Sheffield Wednesday - 2 (Westwood 68. Crane 114.)
Crystal Palace - 2 (Rodger 11. Riihilahti 105.)
Very little seemed to happen in the first 10 minutes or so of the match, and just as everyone was starting to think that it might be a long haul a goal came out of nowhere. An innocuous looking free kick was awarded to the visitors, Simon Rodger stepped up to take it, and the ball eluded everyone, including keeper Kevin Pressman to put us suddenly 1-0 up.
A cross from Jovan Kirovski shortly after this saw the keeper fumble the ball, and it looked for all money that Palace might well have a field day if this kept up. Clinton Morrison then got through on goal, but was pulled back for an infringement in the area. Tony Popovic was then called on to mop up at the back following a rare raid by Wednesday before Jovan got a long range shot on goal that was deflected for a corner. Julian Gray managed to get on the end of that cross, but the defence was equal to the task, getting the ball away to safety once more. Aki Riihilahti then tried his luck with a shot that went straight to the keeper; it was definitely Palace that was making the most of the chances on goal.
Steve Vickers then cleared a chance from Michele Di Piedi before Julian set off on yet another run down the left. His cross into the middle was cleverly left by Clinton for Jovan, but he wasted a golden opportunity to increase the lead. The next move saw Clinton hitting the side netting when he really should have done better, and by now most of the travelling Palace contingent felt we should have been up by three goals.
Derek Geary was then responsible for a poor piece of football, seeming to tread on the ball when he was clear through on goal; a timely reminder to a generous Palace side that this game was not over yet. Julian almost beat Pressman to a pass that was sent back for the keeper, causing him to rush his clearance; but the next shot from Simon deflected for a corner, when it could so easily have gone into the back of the net. Clinton then tried a shot, but despite the fact that he totally missed the ball it showed the confidence of the man, and the team, in their own abilities. Surely we should score again soon?
Somehow Alan Quinn managed to get through on goal, and though 25 yards out he hit a scorcher of a shot. Matt Clarke saw the ball late, but he managed to get down to the ball at the last moment, and indeed hang on to it at the second attempt. At the other end a cross from Dougie Freedman just failed to find Clinton, who was still showing great flair in front of goal, but the half time break arrived without further ado, and the players traipsed off for a well-deserved break.
At the start of the second half Clinton hit the bar with a shot that looked destined for the back of the net. Had it gone in it would surely have broken the back of this Wednesday team. Despite two corners for the home side it was Dougie that missed the next real attempt on goal, his shot going well over the bar when once again it looked as though he would be certain to score.
Di Piedi and Hayden Mullins, once again playing as our skipper, managed to get themselves booked following an altercation before a shot from Owen Morrison went wide of the mark at our end of the pitch. Aki then put in a good cross that once again foiled the home keeper, but the ball went out for yet another corner to Palace, that once again was wasted.
Matt then saved Palace's blushes when the attack was clear through on goal. His save really was most timely and it was clear that we would have to watch the opposition very carefully. Jamie Smith put in a good cross that Julian failed to meet at the back post and the ball seemed to run from end to end for a while before finally Wednesday forced a corner. The defence somehow managed to totally mess up the clearance, and after bobbling around for a while in the area the ball finally fell over the line for an undeserved equaliser, the credit finally going to Ashley Westwood.
A double attempt at the other end saw firstly Steve Vickers, then Tony denied our second goal, and then Clinton got a cross into Jovan that he really should have done better with, somehow sidefooting the ball just wide of the mark. Dougie managed to get round a number of players before finally being dispossessed when he tried to take on one too many. His reward was to be replaced by Tommy Black, somehow he always seems to be replaced just as he starts to look a real threat in matches these days, or just after he has scored. An injury to Jamie saw him also replaced, this time by Dean Austin. Clinton managed to run himself offside before Wednesday attacked again; this time our defence was up to the task, the effort coming to naught. Tony Crane came on for Pablo Bonvin before the home side wasted a free kick and Palace forced a corner with Westwood heading behind when there was little danger from the Palace attack.
Another good stop by Matt in goal, though this time of course it was to keep us in the match rather than to preserve our lead, and things were starting to really hot up at both ends. Both sides appeared, somewhat obviously, frightened of making a mistake, for this would surely gift the game to the other side at this late stage of play.
A corner at the end of normal time saw Jovan head the ball over the bar. A bit more height would have seen him head the ball down instead of up. Perhaps if Steve had been there instead it would all have been a different story, but that is rather like wishing we had played next week instead of this week. A good chance at the other end saw Crane just unable to meet a swirling cross which would surely have settled the game just as easily as the chance moments before at our end of the field, and finally a chance once again to the home side was well tipped around the corner of the goal by Matt to save the day at the last moment of scheduled play.
So, it was off to extra time we progressed.
Wednesday were now looking the far more likely side to score, and it was left to Matt to once again make a great save, this time from Owen Morrison, to keep us in the game once more. Hayden then cleared a chance for the home side and Matt once again saved, as the Owls put in a great period of sustained pressure. During this spell Palace made their final substitution of the game, bringing David Hopkin on for Simon Rodger in midfield.
Tommy Black headed off for a rare foray into the opposition territory, but he was well closed down by the defence before Dean repeated the same treatment to the Wednesday attack at the other end of the park. A corner to the home side was just missed, by not only the attackers but by the defenders as well, and we lived to fight on. Crane sent a shot wide of the mark before suddenly the ball was up the other end. Jovan tried a shot on goal, and though Pressman managed to beat the ball out Aki was on hand to simply tap the ball into the back of the net and finally give us the lead back.
This, of course, happened right on the time for the break; the end of the first half of the additional thirty minutes required. Could we now, perhaps, hang on? Could we, in fact, score another, to finally silence a Wednesday side that had shown more grit this time round than they did 10 days ago at Selhurst Park? Of course not! Palace have never managed to do anything the easy way, and they were not about to start doing so tonight. It wouldn't be Palace if that happened.
A free kick to the home side saw Dean manage a rushed clearance, but at least the danger was averted. Tommy then had a glorious chance to finalise things, but somehow he managed to head the ball across the face of goal when he could so easily have just buried it in the back of the net. That would surely have sealed things for the night.
The ref turned down an appeal for a penalty from a handball, but considering our later luck with penalties it probably made little difference. Aki was then injured, and whilst he was receiving treatment the unimaginable happened, with Crane stealing in at the back post and putting a simple tap into the back of the net, when really there looked as if there was little danger. Suddenly things were all square once again, and time was rapidly running out.
A corner at each end, a long range shot from Jovan, and a good save from Matt brought an end to the proceedings, and for the second cup game in a row we were in for a penalty shoot-out.
After an interminable delay getting the end of the pitch and the order of the players sorted out, the shoot-out finally commenced. Owen Morrison took the first one, and it was 1-0 to Wednesday. Dean Austin stepped up, and somehow managed to miss the mark and leave Pressman with no work to do, and the scoreline of 1-0 remained. Steven Haslam made it 2-0 before Hayden Mullins pulled one back for a 2-1 scoreline. Matt Clarke saved a shot from Alan Quinn, leaving Tony Popovic the chance to level things up. His shot was somehow saved by an athletic Pressman, so it remained 2-1. Tony Crane made it 3-1 before Pressman miraculously saved once again, this time from a Jovan Kirovski effort, and suddenly it was all over without the final shots being required. Palace had gone down in the penalty shoot-out, and the fans were left with a long journey home with little to show for their efforts in travelling so far.
Of course, as time goes by, we will see this as a blessing in disguise. Many pundits will tell you that it is good to be out of this competition, and with a League place to worry about, and a 5th place or better to maintain perhaps they will be proved to be right. But it is always a worry to Palace fans to get beaten on any occasion, and we will all now have to wait for a win against Wimbledon on Saturday to once again lift our spirits.
Steve Bruce, meanwhile, will have to look for ways to stop the side going to sleep once they hit the front, particularly in games where they are the favoured side to win.
Colin Pryce
Sheffield Wednesday: Kevin Pressman, Leigh Bromby, Derek Geary, Ashley Westwood, Danny Maddix, Alan Quinn, Steven Haslam, Trond-Egil Soltvedt, Owen Morrison, Pablo Facundo Bonvin (Tony Crane 81), Michele Di Piedi.
Substitutes not used: Chris Stringer, Paul McLaren, Matthew Hamshaw, Simon Donnelly.
Crystal Palace: Matt Clarke, Jamie Smith (Dean Austin 76), Simon Rodger (David Hopkin 99), Tony Popovic, Steve Vickers, Hayden Mullins, Aki Riihilahti, Julian Gray, Jovan Kirovski Dougie Freedman (Tommy Black 73), Clinton Morrison.
Substitutes not used: Alex Kolinko, Steve Thomson.
Attendance: 8,796
Referee: Mr M Jones (Chester)