted in Shaun totally messing up the chance to open the scoring.

A good, solid build-up by Palace saw Colin Murdock save the day for the home team, and at the other end a chance to Cresswell was well dealt with by Darren. Dougie then made a run into space, his cross finding Aki, but his shot sailed just too high to find the corner of the net. Dickson Etuhu came on for McKenna and Steve Kabba came on for Aki whilst Palace were lining up a free kick, which Danny Butterfield fired once again straight at the keeper.

Curtis then made a run into the goalmouth area, but was well cut out by the defence, before Dougie got his name in the book for a stupid foul that was never going to help the cause. Preston tried the long ball through to Fuller, and this time it met with success as he chipped the ball over the advancing keeper, and suddenly we were 1-0 down. It really was a great finish to a good run, but where, oh where, was the Palace defence?

To their credit though the Palace squad did not allow their heads to drop, and almost immediately Dougie won a corner. Danny Granville got the ball to Darren, and on his debut he simply tapped the ball home to bring the game back on level terms once more. Fuller then got free once more, and it was only the agility of Matt in goal that kept him out. Steve was kept out at the other end, and then Matt performed well once again to deny Cresswell. This was followed by a spectacular bicycle kick from Cresswell, but once again Matt was equal to the task.

Tommy saw the ball taken off his feet, and then the ball was at the other end for another corner to Preston. This time the header was directed goalwards by Chris Lucketti, but Matt once again tipped the ball to safety. The resulting corner was easily dealt with by Matt; the match really was becoming end to end stuff. Fuller then saw his shot sail past the post and a promising move by Palace was equally well dealt with by Moilanen. Edwards cleared the next danger for the home side but Shaun managed to get on the end of the ball, his shot sailing harmlessly over the top.

With only a few minutes left on the clock Hayden Mullins got a good cross in to Dougie, and though his shot was blocked it fell nicely for Steve who made no mistake hitting a first time rocket that flew into the back of the net, and suddenly we were ahead for the first time in the match. This was his first senior goal for the Club, and the understatement of all time would be to say that he celebrated his strike; he must have run almost to every corner of the pitch!

Cresswell then missed a totally open goal before Steve forced a corner at the other end. A free kick from this saw Dougie with a chance to really seal the match, but he missed the opportunity, and in the blink of an eye the ball was at the other end, being forced for a corner to the home side. The cross from the corner was well dealt with by the defence, and in the dying moments Palace made their last substitution, bringing Steve Thomson on for Dougie.

A last-ditch attempt by Preston saw a long shot well held by Matt, and he ended up holding the ball as the final whistle blew. We had come through our first encounter of the season with a hard fought win, and now we move on to home games against Bradford and Portsmouth. If we can only get a good showing from the lads for those games it could set us up nicely for the start of the season. Premiership - here we come!!

Colin Pryce

Preston North End: Teuvo Moilanen, Graham Alexander, Robert Edwards (Iain Anderson 89), Michael Jackson, Chris Lucketti, Colin Murdock, Paul McKenna (Dickson Etuhu 59), Eric Skora, Mark Rankine, Richard Cresswell, Ricardo Fuller (David Healy 88).

Substitutes not used: David Lucas, Marlon Broomes.

Crystal Palace: Matt Clarke, Curtis Fleming, Danny Granville, Tony Popovic, Darren Powell, Danny Butterfield, Shaun Derry, Hayden Mullins, Aki Riihilahti (Steve Kabba 61), Andy Johnson (Tommy Black 45), Dougie Freedman (Steve Thomson 90).

Substitutes not used: Dean Austin, Alex Kolinko.

Attendance: 14,663

Referee: Mr M Clattenburg (Co Durham)