Crystal Palace - 3 (Shipperley 52. Butterfield 64. Johnson 87.)
Sunderland - 2 (Stewart 51. Kyle 85.)
Andy Johnson did well to control the ball, but a series of passes back through the field saw the ball eventually played to Nico Vaesen, who needed to start the move off all over again. Kyle got a shot in that went well wide of the posts, and as Oster came forward once more Danny B made a great tackle to stop him in his tracks. Tony Popovic was forced to concede a corner as Gary Breen fired a free kick into our area, but the set piece led to Palace breaking away, as Nico cleared the ball, setting Michael Hughes and Wayne Routledge racing up the pitch, finally finishing with Michael firing a shot on goal that Jeff Whitley had to head behind for a corner to Palace.
Michael fired the ball back in from the corner spot, and as the ball fell to Julian Gray he sent in a cross that just eluded Neil Shipperley, the defence managing to clear up the danger once more. Danny Granville fired in a cross that Mart Poom just got to before Neil could strike, whilst at the other end Mikele had to be quick to stop Kyle as he sped towards goal once again. Carl Robinson tried a shot that went very tamely to Nico in the Palace goal, and shortly after Jason McAteer was caught offside. Phil Babb cleared a cross that was sent in by Julian and Neil tried to play AJ in, the cross being just too deep for him to take advantage of the situation.
Mikele conceded a free kick in a dangerous position, but fortunately the attempt on goal went straight to Nico, and the Palace fans let out a collective sigh of relief. Michael got clear, getting the ball through to Julian, but Breen cut out his cross to AJ, before shortly after Palace won another corner. Wayne fired the ball in, but Breen cleared once more, and as the ball came back for Palace AJ tried a shot on the turn that Poom was pleased to see head wide of the mark.
AJ went down, but no free kick was given, and shortly after a corner to Palace was easily dealt with by the visiting keeper. Julian tried a cross into the centre that was deflected behind for yet another corner to Palace, and as Wayne sent the ball in once more Julian hit the ball high over the top, when he really should have done so much better. A free kick saw Danny B fire the ball in, but Tony was unable to reach the cross as he raced into the danger area, and then at the other end Tony conceded a free kick that Oster fired over the top of the bar.
Julian fired another shot over the top as Wayne played him into the area, and the first yellow card of the match arrived as McAteer was booked for a foul on Danny G. Only one minute of time was added on for the first half, and with little action being evident during this time the sides finally left all still locked up at 0-0, and presumably looking forward to their respective pep talks from the managers. Whatever was said, the goals certainly flowed in the second half!
As the sides came out it was apparent that Sunderland had made one change to their line-up, McAteer, who had been booked late in the first half being replaced by Sean Thornton. Palace remained unchanged as they got the second half underway.
Julian and Wayne combined well to set up Wayne with a shot, but Poom was more than equal to the task, and Whitley managed to get clear of Aki Riihilahti, his shot going close to breaking the deadlock. Disaster then struck as Tony was penalised for a trip on Robinson, and the referee had little hesitation in pointing to the spot. Marcus Stewart stepped up and duly tucked the ball into the back of the net, to put Palace one goal behind.
Kyle was booked for a foul on Michael, and he took the free kick, his cross found Danny G and he sent in an inch perfect ball to Neil. Weighting his shot just right Neil struck the ball over the top of the keeper, and under the bar, to level the scores. 1-1, and we were right back in the match. Stewart tried a shot that went wide, and AJ tried one at the other end, when better options existed had he but crossed the ball either to right or left as the Palace forward line was there in numbers to take the shot.
A couple of chances, at either end, were wasted before Danny B tried a shot that was deflected behind. The corner came to nothing once more, but shortly after Julian sent in a cross that just eluded Michael. Danny B then tried again, but this time his rocket-like shot hit Babb on its' way to the goal, and though the keeper got a hand to it he could do nothing to stop the ball ending up in the back of the net. Finally we were ahead in the game, and we just somehow needed one more goal to make our passage in the second leg just that little easier. Of course, Palace never do things that easily.
Breen was booked for a foul on AJ and moments later Sunderland made their second change, this time replacing Williams with Joachim Bjorklund. Michael was then booked for a foul on Thornton but it was Wayne who came forward moments later to almost play the ball into AJ, the ball just eluding him at the last moment.
Oster then hit the post before Robinson hit the ball over the top, when he really should have done so much better. Not that you will see the Palace fans complaining. The final change for Sunderland came as Tommy Smith replaced Stewart, and then George McCartney played Robinson in, his shot forcing Nico to make a great save to maintain Palace's lead. The referee turned down an appeal for handball against Breen before Wayne fired in a cross that just failed to find Neil, and Palace made their first change with Shaun Derry replacing Michael, presumably to stop Michael picking up a possible second yellow card. Julian was booked for a foul on Smith, and as Oster fired in the free kick Kyle stepped up and buried the ball in the back of the net to level things up once more.
Within moments though Palace were back ahead, as AJ ran at the defence and fired a shot past the keeper to register his 32nd goal of the season, and Palace made another change, this time bringing on Darren Powell for Neil. Considering Darren had not played for six months this seemed a strange turn of events, but as only a few minutes was left on the clock one could only assume that Iain Dowie was trying to maintain our slender lead. AJ tried another shot, this time Poom managing to hang on to the ball, and somehow the fourth official came to the conclusion that four minutes should be added on to the end of the match. Just where he got that amount of time from is beyond most who saw the match, but fortunately it only led to one chance as Smith almost got clear with the ball, Nico beating him to the ball, and only just in time!
The match came to an end, and as a number of fans invaded the pitch we all breathed just a little easier as we savoured the prospect of the trip north next Monday. The pitch invasion will surely bring trouble to Palace officialdom in time to come, but for the moment we will just look forward to Palace making the final of the playoffs. Go Eagles!!
Colin Pryce
Crystal Palace: Nico Vaesen, Danny Granville, Danny Butterfield, Tony Popovic, Mikele Leigertwood, Wayne Routledge, Aki Riihilahti, Michael Hughes (Shaun Derry 83), Julian Gray, Andrew Johnson, Neil Shipperley (Darren Powell 89).
Substitutes not used: Cedric Berthelin, Tommy Black, Dougie Freedman.
Sunderland: Mart Poom, George McCartney, Phil Babb, Gary Breen, Darren Williams (Joachim Bjorklund 69), Carl Robinson, Jeff Whitley, Jason McAteer (Sean Thornton 46), John Oster, Kevin Kyle, Marcus Stewart (Tommy Smith 77).
Substitutes not used: Thomas Myhre, Ben Clark.
Attendance: 25,287
Referee: Mr R Beeby