Crystal Palace - 2 (Johnson 17. 25.)
Doncaster Rovers - 1 (Blundell 47.)
Palace got the match underway, and very shortly after the kick off Andy Johnson fired a shot wide of the post. Michael McIndoe was then caught offside before AJ once again struck at goal, this time seeing his effort go over the top of the bar, albeit by a very small amount. He then sent the ball wide of the post once more before Gareth was caught offside, as he was to prove to do many more times as the evening progressed.
Gary got in a good cross that looked destined for Gareth to open his account, but Steve Foster neatly got in the way of the move and saved the day. Moments later Leo Fortune-West fouled Darren Powell in the box, and the referee had little choice other than to point to the penalty spot. AJ stepped up and simply placed the ball past the keeper to give Palace the lead.
McIndoe then crossed a good ball in to Gregg Blundell, who was unfortunate to hit the crossbar, but shortly after Palace won another penalty as AJ was brought down in the box. Once again AJ took the shot, and once again he scored to make the board read Palace 2 - Doncaster 0.
A corner to Palace saw Ben fire in a cross that Darren just failed to connect with, then Gareth was caught offside once more. Shaun Derry managed to get in the way of a Blundell shot from the edge of the area, and Neil Shipperley got booked for a running battle he was having with Tim Ryan. Fortune-West tried a shot that Darren blocked, and the resulting corner saw the same player get the ball only 6 yards out, and blast his shot wide of the goal.
Ricky Ravenhill tried a shot that was deflected behind for a corner, but the opportunity was wasted. Without further ado the first half came to an end, and one can assume that Steve Kember would have been pleased with proceedings to date, and would have been asking for more of the same.
The second half saw Doncaster get things underway, but not before Palace made their first change of the evening, Wayne Routledge taking the place of AJ in the attack. Within moments John Doolan played a good ball in to Blundell, who raced past Shaun, and buried the ball in the back of the net past a despairing Cedric Berthelin in goal. 2-1, and once again it was game on.
Gary got a cross in that Gareth managed to get on the end of, his header being well taken by the keeper, before Stephen Foster bore down on goal, Darren once again cutting out the danger. Ravenhill sent a long range shot wide of the mark, and Neil saw his shot blocked as Palace searched for the killer blow.
Offside decisions against McIndoe, and Gareth slowed play down, and then a corner to Palace was punched clear by the keeper. The keeper then raced out of his area, and was quick to head the ball away from a fast advancing Gareth, still looking for his first senior goal. McIndoe then hit the bar and Foster shot over the top as Doncaster piled on the pressure, looking for that elusive equaliser.
Aki Riihilahti came on for Gareth, and a final change saw Curtis Fleming replace Hayden Mullins, who had obviously taken a knock and could no longer continue. Danny put in a good cross that saw Neil head the ball, unfortunately straight at the keeper, and Doncaster made their first change, Paul Barnes replacing John McGrath.
A good ball from Aki found Wayne in space, but his cross to the centre was deflected behind for a corner, which was wasted as usual. A free kick to Palace saw Michael place the ball neatly to Neil, who again headed over the top of the bar. Foster brought down Wayne, and what might well have been a red card was only shown as a yellow, and the game continued. The free kick was taken by Michael, the shot going straight into the defensive wall.
Rovers then made a strange substitution, with the recently introduced Barnes giving way to Jamie Paterson, with only a few minutes left on the clock. Perhaps Barnes was injured? Neil saw his shot on goal well saved, and though four minutes was added on to the end of the match we held on to go through to the next round of the Cup.
5.30pm Saturday night will tell us who our next opponents might be. Let's hope it is a Premiership side of note, so that the fans get out there and support the Club.
Colin Pryce
Crystal Palace: Cedric Berthelin, Danny Butterfield, Hayden Mullins (Curtis Fleming 71), Darren Powell, Gary Borrowdale, Gareth Williams (Aki Riihilahti 68), Shaun Derry, Ben Watson, Michael Hughes, Andrew Johnson (Wayne Routledge 45), Neil Shipperley.
Substitutes not used: Lance Cronin, Tom Soares.
Doncaster Rovers: Andy Warrington, Jamie Price, David Morley, Stephen Foster, Tim Ryan, John Doolan, Ricky Ravenhill, Michael McIndoe, John McGrath (Paul Barnes 76, Jamie Paterson