Crystal Palace - 2 (Morrison 77. Freedman pen 80.)
Walsall - 0
Well, our next fixture is against Norwich City at Carrow Road. We have enjoyed a fairly good record against them, both home and away over the last few seasons, winning six and drawing three since 1996/97. Currently they are one point ahead of us, with a fairly enviable home record, having lost only two all season, so we will need to be at our best to overcome them.
Following that game we take on Birmingham City at Selhurst, and we simply must win that one. Apart from the obvious connection in the form of Steve Bruce, and our desire to "put one over him", Brum are currently three places ahead of us, and just outside the promotion play-off spots. Their away record is about average, reading won seven, drawn seven and lost seven, but our record against them has been fairly woeful over the last few years, losing all five games in the past three seasons to date.
We then meet Crewe Alexandra at Gresty Road where we have only lost two matches in the past, the last being in season 99/00. With Crewe languishing near the bottom of the League we would have to put that match down as at least a "good chance".
The penultimate match sees us entertaining Preston, who are two places ahead of us in the table, but with a relatively poor away record. Conversely we have lost our last three matches against them, both home and away this season and last, so this may prove a somewhat entertaining match if we are still in with a chance of making it back into the top six by the time this match comes round.
Our final "hurrah" for the season comes away to West Brom, who currently occupy third place in the League, and they will be hoping that by this time of the season they have a show of clinching one of the top two spots. If they have not done they should, at least, be assured of a play-off spot of their own, and they may not fully have their minds on the job that day, the usual occasion of major upsets in all Leagues throughout the nation. We need to bear in mind that our record against them is very poor, not having won a match either home or away since 95/96, and maybe this is the match that Trevor has in mind when he says that we can "afford to lose one"!
So, there is a summary of the remaining matches, and we have everything left to play for. With matches against four teams currently higher than us in the League any "good" results against them will have the opposite effect on their own aspirations for season 2001/02. I trust that I will be proved wrong, but I somehow anticipate that we will finish our season where I hoped to be at the start of this term, right where we are now, in 10th spot. That may not seem satisfactory to most, but when we consider the rough ride we have had over the last couple of years, and our "Houdini like" escape from relegation last season, then I think that we would all have happily settled for such a finish when this season kicked off. That part way through the season we may well have harboured loftier thoughts is neither here nor there, I think we should all just be grateful that we still have a "Crystal Palace" to follow, and perhaps look to next season as our platform for an assault on the Division One Championship, and our inevitable rise to the Premiership.
Just for a change the team lined up without Dougie Freedman, who was cooling his heels on the bench, and Ade Akinbiyi took his place on the field. To say that this was not too popular with some of the fans would be an understatement, but they were to change their tune as the match progressed, and most seemed appreciative of his untiring efforts throughout the match, albeit that he did not score. In addition we welcomed back Curtis Fleming, and Jovan Kirovski got a rare starting berth.
Palace got the match underway, and it was not long before Ade was in the action, though he played playmaker, trying to get the ball through to the right wing without success. Dean Austin did well to cut out a good forward move by Marcelo, and then Danny Granville repeated the feat, once again robbing the attacking Walsall man. A couple of free kicks to the visiting side gave us a few moments to reflect on what might happen should the side go behind in a match once again, but all was well.
A good forward move by Julian Gray and Clinton Morrison just failed to find the latter on the end of the ball as it floated dangerously into the area, and then Palace put together a good string of passes, resulting in Ade placing a fairly weak attempt straight at the keeper. Another attempt a few minutes later nearly found Clinton, but Martin O'Connor was alert enough to avert the danger. Darren Byfield then made a dangerous move forward, and though Shaun Murphy managed to usher the ball out for a goal kick it was becoming obvious that the Walsall man would take an awful lot of marking to keep him at arm's length from our goal area.
Another good build up by Palace finally saw Julian put a shot just wide of the post before Ade was fouled in a forward position, but the free kick resulted in Aki Riihilahti losing possession in the area. A pass played in by Byfield nearly found Marcelo, and then when he did get the ball Shaun managed to once again clear the danger. A cross into the danger area saw Jovan attempting to lift the ball over the defence, but James Walker in the Walsall goal was well equal to the task. A long cross from Frederic Biancalani went straight out for a goal kick before Palace came back to the other end, this time the pass just failing to find Clinton.
Palace finally won a corner, but the cross into the goal area saw Jovan miss a good opportunity from only a few yards out. A poor cross in from Julian went over the heads of all the attacking and defending players, and then at the other end Matt Clarke did well to come out of his area to punch the ball safely away. A free kick to Walsall was defeated by the wall of players in front of play. Clinton then managed to get a good ball into Ade, but the Walsall defence was once again able to clear the danger. The ball pumped upfield found Byfield once again, but this time his shot went wide of the mark, and the huge Palace crowd breathed a sigh of relief.
Another poor cross from Julian saw the ball again swung up the field to Byfield, but he was unable to find any support, and lost the ball to an eager defence. Julian then got a shot on goal, but the keeper was awake to the danger, and managed to hang on to the ball. Hayden Mullins booted the ball almost the length of the field, but the defence snuffed out the danger once again. A free kick to the Eagles close to the goal area saw Walker once again make a good take in the middle of a melee of players. Dean then had to defend well to keep Byfield out of the play once more, and then a good cross from Clinton found Ade, but the ball bounced off his leg and passed harmlessly out of play, relieving the pressure once more for the visitors.
Without much further action the first half of play came to an end, and whilst we were all pleased that Palace had not gone behind, we were somewhat anxious that the side had not truly looked like scoring. I guess Trevor Francis was much of the same opinion, and one can only guess what his "pep talk" would have been like at the break.
Walsall got the second half underway, but it was Palace that applied the early pressure, the midfield players linking well, but the final pass just going astray for Clinton. A free kick was taken by Jovan, and though he found Ade once again, the ball fell unkindly for him, and the chance was wasted. Ade then turned provider for Hayden, but his shot went just wide before Marcelo was well cut out of the action by a stalwart Palace defence. Clinton got the ball into Jovan, but once again the Walsall defence was equal to the task. A moment of panic in the home camp saw Darren Wrack and Steve Corica make a good move forward, but the Palace defence once again held firm, and the danger passed us by.
Palace then forced a corner through the graces of Ade, but the chance was once again wasted with almost everyone in the Walsall goalmouth area. Don Goodman came on for Marcelo, and for a while the game seemed to settle down, with neither side seeming able to gain the ascendancy. A free kick to Walsall was well taken by Matt in goal, and though his clearance was good it just ran out of play before Julian could get to it. Ian Brightwell and Corica then got involved in a promising move forward for the visitors, but the defence again came away with the ball.
Dougie Freedman and Steve Thomson then came into the match, replacing Danny Granville and Jovan Kirovski, meaning that we were now playing a far more attacking option, maybe at the expense of the defence. Not many minutes later Tommy Black joined the fray, replacing Curtis Fleming, and though the moves were generally welcomed by the Palace faithful, the side appeared to be taking a shape really lacking in defence.
Dougie and Tommy were immediately into the play, Tommy just failing to get on the end of a cross in from Dougie, but all the pressure was about to pay off. Julian put in a good cross that the keeper was just unable to hang on to, and who, as usual, was waiting to pick up the dividend? Clinton, of course. He had the simplest of tasks to tap the ball home once the keeper spilt it, and finally we were on the scoresheet, and one goal up.
Almost straight away Ade was back into the box chasing a Dougie cross into the area, but just as he was about to shoot at goal he was crudely pulled down, and the referee had little hesitation in pointing to the spot. Although, as it later transpired, Clinton encouraged Ade to take the kick, it was Dougie that stepped up to perform the honours. His kick, into the top corner, beat the keeper, and from almost nowhere we were suddenly two goals up, and seemingly safe for the final minutes of the match.
Julian was then hurt in a tackle, but as all three subs had been used he was forced to make his way back onto the pitch to see out the last few minutes of the game. Let's hope that it is nothing too serious, as we will certainly need him for the balance of the season. Dougie then set up Ade once more, but the keeper was alert enough to nullify the danger, and though time was up on the clock the referee somehow found five minutes of injury time to be added on.
Tommy then made a good run through the defence before setting up Clinton for his second of the afternoon, but unfortunately the officials ruled that he had just strayed offside, and the effort did not count. A fine save at the other end by Matt kept the visitors out, and despite another attempt by Clinton, saved by the keeper and ruled offside, the match came to an end without further fanfare.
Palace had won well in the end, though the substitutions took some getting used to. That the added attack took Walsall unawares cannot be denied, but it might not be a good ploy against the stronger teams in this Division. I feel sure though that Trevor is well aware of such matters, and will not make such moves unless desperation sets in during the final matches.
Colin Pryce
Crystal Palace: Matt Clarke, Dean Austin, Shaun Murphy, Danny Granville (Dougie Freedman 70), Curtis Fleming (Tommy Black 73), Hayden Mullins, Aki Riihilahti, Julian Gray, Jovan Kirovski (Steve Thomson 70), Clinton Morrison, Ade Akinbiyi.
Substitutes not used: Alex Kolinko, Gregg Berhalter.
Walsall: James Walker, Matthew Carbon, Ian Brightwell (Moreira Herivelto 86), Martin O'Connor, Ian Roper, Darren Wrack, Darren Byfield, Zigor Aranalde, Frederic Biancalani (Jorge Leitao 83), Marcelo (Don Goodman 64), Steve Corica.
Substitutes not used: Tom Bennett, Lee Harper.
Attendance: 21,038
Referee: Mr A Bates (Stoke-On-Trent)