Crystal Palace - 2 (Mullins 47. Linighan 77.)
Huddersfield Town - 2 (Stewart 34. 41.)

Following on from a good result last week against Swindon Town, Palace found themselves up against one of the high fliers in the League. Huddersfield Town arrived in London in 5th place, and at one point during the game it looked as though they might leave as high as 3rd. To the credit of the Palace side they managed to comeback from a very precarious position, and they should take great heart from their performance.

The match got underway, and those of the Palace faithful that watched the 7-1 drubbing earlier in the season collectively held their breath. Was this going to be a repeat performance?

For the first half hour of the game neither side seemed to make any real impression and it was starting to look as though things would be better this time round. It was not going to last, which was shown when Kenny Irons put through a great ball that found Marcus Stewart who swept the ball easily past the despairing Fraser Digby. There really was not much he could do to keep the ball out. 1-0, but worse was to come.

Just seven minutes later, and with only a few minutes to go, it looked as though Palace might hold on for the break with only limited damage. Stewart though had other ideas. A pass from Barry Horne found Stewart in a one on one situation with Fraser, and though the keeper did well to parry the first attempt the ball fell straight back to Stewart who made no mistake on the second attempt.

What Steve Coppell said to the players at the break shall remain a mystery, though in truth we were actually one goal better off than the last time the two teams met. That time they were 3-0 up at the break. The talk amongst the fans though was all about "Will this be the same situation once again?"

The talk obviously had some influence though, as with the wind at their backs the team suddenly seemed transformed. A high cross from Jamie Smith just two minutes into the second half of the play hung in the wind, and then fell nicely for Hayden Mullins who made matters look simple with a goal that brought the supporters to their feet. He now joins Clinton Morrison and Matthias Svensson as our equal top scorer for the season.

The game was being taken up to the visitors, with our most dangerous player appearing to be Morrison. He managed to force a fine save from Nico Vaesen, and then finally put the ball in the back of the net. Offside!

With less than a quarter of an hour to go, Palace was still pushing for the equaliser, and finally they managed to force another corner. Craig Foster took the kick, and Andy Linighan came flying in to head home a much-needed goal. Unlike the last goal that he scored against Huddersfield this time there was no doubt that this one will remain firmly credited to Andy! (Clinton Morrison finally got his last one after video evidence).

Despite pressure at both ends neither side could find a winner, and the game finally finished all locked up at 2-2. No doubt Coppell will have been more than pleased with this comeback, and it is now on to Molineux Stadium, and a very tricky match against Wolves, who have just joined in to the top six. They will be desperate for a win, and Palace will be determined to prove that their away form is indeed improving.

Colin Pryce

Crystal Palace: Fraser Digby, Jamie Smith, Andy Linighan, David Woozley, Dean Austin, Wayne Carlisle, Craig Foster, Hayden Mullins, Simon Rodger, Clinton Morrison, Leon McKenzie (Andrew Martin 89).

Substitutes not used: Nick Rizzo, James Hibburt, Steve Mautone, Sean Hankin.

Huddersfield Town: Nico Vaesen, Steve Jenkins, Jon Dyson, Craig Armstrong, Jamie Vincent, Barry Horne, Kenny Irons, Chris Beech (Scott Sellars 6), Dean Gorre, Marcus Stewart, Clyde Wijnhard (George Donis 87).

Substitutes not used: Ben Thornley, Martyn Margetson, Darren Edmondon.

Attendance: 14,290.

Referee: Mr S Tomlins (Lewes).