Crystal Palace - 0
Wimbledon - 1 (Andersen 45.)

Palace got the first half underway, the first action coming as Andy Johnson got the ball through to Dougie Freedman, his first time shot being blocked, then Julian Gray got a cross in to AJ that caused little trouble for the Dons keeper. Dougie was brought down right on the edge of the area, but the resulting free kick was fired in by Shaun Derry and Damien Francis cleared the danger. Dougie turned provider next, and though his cross found Kit Symons at the back post, he was unable to get the angle required on his header, the ball going wide of the mark.

Shaun put in a brilliant tackle to stop Nigel Reo-Coker getting clean away from the defence, then Peter Hawkins sent in a cross that was blocked, and he then crossed another that Neil Shipperley made a mess of. Alex Kolinko made an easy save from a Francis kick, which could hardly be called a shot, and as the ball came back in to our area Kit managed to clear the danger once more. Reo-Coker did well to beat the defence, but Alex came bravely out to collect the ball before the Wimbledon man could catch up with the ball, and he punched clear the next goalward bound ball, as Trond Andersen pumped it into the area.

Tommy Black made a break, but the keeper managed to get to the ball before Dougie got a chance of a touch. Injuries to AJ, courtesy of Francis, and Moritz Volz, courtesy of Tommy halted play for a while, but as the Wimbledon man got to his feet it was obvious that AJ was still in trouble, and following a reasonable delay he was once again stretchered off the field of play. Wayne Routledge took his place, but considering the number of injuries to AJ since he has been with the team, one can only hope that this action was purely precautionary, and not something serious.

Palace wasted a corner before a series of good forward plays saw Palace enjoy possession of the ball, but little in the way of real attacking moves until suddenly Darren Powell hit a shot at goal that was high, wide and handsome, but needless to say nowhere near the goal. He was immediately back at the other end to dispossess Hawkins before he could get in a position to fire, then Dougie broke free, his pass finding Danny Butterfield who saw his attempt blocked before it caused too much panic in the "visitors" goalmouth. Jamie Smith then put in an important tackle to deny Alex Tapp as he was about to shoot before Hayden Mullins brought down Joel McAnuff just outside the penalty area, the free kick clearing every player in the area, the ball ending up well clear of our danger zone.

Ben Chorley found his name in the referee's book for a foul on Tommy, but as Reo-Coker got clear at the other end he sent a shot wide when others were well placed to capitalise, if only he had passed the ball to them in the area. The half, of course, was running out, but there was still time for further action, with Neil Shipperley firing in a shot, Danny B getting in the way to deflect the ball for a corner. The corner though was to prove our undoing, because as Tapp fired in the ball Andersen rose at the back post and volleyed the ball high in to the back of the net, leaving Alex no chance of getting anywhere near the ball.

With little time to restart the match the half time whistle sounded, and the players left the field, suddenly finding themselves 1-0 down after making much of the running for the 45 minutes. One can only imagine what might have been said in the dressing room during the break; perhaps suffice it to say it may well have been a good place not to be.

The second half saw an immediate substitution made by Palace, Darren making way for Danny Granville, as Wimbledon got play underway once again. The Dons made a change of their own, taking off scorer Andersen and bringing on Jermaine Darlington. Tommy seemed to be brought down in the area, but the referee waved play on, and as McAnuff waltzed in to our area it was only a last ditch tackle that stopped him going clear through on goal.

A corner to the Dons saw Chorley hit the ball straight at Alex, and we now entered a protracted period of end to end play that produced little for either side in the way of a chance at goal. Danny B fired a shot goalwards that went straight to the keeper, and he then got another shot that he edged wide from a fair distance out. Shaun tried a shot that the keeper did well to keep out, then Wayne fired in a cross that caused Tapp to handle the ball, the free kick once again being wasted by the Palace attack.

Play again bogged down before Volz tried a shot, but the Arsenal man was well wide of the post, and our tenants decided on another change, this time replacing Shipperley with Patrick Agyemang. Palace made their final substitution, taking off the tiring Jamie, playing his first game all season following injury, and bringing on crowd favourite Gary Borrowdale. Tommy got a shot on goal that Kelvin Davis did well to palm away, then Dougie tried a shot on the turn that the keeper found much easier to deal with, holding on to the ball well.

Tommy sent in a cross that Shaun headed goalwards, but though his shot beat both the defence and the keeper it also, unfortunately, beat a path to the wrong side of the post. Wimbledon made their final change, Lionel Morgan coming on for McAnuff, but the few minutes that he was there, including two minutes of added on time, produced very little action, and Palace found themselves out of time, and another game had been lost.

If any of the Palace supporters were still harbouring thoughts of a promotion play-off spot, surely by now all hopes have been dashed. One can only that the rest of the season sees the team regain form, and perhaps a few more chances may be given to the youth players that could well be the backbone of the team next season. Players such as Gary, Wayne, and of course Gareth Williams, will hopefully be given an extended run before the end of the season, and just perhaps we can enter the new season with a modicum of enthusiasm for the coming campaign.

Apart from thoughts such as those, Palace are bound to win at the weekend against Walsall, thus rekindling hopes for this season, but surely it is too late?

Colin Pryce

Crystal Palace: Alex Kolinko, Hayden Mullins, Darren Powell (Danny Granville 45), Jamie Smith (Gary Borrowdale 75), Kit Symons, Danny Butterfield, Shaun Derry, Tommy Black, Julian Gray, Dougie Freedman, Andrew Johnson (Wayne Routledge 30).

Substitutes not used: Cedric Berthelin, David Hunt.

Wimbledon: Kelvin Davis, Ben Chorley, Peter Hawkins, Nigel Reo-Coker, Moritz Volz, Trond Andersen (Jermaine Darlington 45), Damien Francis, Joel McAnuff (Lionel Morgan 87), Alex Tapp, David Connolly, Neil Shipperley (Patrick Agyemang 75).

Substitutes not used: Shane Gore, Wayne Gray.

Attendance: 13,713

Referee: Mr P Rejer (Worcestershire)