Match Facts
- Date – 2nd April 2016
- Venue – Upton Park
- Attendance – 34,857
- Referee – Mark Clattenberg
- Bookings – Sako, Ward, Reid, Noble, Kouyate
- Sending off – Kouyate
- Goals – Delaney (15), Lanzini (18), Payet (41), Gayle (75)
- Star Eagle – Damien Delaney (7.4)
Match Review
Crystal Palace picked up a vital point against a high-flying West Ham United side with a battling performance at Upton Park which suggested that the Eagles can drag themselves out of the hole they have found themselves in.
The next two games for Alan Pardew’s side were always going to be crucial because of the run of form Palace have been on. No league win in 2016 has meant the Eagles have had a mighty fall from grace since Christmas and have been dragged into a fight to stay in the division.
A late Dwight Gayle equaliser has shown that Palace firstly have the hunger and desire, and secondly the quality to stay in the division and if they can replicate a performance like that against Norwich City at home next weekend, they will all but secure safety.
West Ham on the other hand are chasing Champions League qualification and with Dimitri Payet in their side, they have one of, if not the buy of the season. Against Palace the Frenchman showed just what a class act he is with a sensational free-kick which left Wayne Hennessey admiring the ability of the in-form Frenchman.
It was Palace who took the lead inside the first fifteen minutes as a free-kick from Bakary Sako caused confusion for Adrian. The Spaniard prodded the ball back into danger when it looked destined to drift out of play, but unluckily for the Hammers Damien Delaney was there to nod Palace in front.
The form Palace are in at the moment, they just cannot seem to hold onto a lead, and just two and a half minutes later they allowed Slaven Bilic’s men back into the game.
Former Nottingham Forest man Michail Antonio who has impressed this season since arriving from Nottingham Forest, floated in a cross which Sako should have dealt with. The knock-down fell to Manuel Lanzini who lashed the ball past Hennessey to draw West Ham level.
Unlike in previous seasons where West Ham had a few threats, this season they have threats spread all over the park and with Lanzini they have a diminutive number ten who has done well in his first season in the Premier League. He proved quite a handful as Joe Ledley and Mile Jedinak struggled to contain him.
Four minutes before the break Joel Ward committed a silly foul on Payet twenty yards from goal. The impressive Frenchman stepped up and expertly curled the ball into the top corner leaving Palace stunned and Upton Park jubilant.
Pardew changed things at half-time and brought on Dwight Gayle for the booked Wilfried Zaha and the striker who was sent-off in the reverse fixture at Selhurst Park was in the thick of things in the second period.
The game swung in Palace’s favour when Cheikhou Kouyate’s lazy lunge on Gayle was deemed high and dangerous by Mark Clattenberg who immediately sent him off with twenty minutes left to play.
It was then the Palace faithful saw Yannick Bolasie and Sako get more involved in the game with the former having a shot cleared off the line well by full back Aaron Cresswell.
With fifteen minutes remaining Gayle fired Palace level. A superb cross from Pape Souare put the home defence under pressure, centre back pairing Angelo Ogbonna and Winston Reid simply could not deal with it and when the ball fell to Gayle his composure was second to none as he nonchalantly stroked the ball beyond Adrian to give Palace a precious point.
It was a welcome result for the Eagles which will give them confidence heading into the Norwich fixture next weekend. With the likes of Yohan Cabaye, Connor Wickham, Emmanuel Adebayor all hopefully returning to the fold, Pardew will have plenty of quality at his disposal to secure a first league win in 2016 in an effort to push Palace further away from the drop.
TEB Verdict
No game is easy in football and the hosts form going into this fixture was looking ominous. However, Palace stuck to the task well and battled to gain an excellent point from a talented West Ham side which will provide much needed confidence heading into the run in to the end of the season.
Player Ratings (courtesy of Who Scored)
- Wayne Hennessey (6.6) – Solid enough game but question marks once again about positioning continue.
- Joel Ward (6.7) – Struggled against talented opposition. Guilty of giving away a couple of silly free kicks.
- Scott Dann (7.0) – Strong in the heart of the defence, struggled to get enough on clearance which led to Lanzini goal.
- Damien Delaney (7.4) – Scored the opener and marshaled the back line well throughout.
- Pape Souare (7.2) – One of his better showings this season and managed to put in some great crosses.
- Joe Ledley (6.5) – Battled well in the middle of the pitch. Replaced by Frazier Campbell (6.0) on 71 minutes who provided some added energy to front line by hassling the opposition.
- Mile Jedinak (6.7) – Another good display from the big Aussie, strong in the tackle and doing the simple things well.
- Jason Puncheon (6.4) – First start for a while, provided a few glimpses of what we have missed. Lack of match fitness showed late on.
- Bakary Sako (6.2) – Great ball in which led to the opening goal. Had chances but did not have his usual eye for goal.
- Yannick Bolasie (7.4) – Started as the lone striker but returned to his more natural wide role in the second half. Continued to work hard and always an outlet.
- Wilfried Zaha (6.4) – Frustrating first half from the winger but caused problems. Yellow card will have had a lot to do with the change being replaced by Dwight Gayle (6.7) on 45 minutes who was a major influence. On the end of tough challenge that saw the Hammers go down to ten men and was in the right place at the right time to score the equaliser.
Unused substitutes – Adrian Marriapa, Alex McCarthy, Lee Chung-Yong, Jordan Mutch, Martin Kelly
Match Statistics
The Who Scored man of the match was Manuel Lanzini (9.0). The total number of shots (3) was shared by far too many players to mention. Most tackles were made by Joe Ledley and Damien Delaney (3). Most dribbles were by Manuel Lanzini (5).
- Team rating: 6.71 – 6.73
- Total shots: 18 – 12
- Shots on target: 6 – 5
- Possession: 66% – 34%
- Pass success: 83% – 68%
- Dribbles: 17 – 8
- Aerials won: 17 – 16
- Tackles: 12 – 17
- Corners: 4 – 5
- Dispossessed: 6 – 8
Premier League Table
| 14 | Watford | 31 | 37 |
| 15 | Swansea City | 32 | 37 |
| 16 | Crystal Palace | 31 | 34 |
| 17 | Norwich City | 32 | 31 |
| 18 | Sunderland | 31 | 27 |
