Queens Park Rangers - 1 (Crouch 14.)
Crystal Palace - 1 (Morrison 59.)

Having lost the last two League games, and with skipper Neil Ruddock serving a compulsory rest period of three games, courtesy of his latest sending off, Fan Zhiyi took the field wearing the captain's armband. One can only assume that his English has improved considerably. Rangers were, of course, desperate to get off the bottom of the table, and the point they got from this match just about achieved that.

Palace immediately took control of the match, with Mikael Forssell only being denied by a good save from Ludek Miklosko. Somehow though, from a corner taken by Richard Langley, Peter Crouch managed to get a boot on the ball and it flew into the back of the net before Alex Kolinko could even attempt to move. Simon Rodger then beat the keeper, but Chris Plummer managed to boot the ball clear of the line. Steve Thomson then hit a good ball into the box but Mikael managed to steer his shot wide of the mark.

Jermaine Darlington then sent in a cross that Crouch played straight at the keeper then Ian Baraclough shot wide. Fan then collided with Crouch, allowing Stuart Wardley to race clear. With only the keeper to beat he hit his shot straight at him, and Alex thankfully collected the ball. Before we knew what was happening the half time break was upon us, and the team trooped off to Alan's usual halftime pep talk.

The second half saw more of the same, with Palace making all the right moves, but it was starting to seem as if the goal would never come. Hayden Mullins, Mikael Forssell, Andrejs Rubins and Tommy Black all tested the home custodian, but the 39-year-old keeper was obviously in fine form. The goal did eventually arrive though, courtesy of a bizarre set of circumstances. With what was becoming a regular raid on the goal Matthew Rose belted a clearance that went straight into Baraclough and fell nicely for Clinton Morrison lurking in the area. He made no mistake with the opportunity, slotting the ball under the keeper to bring the scores level.

From that point on, with about 30 minutes to go, it was all one-way traffic. Palace severely tested the keeper, and he would have been most relieved to hear the final whistle. Morrison put in a fine ball to Rubins that was well saved, and Dougie Freedman saw a couple of chances go over the top. Steve Thomson and Tommy Black also put their efforts over the bar, and about the only chance for the home side was an attempt by Crouch.

That his shot went well wide of the mark was unsurprising, but the fact that all the attempts by the Palace side came to naught must be of concern to Alan Smith. He will certainly be spending some time with the forwards this week attempting to get the old scoring ways back again. Rangers will be pleased that they got a point and propelled themselves marginally off the bottom of the table, but they could well see the match as two points that got away. From our point of view though it was certainly a game that we should have won.

It is now back to a home fixture, this time against struggling Huddersfield Town, and supporters will be looking for an improved performance from the side leading into the Cup games. Two Cup games in a row against Premiership competition should be enough to really focus the mind!

Colin Pryce

Queens Park Rangers: Ludek Miklosko, Jermaine Darlington, Ian Baraclough, Chris Plummer, Clarke Carlisle, Matthew Rose, Karl Connolly, Stuart Wardley (Mark Perry 84), Richard Langley, Sammy Koejoe, Peter Crouch.

Substitutes not used: Lee Harper, Steve Morrow, Antti Heinola, Keith Rowland.

Crystal Palace: Alex Kolinko, Jamie Smith, Fan Zhiyi, Simon Rodger, Craig Harrison, Hayden Mullins, Steve Thomson, Andrejs Rubins, Tommy Black, Mikael Forssell (Dougie Freedman 76), Clinton Morrison.

Substitutes not used: Matthew Gregg, Julian Gray, Wayne Carlisle, Stephen Kabba.

Attendance: 13,439

Referee: Mr S Bennett (Orpington).