Everything appeared to be in slow motion in that minute of Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final, but the elation afterwards was something extra special.
The Eagles had conceded an equaliser just six minutes before courtesy of a header by Troy Deeney which cancelled out Yannick Bolasie’s early goal. The tension in the east side of Wembley stadium was evident.
Moments after Scott Dann was arguably fortunate not to be sent off, Palace won a throw-in near the corner flag on the left-hand side. Following an exchange of passes with Bolasie, Pape Souare’s eventual cross looped towards the back-post and was met by a man whose season has been disrupted by three different injuries and critics who have refused to disappear.
However, the moment the net bulged, Connor Wickham wrote his name into Palace folklore and the Eagles were on their way to their first FA Cup final appearance for twenty-six years.
Whatever your view on Wickham is, his potential is clearly apparent. Palace’s best performances this season have one common feature: the former Sunderland man has spearheaded the attack with Bolasie and Wilfried Zaha on either side.
Signed by Alan Pardew from the Black Cats for a fee that could potentially rise to a fairly large £8 million, Palace fans have had to be patient with the centre forward, but his displays have always shown signs of extreme promise.
The home fixture against Newcastle was the first time Wickham really stood out. Palace put five goals past Pardew’s former side and although he failed to score, his performance was one of the best by a striker that Selhurst had seen in a decade. His three assists coupled with flashes of exemplary hold-up play were one of the many enjoyable factors of the 5-1 thrashing.
He was mobile and caused uncertainty in the Magpies defence. All three assists exemplified a different side to his game, including the use of his upper body strength to hold onto the ball while under pressure, which allowed midfielders to join the attack, and a couple of pinpoint crosses that benefited Bolasie and Zaha.
A rather flawed critique of Wickham is that he lacks the ability to score consistently. Although only six goals have been contributed by him this season, each finish has had a unique element and shows a natural prowess in the final third. A stunning half-volley against West Bromwich Albion proved his capabilities, while his earlier goal in the same game – a deft lob over Ben Foster before tapping in from close-range – was just as exquisite.
While former Palace loanee Patrick Bamford crumbled under the hostile atmosphere on his return to Selhurst a couple of weeks ago, Wickham showed a maturity beyond his twenty-three years of age when he returned to his old club Sunderland in February. His two goals at the Stadium of Light were met with rapturous abuse from Black Cat fans, but Wickham batted away the negative attention with ease and almost walked away with a hat-trick late on.
Wickham’s four years in the north east were largely unsuccessful. Despite almost single-handedly keeping Sunderland in the top-flight in the 2013/14 season, he was never able to justify the transfer fee that they paid Ipswich Town and questions were raised about his attitude and commitment. Multiple loan spells to the Championship helped his confidence, but he proved to be far too good for the division and needed a new challenge to further his development.
The ability to remain composed in the adverse atmosphere at the Stadium of Light was certainly something that has come from Emmanuel Adebayor’s tutorship. Pardew tasked Wickham with learning from the experienced Togolese striker and Adebayor’s vast experience could prove beneficial to Wickham’s development.
Wickham and Adebayor are two very different players and personalities so direct comparisons are difficult to make. However, there is one Premier League striker who possesses strikingly similar qualities to those of Wickham: Harry Kane.
Kane’s rise in English football is quite remarkable. Having struggled to find a place in the Tottenham Hotspur first team in his later teens, he was loaned out multiple times to Football League clubs and ultimately learned his trade in the lower divisions. Upon his return to Spurs, two managers who specialise in man-management helped him to flourish into one of the world’s most sought after striker.
While the career paths of the pair are loosely alike, their playing styles also resemble. Although it is certainly questionable that Wickham will ever hit thirty goals in a single season, he can look to the Spurs forward for inspiration.
The winning goal at Wembley will give Wickham a confidence boost and there is still a chance that he can reach double figures by the end of the season, which is quite an astounding feat considering he has only made nineteen Premier League appearances this campaign.
With the correct management and good quality service from wide areas, he can finally become the striker that he promised to be in his teenage years.
The prolific goal scorer that Palace have desired for several years may already be on our books.
