Watford - 1 (Noel-Williams 43.)
Crystal Palace - 0

The first chance of this London derby fell to Gifton Noel-Williams, but Alex Kolinko, once again deputising for Matt Clarke, proved himself equal to the task, and denied the strike on goal. Despite a number of half-chances to the home side it was Palace that made the first real effort on goal following the original strike. Dougie Freedman was well played in by Clinton Morrison, who had returned to the side, but his shot was wasted.

Jamie Smith then nearly got a ball through for Clinton to pounce on, but once again the chance went astray. Noel-Williams then headed over the bar, and despite pressure from the home side Palace were holding their own in this contest. Just past the half-hour mark Tommy Smith shot goalwards, and Alex did well to tip the ball around the edge of the post.

Dougie then almost got clear on goal, Ramon Vega denying him at the last moment. Neil Cox then put in a long pass which found Micah Hyde. His touch on the ball put it straight into the path of the advancing Noel-Williams, who made no mistake burying the ball in the back of the net to open the scoring for the day.

With little further time left in the half the teams went to the break, with the home fans happy, and the Palace side not too far behind them, certainly not enough to be anywhere near out of the match.

Steve Thomson and Jovan Kirovski came on at the start of the second half for Hayden Mullins and Simon Rodger, but it remains to be seen if that makes a real difference to the side.

Clinton then managed to get through before placing the ball well for Dougie, but his shot was magnificently saved by Alec Chamberlain in the Watford goal. Clinton then was only denied by a defender getting in the way of a goalwards bound ball, but I guess that is what a defender is supposed to do.

A free kick taken by Jovan just went wide of the mark, and his second in as many minutes found Kit Symons, but his header was deflected round the post by the ever-alert keeper. Christian Edwards then blasted the ball well over the top of the bar before Alex made an excellent save to stop Noel-Williams doubling his tally.

Steve Thomson then had a shot deflected onto the bar, and then Clinton saw his shot deflected over the top of the bar. David Hopkin was the next to line up for a shot, but his attempt was hacked away by the defence, as by now Watford were defending in numbers. Alex parried a shot from Smith before Noel-Williams hit the bar and then saw his shot saved by the ever-alert keeper in the Palace goal.

Clinton nearly managed to get clear on goal, but when he finally made it to a scoring position the keeper was equal to the task of keeping him out. Tommy Black then managed to out-think the defence, and getting clear he put in a good cross that found the boot of Kit Symons. Any reasonable pressure would have sufficed to level the scores, but unfortunately he scuffed the shot, and the opportunity went begging.

A final free kick to Palace saw Dougie fire the ball over the top, and the whistle went to signify our second 1-0 loss in succession. We now look forward to entertaining Nottingham Forest at Selhurst Park next Thursday night.

Colin Pryce

Watford: Alec Chamberlain, Patrick Blondeau (Lloyd Doyley 19), Neil Cox, Ramon Vega, Paul Robinson, Micah Hyde, Paulo Vernazza, Stephen Glass (Marcus Gayle 69), Tommy Smith, Gifton Noel-Williams, Heidar Helguson (Gary Fisken 49).

Substitutes not used: Espen Baardsen, David Noble.

Crystal Palace: Alex Kolinko, Jamie Smith, Christian Edwards, Kit Symons, Craig Harrison, Hayden Mullins (Steve Thomson 46), David Hopkin (Tommy Black 78), Aki Riihilahti, Simon Rodger (Jovan Kirovski 46), Dougie Freedman, Clinton Morrison.

Substitutes not used: Cedric Carasso, Dean Austin.

Attendance: 16,499

Referee: Mr G Barber (Tring)