Crystal Palace - 3 (Johnson 32. 89. Granville 59.)
Wimbledon - 1 (McAnuff 50.)

This match was delayed by forty-five minutes, due to problems with the structure of the main stand (which was probably the snow and ice causing concern), but once the ground was deemed fit the spectators were allowed in, and the game commenced.

Wimbledon kicked off in the first half, and the first action saw Neil Shipperley set Julian Gray free down the left, but the ball beat him out of play for a goal kick. The Dons were caught offside from a free kick before Andy Johnson got free and sent the ball into the centre, but there was no Crystal Palace player in sight. Aki Riihilahti tried to release Danny Granville, but his pass was just a little too strong in the howling gale that was blowing behind the backs of the Palace players in the first, and a throw-in was awarded to our visitors. Wayne Routledge won a corner, but Jermaine Darlington successfully cleared the ball.

Wayne played the ball back into AJ, but his shot was deflected behind for a corner, which Michael Hughes played in, the defence being equal to the task of clearing the ball. Michael tried to get the ball through to Wayne, though the keeper, Steve Banks, got to the ball first and sent the ball to safety. Neil put the ball back into the goalmouth area, but it just slipped past AJ before Danny Butterfield got in a good cross that Neil nearly opened the scoring from; just the keeper managed to deny him the strike. Wade Small got free and sent in a tame shot that gave Cedric Berthelin little trouble, and play continued.

A free kick to Wimbledon saw Palace move forward as a unit to catch the attack offside, whilst at the other end Julian got the ball through to AJ, and as the defence got a foot to the ball it was Michael who was on hand to fire it goalwards, the keeper doing well to keep it out. Aki sent in a cross that the keeper could only parry, and Julian pounced, his shot going just wide of the upright. Mark Hudson robbed Dean Holdsworth as he bore down on goal, and shortly after AJ sent in a shot that went wide of the mark following a great cross in from Julian.

Darlington conceded a corner as Neil applied pressure on the defence, but the Dons players once again easily cleared the set piece. Darlington was then booked for pulling Wayne back, and Danny B took the kick, which he played short to Michael. He, in turn, sent the ball in and AJ simply headed the ball into the net, 1-0.

Neil got the ball back to the elusive AJ, and his cross evaded the players in the circle, any of whom should have scored an easy goal, and then Neil headed the ball wide of the post. A good build-up by Palace saw the ball go from Wayne to Julian and finally to Michael, whose shot sailed over the top of the crossbar. The defence then robbed Neil as he lined up his shot, and shortly after AJ was caught offside.

Danny B had to be alert in defence a couple of times to deny the Wimbledon attack and finally Joel McAnuff got the ball down to Peter Hawkins, his shot going wide once more. Only a single minute was added on for injury time, and this produced little action, so the sides trooped off for the half-time oranges.

Iain Dowie would have been pleased with the work-rate in the first period of play, but may well have been somewhat upset that only a single chance had been converted into a goal. He would have been asking for more of the same in the second half, and for the defence to maintain tight control.

Palace got the second half underway, but things started poorly for them as Danny G allowed McAnuff to get clear, and he beat two further defenders on his way to firing an unstoppable ball into the bottom corner of the net. The game was back on level terms, and the Palace management would have been fuming.

Danny B played the ball back into the Wimbledon danger area, and Neil got on the end of it, the keeper just managing to deny him his second strike in a week. Wayne then crossed, aiming for Neil, but his pass was just a little too strong, and then McAnuff ran almost the length of the field before his cross to Jamie Mackie saw the strike on goal go wide and high past the Palace goalmouth. Cedric cleared a dangerous move from Rob Gier, and then the Palace players passed the ball around for a while, and suddenly Danny G was on hand to belt the ball home off the post to restore the Palace lead.

Wimbledon made their first change of the afternoon, with Wayne Gray taking the place of Holdsworth, and Julian fouled McAnuff, though the free kick was wasted. Danny G failed to find Julian with a cross before Cedric did well to maintain Palace's lead, as he dived full stretch to deny Dean Lewington a sniff at goal. He then had to collect the ball at the feet of Mackie, and the Dons substituted Hawkins for Nick McKoy.

Michael got a good ball back into the centre, but Wayne messed up his shot, the ball rolling simply wide of the post and out of harms' way. Wayne then tried a cross that Neil failed to rise high enough for, and at the other end Mark did well to take the ball away from McAnuff, at the cost of a corner. That chance was wasted once again, and the next action saw AJ just caught offside, there could not have been a lot in that.

Nico Herzig tried to clear the ball, but AJ charged it down, the defender bringing him down and earning a yellow card for his trouble. The Dons decided to make their final change of the afternoon, with Lee Worgan replacing Darlington, and then Wayne got the ball through to Danny B, his cross being deflected behind for another corner. AJ was caught offside once more, and then Neil was brought down in the penalty area, the appeals falling on deaf ears from the official who mattered the most, the referee.

Wayne and Lewington clashed, resulting in Wayne seeking treatment, and Cedric had to be sure taking the ball after it had bounced around in our area for a while. Another corner to Palace was wasted, and one to Wimbledon was well taken by Cedric, and shortly after Aki was booked for a foul on Small, which may have been a little harsh, considering he had not been spoken to previously. The game entered the last official minute, and suddenly AJ saw that the keeper was off his line, and he simply lobbed the ball over the keeper's head from 25 yards out, and we were comfortable with a 3-1 lead.

As three minutes was added on to the end AJ went close once more, but Banks reacted well to deny him his hat trick, and the game came to a close without any further chances. Wimbledon was left to travel back to Milton Keynes still firmly entrenched at the bottom of the table, and Palace continued their inexorable climb, slowly, up the table. Next week sees us visit Bramall Lane to visit the high-flying Sheffield United. Can our away form continue?

Colin Pryce

Crystal Palace: Cedric Berthelin, Danny Granville, Danny Butterfield, Tony Popovic, Mark Hudson, Wayne Routledge, Aki Riihilahti, Michael Hughes, Julian Gray, Andrew Johnson, Neil Shipperley.

Substitutes not used: Kit Symons, Dougie Freedman, Shaun Derry, Tommy Black, Gary Borrowdale.

Wimbledon: Steve Banks, Peter Hawkins (Nick McKoy 68), Joel McAnuff, Wade Small, Dean Holdsworth (Wayne Gray 60), Jamie Mackie, Ben Chorley, Nico Herzig, Rob Gier, Jermaine Darlington (Lee Worgan 76), Dean Lewington.

Substitutes not used: Michael Gordon, Malvin Kamara.

Attendance: 20,552

Referee: Mr K Hill