Crystal Palace - 4 (Morrison 33. Kirovski 42. Riihilahti 79. Brown Own Goal 85.)
Wimbledon - 0

Despite the fact that we lost in the penalty shoot-out to Sheffield Wednesday during the week, we did go into this match boasting a run of 4 consecutive league wins. Of course Wimbledon also won well last match, so this game was billed as being the match that would test the mettle of the promotion capabilities of both sides. The bookies had both sides at 6/4 to win, so one could be forgiven for thinking that there would not be much between the two sides. Neil Shipperley and Andy Roberts were in the opposition lineup, and our usual concern with ex-players was to be heard all over the world, no matter where Palace supporters are to be found.

The first forward move of the match came from Patrick Agyemang, who cleverly set up Shipperley, but Neil was called back for a foul just before he got through. Clinton Morrison then put through a neat ball for Jovan Kirovski to chase, but unfortunately he was just not quick enough. Roberts was then booked for a nasty foul on Julian Gray, but the free kick taken by Jovan was well dealt with by the Dons defence. A good ball then came from Tony Popovic, but Clinton and Jamie Smith both left it for each other and the ball duly ran out of play.

Palace then cleared a Shipperley chance before Roberts tried a shot that flew over the bar. Agyemang then went on a run that saw him evade two defenders before he was finally stopped in his tracks. Clinton put in a cross that just eluded Dougie Freedman, the ball somehow ending up in the hands of Kelvin Davis. During this period the ball seemed to be making its' way from one end of the ground to the other, but neither side seemed to have the killer touch to really spark this game into life.

Shipperley came close again, then a corner, won by Julian, made Wimbledon wince when the ball finally fell to Aki Riihilahti, his rocket like volley hitting the bar and bouncing safely away. Jamie then made a good break down the right side of the pitch, crossing the ball into the centre where Dougie just failed to connect.

Jamie then won a corner when his cross was deflected behind the goal by the defence. It was well cleared, and Kevin Cooper nearly managed to get free.

The next corner to Palace was well kept out by Davis in the Wimbledon goal, then Julian made yet another good run down the left before his cross eluded everyone in the area. A good testing drive from Agyemang was well cleared by the Palace defenders. Jovan then got on the end of a good through ball, and he hit his cross sweetly to Clinton who was advancing on goal. Hitting the ball without changing stride Clinton was able, for once, to elude his marker for the merest of moments, and the ball was suddenly buried in the back of the net. We were 1-0 up, and most at the ground were not really sure where the goal had come from.

Shipperley tried very hard to level the scores almost immediately afterwards, his attempt at a chip over Matt Clarke's head just wide of the desired result. It was not to be long though before the next goal arrived, it was just surprising that it was once again to the home side. It was brought about by a very strong run from Dougie from which he unleashed a great cross into the area.

This time Clinton was alert enough to realise that he had little chance of making the strike, and so he cleverly played over the ball allowing it to fall directly into the path of Jovan. His shot at goal, taken once again in full stride, sailed into the back of the net even though the keeper was still good enough to get a hand to the ball on its' way there. 2-0 up, and we were certainly starting to enjoy the ride.

A corner to Palace was headed wide by Tony and a long-range effort from Michael Hughes went so wide there was room for another set of goal posts. The referee added on two minutes of extra time to be played, presumably for the two goals that we had scored, because there had been precious little real injury time. A good run by Aki brought Dougie into the play. His cross just missed Clinton, who was looking to get his second, and our third, before the break.

Finally the referee put Wimbledon out of their misery by blowing his whistle, and the sides trooped off, and in at least our case we certainly deserved our short drinks break. One can only assume that the Dons management would have been less than happy with the fact that they were 2 down, when just a little more effort could well have seen the situation reversed.

Immediately following the break Dean Austin was introduced into the side in place of Steve Vickers. One can only hope he is not injured, though I suppose we must get used to not having Steve in the side, for his loan period should be all but up by now. A good run by Jovan played Simon Rodger in, and his shot went just wide of the post with the keeper appearing flat-footed. A long ball was sent in Agyemang's direction, but it was far too hard for him to reach.

A free kick to the Dons saw a mad scramble in our penalty area before the danger was cleared, the ball going out for a corner. A long shot from Jermaine Darlington went wide once again, and we immediately made our second substitution, bringing Steve Thomson on for Simon. A snap at goal by Cooper nearly caught us unawares, but Matt was awake to the situation, and he kept our lead intact. Jovan then managed to get a shot on goal, but hitting from 25 yards out the shot was always going to go wide.

Dougie then made a great run, but his cross was to a totally empty penalty area, and provided no panic in the Wimbledon camp. Shipperley then tried a chip over the keeper at the other end, but Matt was able to get back in time to save any embarrassment in the Palace sheds. Tony then took a free kick that Dougie got on the end of, his header going just wide once more before Cooper did well on the ball before messing up his shot at the last moment. This led to a good link up between Agyemang and Darlington, but their good work came unstuck at the end of the move, the important part when you are looking to score.

Agyemang was then replaced by Paul Robinson, let's hope this is not another of those inspired changes such as Tony Crane of Sheffield Wednesday during the week. Tony Popovic cleared the lines from a Joel McAnuff cross, and once again just as we mention someone they get replaced, Joel going off for Par Karlsson. Dougie then tried to set up Clinton once more, but when this did not work he almost managed to get on the end of his own pass; the keeper just beating him to the ball.

Aki then ran on to the ball, and from fully 25 yards out he struck the ball so sweetly that it sailed into the top right hand corner of the net before anyone could even blink. If only one goal can be nominated for goal of the season this one will certainly take some beating. The keeper did not even manage to get a hand to the ball, and it ensured that Palace would take all three points from the game.

Cooper then had a good attempt tipped over the bar by the ever vigilant Matt Clarke, and the 20,000+ predominantly Palace crowd started to hope that we might keep a clean sheet, and thus improve our already impressive goal difference. Dougie was replaced, as often seems the case these days, near the end of the match by David Hopkin, and almost immediately we won another corner. By now we had lost count of how many corners we had received for the afternoon.

Jovan sent in a cross, and amazingly we scored another goal, this time from a superb header by Wayne Brown. Unfortunately, for him, it was at the wrong end of the pitch, but it was a beautiful strike just the same.

Clinton tried to put the ball over the head of the advancing keeper, but this time the ball went just over the top, and in the final two minutes of injury time Shipperley once again hit the bar to remind us that he is still a force to be reckoned with. When one considers the goals he scored for us there is no reason to suppose that he is not capable of scoring them against us too. He certainly has before today.

The final whistle sounded, we had won both halves 2-0, giving us an aggregate of 4-0, and we would have all happily settled for this result anytime it was on offer. Steve Bruce will be well pleased with this performance, and it will be a pleasure to read his notes in the next matchday programme, which will be on Tuesday night for the fixture against Bradford City. Hopefully we can keep the run going then.

Colin Pryce

Crystal Palace: Matt Clarke, Steve Vickers (Dean Austin 45), Tony Popovic, Hayden Mullins, Jamie Smith, Aki Riihilahti, Simon Rodger (Steve Thomson 58), Julian Gray, Jovan Kirovski, Clinton Morrison, Dougie Freedman (David Hopkin 82).

Substitutes not used: Alex Kolinko, Tommy Black.

Wimbledon: Kelvin Davis, Darren Holloway, Kenny Cunningham, Wayne Brown, Jermaine Darlington, Joel McAnuff (Par Karlsson 74), Andy Roberts, Michael Hughes, Kevin Cooper, Neil Shipperley, Patrick Agyemang (Paul Robinson 70).

Substitutes not used: Paul Heald, Peter Hawkins, Rob Gier.

Attendance: 20,009

Referee: Mr N Barry (Scunthorpe)