Portsmouth - 1 (Merson 26.)
Crystal Palace - 1 (Gray 30.)

Palace travelled to the coast to meet the runaway League leaders, bearing in mind that it was their loss to Pompey, in what was described as the "mad five minutes", that set them on their way to their phenomenal run. Palace meanwhile, have been slowly making their way back up the table, and having registered a good win on the road at Millmoor they were determined to do well in this match.

The first foul of the match was recorded against Dele Adebola, on Hayden Foxe, and shortly after Matthew Taylor fired a cross into the centre, which Kit Symons cleared well. Deon Burton was then caught offside, and Foxe returned the compliment at the other end, fouling Tommy Black. Julian Gray then sent a cross into the danger area for Pompey, but Taylor was on hand to clear the ball and a shot by Julian was well held by Shaka Hislop in the home goal. The fouls continued, firstly by Hayden Mullins on Burton, then by Jason Crowe on Julian, but the free kicks seemed to have little impact on either side.

Paul Merson sent the ball into our area, but Alex Kolinko did a good job, coming out and claiming the swirling ball before the first corner of the match came along, awarded to the home team. Alex fended off the cross, but the ball fell kindly for Svetoslav Todorov to belt the ball goalwards, the effort hitting the woodwork and flying away to safety. Kit cleared the next corner, and Tony Popovic forced the next cross into our area away to safety.

More fouls followed, all resulting in little action, and once again Burton fell for the offside trap. It certainly appeared as if Palace were playing further up the field than usual, and they would have to watch that the trap was not sprung. In what was a prolonged period of pressure from the home side Taylor finally fired a cross in that Merson managed to get on the end of, and suddenly we were a goal down. The pressure had finally paid off.

Palace still pushed forward, and within a couple of minutes they were back on level terms. Danny Butterfield ended up with the ball in the centre of the penalty area, and he quickly sent the ball to Julian, who made no mistake burying the ball in the bottom corner of the net. Back all square, and everything to play for.

Burton was caught offside yet again, and then a corner to Pompey was well claimed by Alex before Julian got a cross in at the other end that Taylor once again intercepted. Dele was then caught offside, followed by a shot from Shaun Derry, which got blocked before it even looked a chance. Tommy then took a shot on goal that Foxe managed to get in the way of then Danny got a cross in which Hayden did well to get on the end of, the ball going wide of the mark.

Foxe was then booked for unsporting behaviour, and the half petered out without any further action. Trevor Francis would have been well pleased with fighting spirit shown by the players, and the fact that they had come back from a goal down, but he would have been asking for the "killer punch" in the second half.

Aki Riihilahti was adjudged to have handled the ball, which was followed by a series of fouls and free kicks that really achieved nothing. A corner to Palace was sent in by Julian, but the keeper punched the ball away to safety, whilst at the other end Taylor sent in a cross that Alex claimed. Another corner to Palace started to mount the pressure on the home defence, but still a "winning" goal would not come, and play meandered from end to end.

Hayden fired the ball into the goalmouth once again but Nigel Quashie forced the ball away, and another corner to Palace went astray. Julian then centered the ball, but the keeper was alert enough to avert the danger, and Pompey decided on a double substitution, taking off Lassina Diabate and Burton and bringing on Gary O'Neil and Vincent Pericard. Taylor then got a cross in that Tony did well to defend, and Julian fired a shot on goal that the keeper fisted away to safety.

Palace then made what turned out to be their only substitution of the match, replacing Tommy with Ade Akinbiyi - what a welcome return following his long injury lay-off. O'Neil then fired a shot at goal that once again saw the woodwork rescue Palace, and the next shot, by Quashie was well saved by Alex. Still the fouls continued, from both sides, but only the original yellow card stood, the referee seeming loathe to issue any further cautions.

Darren cleared another forward move by Pompey, and as the ball made its' way to the other end Ade got free and hit a shot that the keeper did well to save. What a dream start that would have been for the big man! Pericard was caught offside before Crowe got a shot at goal that Kit managed to get in the way of. Taylor fired the ball back in, but Alex held on to the ball well, and once again it was Ade that ended up in the striking zone with the ball at his feet. His shot was a scorcher, but the keeper managed to get down and across, and tip the ball just round the post to deny Palace a certain "match-winning" goal.

A corner to Palace was well held by the keeper, and a corner at the other end was cleared by Kit. Taylor fired the ball in once again, but this time Darren averted the danger. Julian cleared the next forward move by the home side and Aki cleared the next, and it was starting to look as if Palace had settled for their point, and were ready to go home. One hopes not, there was still the small matter of the final ten minutes to play!

Portsmouth made their final substitution, Crowe making way for Kevin Harper, and a corner to the home side was well cleared by Alex. Foxe fired a shot in from a corner that fortunately missed the target, and as the ball was played from end to end the defence, on both sides, seemed well equal to the task. Taylor was caught by the offside trap, and a penalty appeal by Palace for an obvious foul on Dele was turned down by the referee.

A few more fouls and goal kicks rounded out the match, and though earlier in the season we might well have been pleased with a point away to the League leaders, this game felt more like two points lost. Perhaps the expectations have risen in the last few weeks?

We now go on to face Preston at home on Saturday. Can Palace maintain the forward momentum?

Colin Pryce

Portsmouth: Shaka Hislop, Jason Crowe (Kevin Harper 81), Matthew Taylor, Linvoy Primus, Arjan De Zeeuw, Hayden Foxe, Nigel Quashie, Lassina Diabate (Gary O'Neil 57), Paul Merson, Deon Burton (Vincent Pericard 58), Svetoslav Todorov.

Substitutes not used: Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, Mark Burchill.

Crystal Palace: Alex Kolinko, Danny Butterfield, Julian Gray, Darren Powell, Kit Symons, Tony Popovic, Shaun Derry, Aki Riihilahti, Hayden Mullins, Tommy Black (Ade Akinbiyi 62), Dele Adebola.

Substitutes not used: Nikolaos Michopoulos, Wayne Routledge, Gary Borrowdale, Gareth Williams.

Attendance: 19,217

Referee: Mr L Cable (Surrey)