Crystal Palace - 1 (Popovic pen 62.)
Burnley - 1 (Taylor 44.)
Cedric Berthelin quite easily cleared a corner to Burnley, and as the ball went forward once more Julian Gray put in a cross that Tommy did well to control before his shot hit the side netting. Another chance wasted. The ball back into our area saw Danny Butterfield clear the danger, but Tommy was called for offside, incorrectly if you ask any Palace supporter, before Gareth Taylor put a chance wide of the post.
Taylor then managed to put the ball in the back of the net, but a foul by him on Cedric saw the effort once again disallowed, thus the ledger was now even. Shaun Derry got the ball into the Burnley penalty area, but AJ's header was knocked over the top of the bar for a corner to Palace. That chance was well dealt with by the Burnley defence, then Tommy fired a shot just a little too close to Marlon Beresford, who tipped the ball round the post for a corner. Once again the corner was cleared.
Dele Adebola fired a shot from a corner over the top of the bar, and Tony Popovic headed the ball wide from a cross in by Aki. Lee Briscoe and Taylor both had shots cleared by the defence, and immediately after AJ hit a shot that Beresford did well to keep out, the ball falling to Aki who really should have done better with a simple tap in that somehow went the wrong side of the post.
Taylor became the first name in the referee's book for his persistent use of the elbow, this time on Kit, and the free kick found Julian whose shot was again well kept out by the keeper. A shot by Danny B went wide of the post, and as we came to the close of the first half somehow we just knew something catastrophic was going to happen. With all the pressure that we had mounted, and the number of chances we had wasted to open up a winning scoreline, it was Burnley that saw a Robbie Blake free kick find Taylor, and before we knew what had happened ex-Palace man Taylor had buried the ball in the back of the net.
1-0 to the visitors, and only moments left until halftime, could our final free kick bring about an equaliser? Tommy fired the chance goalwards, but once again the keeper held on to the ball well, and the players all left for their halftime pep talks. One can only imagine that Trevor Francis would be less than pleased with the lack of finishing effort.
Burnley got the second half underway, but it was Tommy who managed to set AJ free, the keeper deflecting the ball for a corner that was again wasted by Palace. Another corner saw AJ head the ball over the top of the bar before Blake hit the post at the other end as Cedric appeared to be nowhere near the ball. A second goal there would surely have been the finish of the game, at least competitively speaking.
Tommy got a cross in to Julian, but as he managed to round the keeper the ball travelled just too far for him to get back to it and shoot an effort goalwards. AJ was caught offside, and Tommy was booked for a foul on Drissa Diallo, before Tony robbed Tony Grant, just as he looked set to score. Dele then made a great run into the area, and as he shaped to fire the ball home the keeper rather clumsily brought him down, and the referee had no hesitation in awarding a penalty. He also booked Beresford for the tackle.
Would Tommy take this one? He has not proved the most reliable in recent attempts. No, it was, somewhat surprisingly for some, Tony that stepped up to place the ball on the spot, took the kick, and simply tapped the ball in to the right side of the keeper. Back on equal terms, now there was everything to play for.
Palace immediately made two substitutions, bringing on Wayne Routledge and Ade Akinbiyi for Aki and Dele, so if anything the team took on an even more attacking edge. Tommy hit the bar following a corner, and Burnley took the chance to make a change of their own, Dimitrios Papadopoulos coming on for Blake. The new men combined, Wayne firing in a cross that Ade just headed wide before Ian Moore was booked for throwing the ball away, the resultant free kick being advanced 10 yards by the match day official.
Palace made their final substitution for the afternoon with Danny Granville replacing Julian, and with his first touch of the ball he sent it well over the top of the bar, and into the stand.
Burnley made their second change with Alan Moore coming on for Paul Cook, and another chance to Palace was wasted following a free kick for a foul by Arthur Gnohere on AJ. Papadopoulos fired a shot goalwards that Cedric did well to get down to, then Danny G fired a cross in to Tommy, but facing the wrong way he was unable to get any force behind the ball, and the keeper easily claimed it.
Ade got clear, but Gnohere did well to take the ball off his feet as he was about to shoot at goal, and time was now dramatically running out for both sides. A shot by AJ, easily kept out by the keeper, preceded what looked like a handball by Ade, but fortunately for Palace only a corner was awarded, not what might have been a penalty.
Three minutes was added on for injury time, and despite another appeal for a penalty, this time by Palace, the slate was once again evened up as the referee ignored the pleas. Ade was brought down about 30 yards out from goal, but Tommy fired an ineffectual shot, and the final whistle sounded.
A point gained, or two wasted? Probably the latter, but it keeps us in the hunt for that elusive play-off position.
Colin Pryce
Crystal Palace: Cedric Berthelin, Shaun Derry, Kit Symons, Tony Popovic, Julian Gray (Danny Granville 70), Aki Riihilahti (Wayne Routledge 63), Hayden Mullins, Danny Butterfield, Tommy Black, Andrew Johnson, Dele Adebola (Ade Akinbiyi 63).
Substitutes not used: Lance Cronin, Gary Borrowdale.
Burnley: Marlon Beresford, Dean West, Drissa Diallo, Arthur Gnohere, Graham Branch, Gareth Taylor, Tony Grant, Paul Cook (Alan Moore 73), Lee Briscoe, Ian Moore, Robert Blake (Dimitrios Papadopoulos 65).
Substitutes not used: Nikolaos Michopoulos, Andy Payton, Mark McGregor.
Attendance: 16,344
Referee: Mr M Cooper (West Midlands)