Crystal Palace - 2 (Freedman 58. Johnson 90.)
West Bromwich Albion - 2 (Hulse 51. Koumas 88.)

With a game against a team that is expected to win this League, Palace kicked off, though West Brom found the first corner of the match, Sean Gregan being unable to convert the chance. Danny Butterfield got a great cross in that Dougie Freedman just failed to connect with, and then he crossed another ball in that Neil Shipperley headed just over the top of the bar. Shaun Derry found Dougie, and as he raced into the area he passed to Neil, when surely he would have been better off to shoot.

A shot on goal by Andy Johnson saw Russell Hoult do well to dive low to save the chance, and a corner to Palace was taken by Michael Hughes, Gregan clearing the danger. Lee Hughes got a shot on goal that Cedric Berthelin did well to keep out, and Hayden Mullins was booked for a foul on Jason Koumas, the free kick being dealt with by the Palace defence. Thomas Gaardsoe brought Dougie down, but following the free kick Dougie fired the ball just wide of the post, and then he was caught offside when most at the ground would tell you he was easily onside, and should have been allowed to run.

Hughes was then caught offside, and then Larus Sigurdsson was booked for a foul on AJ, the keeper dealing well with the subsequent free kick. Sigurdsson was injured at this point, and an enforced substitution was made, James O'Connor coming on to take his place. Gregan was then booked for a foul on Dougie before Koumas hit the post. Gary Borrowdale then cleared a chance for Koumas to score, and as we entered injury time Rob Hulse was booked, presumably for having a chat to the referee, and the half petered out with little further action.

All square at half time, and though Steve Kember would have been satisfied with his charges, he would feel that just maybe a single goal might settle this affair. He would be wrong!

West Brom got the second half underway, and as Dougie took a tumble in the penalty area the referee waved play on, and our objections were over-ruled. Hughes tried a shot that went slow and wide of the post before Dougie tried to chip the keeper, Hoult just recovering in time to avert the danger. A corner to Palace was fired in by Danny, and as Dougie put the ball in the back of the net he was flagged for offside, which is hard to do from a corner!

Hoult then saved an attempt driven in by AJ before Alassane N'Dour fired a cross in that Hulse fired in to the bottom of the net, and suddenly we were 1-0 down, a situation that Albion are used to holding on to. Koumas got in a cross that Hughes fired over the top of the crossbar, and Shaun got booked for a foul on Hughes, even though the player was up and running around just as soon as he ensured that the booking was going to take place.

AJ made a good run to the line, and the ball found Dougie who had the simplest of tap ins to level the scores, and leave the side with everything to play for. Palace then made an immediate substitution, Kit Symons replacing Tony Popovic, then Neil fired a header wide of the post following good work by Dougie and Danny. Scott Dobie replaced Hughes for Albion before N'Dour headed the ball behind his own line under pressure from the Palace attack. As Dougie raced in, Hoult raced out, just beating the Palace attacker to the ball, then Palace made another change to the line up, Curtis Fleming replacing Jamie Smith.

This was followed by one of the strangest sights in modern football. As Michael, Shaun and West Brom's Johnson all converged on the ball the referee found himself in the middle of all three, and a few moments later he was missing a couple of teeth, and was flat out on the ground - the only way he was ever going to leave was on a stretcher.

Dougie left as all this happened, Wayne Routledge coming on to take his place, who immediately was felled by Gilchrist, the free kick leading to the keeper making an easy stop on his line. Kit received a yellow card for his foul on Johnson, and the free kick led to West Brom taking the lead as Koumas fired the ball into the back of the net as Cedric tried desperately to make ground to the ball, just failing in the attempt.

Eight minutes of injury time was added on, not really surprising considering the situation with the change of referee, and Palace made best advantage of the situation, with Shaun firing the ball into the centre, and AJ pouncing to even the scores once again. West Brom made their final change, Daniele Dichio taking the place of Hulse, but it made little impact on the game, as proceedings were brought to an end shortly after; Palace gaining a well deserved point for their efforts.

Next match we take on Doncaster Rovers in the Carling Cup, and we will be looking forward to our first win in a while. Go Eagles!

Colin Pryce

Crystal Palace: Cedric Berthelin, Danny Butterfield, Hayden Mullins, Tony Popovic (Kit Symons 59), Jamie Smith (Curtis Fleming 67), Gary Borrowdale, Shaun Derry, Michael Hughes, Dougie Freedman (Wayne Routledge 78), Andrew Johnson, Neil Shipperley.

Substitutes not used: Lance Cronin, Ben Watson.

West Bromwich Albion: Russell Hoult, Phil Gilchrist, Bernt Haas, Alassane N'Dour, Larus Sigurdsson (James O'Connor 34), Thomas Gaardsoe, Sean Gregan, Andy Johnson, Jason Koumas, Lee Hughes (Scott Dobie 62), Rob Hulse (Daniele Dichio 90).

Substitutes not used: Joe Murphy, Neil Clement.

Attendance: 17,477

Referee: Mr P Danson