Preston North End - 2 (Creswell 52. Alexander 80 pen.)
Crystal Palace - 1 (Freedman 16.)

Palace would not be too disappointed with the result of this match, even though for quite a while it looked as if they might just sneak a point, or even all three, from it. That it was not to be about sums up Palace's luck of late, though one must admit we really did not deserve much from this game.

The first minute or so of play set the tone for the match, with the home side winning a corner. From there on in it was consistent pressure from them, though surprises were in store during the afternoon. The corner resulted in a good save by Matt Clarke, though Colin Murdoch almost got clear on goal.

Simon Rodger then made a good run before he was robbed of the ball when getting in a pass to Clinton Morrison in the centre. A free kick to Preston saw David Healy send the ball well wide of the mark, and then Palace had to hastily clear a good cross in from Paul McKenna. Hayden Mullins had to clear a dangerous ball in the area, but in the end the attack sent the ball behind for a relieving goal kick to the visitors.

A corner for North End was cleared by Jovan Kirovski, but it went straight back to the Preston players. This time Matt had to take the ball out of midair, a task he completed with little trouble. A free kick to Palace came to naught before Julian Gray put in a good cross that Dougie Freedman just failed to meet at the first attempt. A cross into the centre by McKenna was headed goalwards by Healy, but his attempt was just wide of the upright, and the chance went begging. Mark Rankin then hit a shot towards the goal, but it hit first the post, then Matt, and somehow managed to stay out of the back of the net.

A corner to the home side followed, but Matt managed to palm the ball over the top. Immediately after the ball was pumped upfield, and Dougie was on hand to receive the ball in acres of space. As he should he simply drew the keeper, lobbed the ball over the top of him, and buried the chance in the back of the net. From nowhere Palace were suddenly 1-0 to the good, and Preston were wondering just what had gone wrong with their game plan. Admittedly they had had the best of the play so far, but Palace were ahead where it counted, on the scoreboard.

Preston won another corner, but once again the Palace defence was equal to the task. We then had a free kick, which quickly found its' way to Simon Rodger, but his first time shot bounced simply into the waiting arms of David Lucas in the home goal. Richard Creswell repeated the effort at the other end, with the same result, Matt holding on to the ball well.

A shot from Gregan came in from a long way out, and then McKenna fired in a shot that Christian Edwards did well to get behind. Clinton made a good move upfield, but the Preston defence easily closed him down. A great save by Matt saved the day for Palace and then Lucas had to be alert to snatch the ball from the feet of the advancing Clinton; luck was certainly not with our marksman today.

Aki Riihilahti and Matt nearly gifted an own-goal to the home side, when they made a real meal of dealing with a ball that was dangerously close to the line, but eventually the danger was cleared. A free kick to Palace right on the edge of the penalty area was taken by Simon, but the kick went straight into the defensive wall. Clinton and Dougie then combined to almost snatch another goal before the break, though Preston replied with a good move that Matt was quick to snuff out.

A snap shot from Jovan went well wide of the mark and a couple of half chances to the home side rounded out the first half entertainment. The Palace contingent would have been well pleased to have gone to the break ahead on the scoreboard, and though most of the running had been with the home team Palace had gradually worn them down by consistently slowing down the play.

Steve Kember would have been well pleased with the first 45 minutes, and would have been looking forward to more of the same - unfortunately he was to be disappointed.

Immediately on the resumption Dougie charged into the penalty area, passed to Aki who made a fine first snap at goal, and though the ball was parried by the keeper Clinton was on hand to bury the ball in the back of the net. Somehow the linesman (assistant referee, to be politically correct these days) managed to come up with an offside decision against Clinton, and the goal did not count, but at least Preston were given food for thought.

Creswell then took a shot at goal following a great solo run, but the ball went wide of the goal post, though Preston immediately won a corner, the ball being headed over the bar. Dougie then played Tommy Black into the area, his effort ending up high, wide, and not really so handsome, as it finished somewhere in the back blocks of the stand.

A free kick to Palace led to a corner, but the pressure was not producing the desired result, namely another goal for Palace to kill off the match. Of course, this being the case, Preston then jumped on a half chance to level the scores. A mix up between Matt and Dean Austin ended up with Creswell directing a header over the top of the despairing keeper, and the ball calmly made its' way into the back of the net.

A level scoreline, and everything to play for it seemed.

Dean conceded a corner, with the home side now rampant, but the danger was averted when the ball just cleared the bar, with Matt seemingly all at sea. A bit of end-to-end play then ensued, with neither side really able to press home an advantage, but it was Preston that was looking more likely to score. This was not particularly troublesome for the Palace faithful, as our first goal came about completely against the run of play. One would hope though that the play would not be quite so one-sided as it now seems to be.

A good save by Matt kept us in the match, but the game was now starting to get a bit spiteful, both sides being as guilty as the other in the poor standard of general play. Christian put in a long-range effort that went just wide of the mark, and then Creswell put in a weak shot following a good run into the box. A free kick taken by Jovan nearly broke the deadlock, the keeper moving rapidly to his right to just stop the ball from going over the line.

Tommy and Dougie combined well, but the defence was once again up to the task, and they completely blocked out the move on goal. Aki got a good through ball to Clinton again, but once more the frontman was offside. At the other end Dean and Matt once more got confused about who was going to deal with the ball, and they nearly gifted the home side a goal once more. They really must sort out this problem of not talking to each other!

A cheeky shot from Aki nearly caught the home keeper unawares, but he managed to scramble back and save the embarrassment of a soft goal. Clinton then nearly managed a shot past the keeper, the ball going wide of the mark once more, this time striking an opposition player on the way. A shot by Jovan nearly snuck into the top of the net, but the resulting corner came to nothing, and it was then the turn of the opposition once more. This time calamity struck, as though Matt saved well the referee ruled that he had held the opposing player down, and a penalty was awarded.

This was a little hard to understand, as surely if that was the case the keeper would have had to be dismissed from the field of play, with an inevitable red card. Instead the referee awarded only a yellow card, so how could it be a penalty? Either way, no matter how we conjecture, the penalty stood, and history shows that Graham Alexander scored from the spot. 2-1 to the home side, and only about 10 minutes left in the match.

Dougie sent a shot over the top of the bar before a couple of half chances fell to the Palace players lurking in the area. Unfortunately neither went in, and though a good pass came in to Jovan he only managed to hit the ball off the side of his boot, the ball going nowhere near the goalmouth. A final free kick to Palace gave Dougie the chance to level things up, but he only managed to kick the ball over the top, and we ended up traipsing home with nothing to show for the afternoon's endeavours.

Ah well, perhaps on Wednesday against Coventry? Let's hope so.

Colin Pryce

Preston North End: David Lucas, Graham Alexander, Colin Murdoch, Chris Lucketti, Rob Edwards, Mark Rankin, Sean Gregan, Lee Cartwright, Paul McKenna, David Healy (Steve Basham 89), Richard Creswell.

Substitutes not used: Iain Anderson, Michael Keane, Adam Eaton, Andrew Lonergan.

Crystal Palace: Matt Clarke, Dean Austin, Christian Edwards, Hayden Mullins, Simon Rodger, Julian Gray, Tommy Black, Aki Riihilahti, Dougie Freedman, Jovan Kirovski, Clinton Morrison.

Substitutes not used: Alex Kolinko, Gregg Berhalter, Craig Harrison, Steve Kabba, Steve Thomson.

Attendance: 15,264

Referee: Mr P Rejer (Tipton)