Crystal Palace - 0
Newcastle United - 2 (Kluivert 79. Bellamy 88.)

This match was the last of our listed "Nightmare November", and so it proved, though Palace did well to hold the opposition for the majority of the match. Unfortunately we could not hold on quite to the end, but we have still maintained our position of not having been badly beaten by any team we have so far met.

Newcastle kicked off in the first half, and the first action saw Laurent Robert cut in from the left, and blast the ball towards the goal area, his attempt going well wide of the mark, and simply crossing behind for a goal kick. Andy Johnson was caught offside, and then a foul by his namesake, Ronny Johnsen, on AJ led to a booking for the Newcastle man, and a free kick to us, which was taken by Michael Hughes, forcing a corner to us. Wayne Routledge fired that towards the goal, but the effort was wasted, and the game went on.

Joonas Kolkka then did well to turn a couple of defenders, and his shot on goal, reminiscent of the one he scored against Liverpool, went marginally wide of the right hand upright, and Shay Given was left with the simple task of taking a goal kick.

The next chance came as Craig Bellamy got clear, and as Gabor Kiraly came out he tried to lob the ball over the advancing keeper, only to see his effort sail marginally over the top of the bar. Robert tried again with a shot that went wide of the upright before Bellamy was caught offside to relieve the pressure on our goalmouth.

Aki Riihilahti fouled Bellamy, resulting in a free kick that Robert fired goalwards, the attempt being well caught by Gabor, and before we knew where we were half-an-hour had passed us by. Wayne had a shot that was blocked by Johnsen, and at the other end Patrick Kluivert was caught offside. The free kick led to another corner to Palace, but Given was equal to the task, cutting out the ball as Wayne sent it into the centre.

Olivier Bernard fouled AJ, resulting in the second booking of the match, and Ben Watson sent in the free kick that was again blocked by Johnsen. Wayne tried another shot that was cut out by the keeper before Emmerson Boyce made a good forward move, his pin-point pass finding AJ unmarked in the area, his shot being tipped over the bar by a great piece of reaction saving by Given.

The only other action in the first half saw Ben fire a shot in that missed to the left of the posts, and time was called by the referee, and the troops marched off, holding a well-deserved 0-0 scoreline, with honours all but even. Iain Dowie would have been asking for more of the same in the second half, with perhaps just a goal to us to relieve the pressure just a little. Unfortunately it did not come to pass.

Palace got the second half underway, and AJ was immediately caught offside before we conceded a corner that was cleared by Ben. Another corner to Newcastle was sent in by Robert, and cleared by Aki, and then Ben tried a trademark long-range shot that was well saved by the keeper. A free kick to the opposition saw Lee Bowyer try a shot that also went wide of the mark, and then Kieron Dyer had a shot that was blocked by Danny Granville.

The corner was wasted and Newcastle decided on an early substitution, taking off Johnsen and bringing on Robbie Elliott. Kluivert tried an overhead kick that went over the bar, and then Robert had a shot that was well stopped by Gabor. Aki cut out another corner to our visitors before Bellamy sent in a cross that was blocked, for a corner, by Danny. That saw Robert fire in the cross, and Ben make the clearance, and following a series of fouls by both sides Elliott was booked, for his foul on AJ. The free kick, taken by Ben, hit the wall, and another opportunity had passed us by.

Bellamy tried a shot that was blocked by Gabor, and another free kick to Newcastle saw Kluivert miss his chance, the ball going wide of the mark once more. Newcastle made a second change, replacing Bowyer with James Milner, as Kluivert sent his attempt on goal sailing over the top of the bar. Luck was about to run out though, and it was Bellamy who made a good run before a cross into the centre saw Kluivert back-heel the ball, wrong footing Gabor as he watched the ball sail into the back of the net. 1-0 down, and that looked as though it would be enough to win the game.

Danny was booked for a foul on Bellamy, and Robert blasted the ball at goal, only the woodwork saving us from a 2-0 deficit. Palace decided it was time for a double change, with Joonas and Aki making way for Vassilios Lakis and Dougie Freedman. Another free kick saw Robert have a shot well saved by Gabor, and it looked as if the match would simply wind down, but again it was not to be.

Robert got free, and his cross from the left found Bellamy who blasted the ball into the back of the net, giving Gabor little chance of making a save, and with only moments to go we were 2-0 down, and now there was definitely no way back. Jermaine Jenas tried a final shot on goal, his effort going wide, and with only a couple of minutes added on the match came to an end.

Palace will learn from this match, and when we meet again we may just give them a little more to think about.

Colin Pryce

Crystal Palace: Gabor Kiraly, Emmerson Boyce, Danny Granville, Fitz Hall, Tony Popovic, Michael Hughes, Aki Riihilahti (Dougie Freedman 84), Wayne Routledge, Ben Watson, Andrew Johnson, Joonas Kolkka (Vassilios Lakis 83).

Substitutes not used: Mikele Leigertwood, Wayne Andrews, Julian Speroni.

Newcastle United: Shay Given, Olivier Bernard, Titus Bramble, Aaron Hughes, Ronny Johnsen (Robert Elliott 56), Lee Bowyer (James Milner 72), Kieron Dyer, Jermaine Jenas, Laurent Robert, Craig Bellamy, Patrick Kluivert.

Substitutes not used: Tony Craig, Darren Ambrose, Shola Ameobi.

Attendance: 22,937

Referee: Mr M Halsey