Crystal Palace - 3 (Johnson 4. Freedman 15. 87.)
Ipswich Town - 4 (Naylor 25. 45. Counago 77. Kuqi 88.)

Palace really need a win to get their season back on track, but though they were due to play Ipswich Town early in the season, when they were near the bottom of the table, and we were riding high, somehow our fortunes had changed since that time, and our visitors were now the one up in the promotion area.

The first cross in to the centre by Andy Johnson was well cleared by Ian Westlake, and as the next ball came in from Danny Butterfield it was Jim Magilton who made the clearance. Tony Popovic was pulled up for a foul on Pablo Counago, but the resulting free kick came to nothing, and suddenly Tommy Black headed the ball down, straight into the path of AJ. He hit his shot first time, and it flew into the top corner of the net to open the scoring for the night. Little did we know just how many more were to come.

Moments later though disaster struck as Darren Powell was forced from the field with an injury, and he was immediately replaced by Aki Riihilahti. Dougie Freedman got a cross in that Neil Shipperley headed wide, so far the pressure had all come from Palace. Neil fouled Fabian Wilnis, and the Ipswich defence found a little respite.

Tommy tried a shot on goal that went over the bar before Counago was caught offside, the free kick being taken by Tony, resulting in open play. Tommy then fouled Shefki Kuqi, and it was starting to become obvious that this referee was somewhat fond of his whistle.

AJ sent the ball into the centre, the clearance this time coming from Richard Naylor, and finally, at the other end Jermaine Wright tried a lob over the head of Cedric Berthelin who just managed to get his fingertips to the ball to send it behind for a corner. Tony cleared the danger from that, and shortly after Naylor was caught offside to avert the pressure we were starting to feel.

The ball then fell to Neil in the penalty area, and he cleverly got the ball through to Dougie, his shot finding the back of the net, much to the delight of the home fans. 2-0, and surely now we were going to be able to bury the hoodoo of our losing Tuesday night syndrome?

Westlake fouled Dougie, and shortly after Palace won a corner, which Tommy sent in and Magilton cleared for the visitors. Counago was once again caught offside before Curtis Fleming fouled Wright, the free kick going nowhere. Matthew Richards sent the ball into the centre, and Tony did well to send the ball behind for a corner as Magilton looked set to pounce. The corner was played in to the near post, and it was Naylor who popped the ball in to the top right hand side of goal to give the visitors some hope in the match.

Wright fouled Wayne Routledge before Neil returned the compliment with a foul on Naylor and shortly after a good cross in from Wilnis was well dealt with by Curtis. Chris Bart-Williams found his the first name in the book, for unsporting behaviour, and somehow this led to a rash of bookings that severely cramped the play for both sides. AJ tried a shot that was saved by Kelvin Davis, whilst at the other end a corner taken by Magilton saw little danger to our goalmouth, the ball coming clear once more.

Tommy became the next name in the book, for the same reason, and within moments it was Wilnis in the book for a foul on Tommy. The next foul brought real concern for Palace though, as Tony was booked for a foul on Westlake, and Magilton sent in the free kick that once again Naylor got on the end of. Following a deft header by Kuqi he found himself right on the spot to simply drill the ball home, and with only moments to go it was suddenly 2-2, and we were back to square one.

Tommy tried a shot that missed to the right of the upright, and Naylor completed the list of bookings for the first half, this time for a foul on AJ. Kuqi cleared the subsequent free kick, and the sides trooped off for a well-deserved break. One can only assume that Steve Kember would have been livid that the side had let go a two-goal lead, and would have been urging them on to better things in the second half.

Early in the second stanza Neil was booked for dissent, and that actually completed the bookings for the match, though so many players were in the book that they would have been wary about making tackles for the remainder of the match. An accidental handball by Aki led to a free kick, and a shot by Kuqi went wide of the post. Wayne then played a good ball in that Neil met with a header, the keeper doing well to catch the ball as it headed goalwards.

Counago fired a shot wide of the post before Dougie saw his attempt saved by the keeper, and Richards cleared the subsequent corner. Wright fired a cross in to Magilton, his shot going wide of the mark on the left before AJ sent in a poor shot that went well wide of the post on the opposite side. Magilton fired a shot over the bar, and shortly after a corner to our visitors saw Cedric clear the ball at the last moment. Wilnis fired a shot over the bar, and Neil sent his shot straight at the keeper at the other end.

Kuqi tried a shot that was tipped over the bar by Cedric, and it was Tony who averted the danger from the corner kick. Westlake then fired a cross in, and suddenly Counago was on hand to fire the visitors into the lead for the first time in the match. How could we be two goals up, and suddenly three down?

Counago missed another attempt at goal, and Ipswich made their only substitution of the game, Tommy Miller replacing goal hero Counago. Cedric saved the next attempt from Magilton, the resulting corner never looking a chance, but time was starting to run out for the Palace faithful. A free kick to Palace for a foul on Neil by Kuqi was played in by Danny, but cleared by the defence, but young Wayne raced in to the area, and was crudely brought down by Miller, the result being a penalty. Dougie stepped up and placed the ball into the bottom left hand corner of the net to bring the scores back level.

So, finally back on level terms, but things really did not remain that way for very long. Kuqi somehow got free at the other end of the pitch, and almost straight from the restart he buried the ball into the back of the net to restore the visitors lead in the match. Despite a couple of minutes of added on time there was little further action, and somehow a game that we had lead 2-0 in had turned into a 4-3 defeat. Obviously there is still work to do, particularly in the defensive area.

Colin Pryce

Crystal Palace: Cedric Berthelin, Danny Butterfield, Tony Popovic, Darren Powell (Aki Riihilahti 5), Curtis Fleming, Tommy Black (Jamie Smith 70), Shaun Derry, Wayne Routledge, Andrew Johnson, Neil Shipperley, Dougie Freedman.

Substitutes not used: Lance Cronin, Kit Symons, Gary Borrowdale.

Ipswich Town: Kelvin Davis, Fabian Wilnis, Matthew Richards, George Santos, Richard Naylor, Jermaine Wright, Chris Bart-Williams, Jim Magilton, Ian Westlake, Shefki Kuqi, Pablo Counago (Tommy Miller 80).

Substitutes not used: Alun Armstrong, Dean Bowditch, Gerard Nash, Lewis Price.

Attendance: 15,483

Referee: Mr L Cable