MATCH FACTS
- Date – 10 December 2016
- Venue – KCOM Stadium
- Attendance – 17,403
- Referee – Mike Jones
- Bookings – Snodgrass, Elmohamady, Puncheon, McArthur, Dann
- Goals – Snodgrass (27 pen), Benteke (52 pen), Zaha (70), Diomande (72), Livermore (78), Campbell (89)
- Star Eagle – Wilfried Zaha (9.0)
TEB VERDICT
Following the excellent win at home to Southampton which was accompanied by a clean sheet, Palace returned to old ways by having their defensive frailties exposed. The Eagles are certainly an exciting team to watch and there is no problem going forward, it is just the silly mistakes at the back but there is little that can be done if an official rewards a dive with a penalty. Palace had two shouts of their own which could have easily been given too. Regardless, this should have been a win even though the team showed real character to fight back and secure a point late on.
PLAYER RATINGS (courtesy of Who Scored)
13 Wayne Hennessey (6.4) – Had little chance with either of the goals having been left hopelessly exposed by his back line.
2 Joel Ward (6.4) – Struggled throughout along with most of the defence.
6 Scott Dann (6.2) – Still struggling to find his form after injury but infuriated for having a penalty given against him which should not have been. Visually rattled the usually calm captain.
27 Damien Delaney (6.9) – Good showing from the big Irishman once again who constantly tried to organise his defensive teammates.
34 Martin Kelly (6.0) – Back in the side but continues to struggle in the full back position. Replaced by 9 Fraizer Campbell (7.2) on 80 minutes who did exactly what was required of him, scoring the equaliser.
18 James McArthur (6.2) – Not his usual self but that did not mean any lack of effort throughout. Replaced by 7 Yohan Cabaye (4.9) on 71 minutes who had an absolute nightmare and struggled to get up to the pace of the game.
7 Joe Ledley (6.3) – Worked hard alongside McArthur in the middle of pitch which was a real battle against the hosts.
42 Jason Puncheon (6.9) – Provided his usual quality on the ball and was involved in most of the good work that Palace did going forward. Received his fifth booking of the season so missed the next game.
11 Wilfried Zaha (9.0) – Simply superb. An excellent all round performance which the home defence could not deal with and got himself on the score sheet too.
10 Andros Townsend (6.3) – Disapointing once again and looks a shadow of the player that was at Newcastle. Replaced by 19 Zeki Fryers (6.3) on 45 minutes.
17 Christian Benteke (7.1) – The big Belgian is really showing why the club shelled out so much for his services. Linked up very well with Zaha and scored from the spot. Could have won two further penalties on another day.
Unused substitutes – 1 Julians Speroni, 4 Mathieu Flamini, 14 Chung-yong Lee, 45 Michael Phillips
FYPTV
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAID
‘We made defensive errors, scored three away from home and still have not won. When Wilf got the second we really should be seeing that out from there. We score goals but we just need to tighten up. There was a magnificent performance from Wilf. He was sublime. They couldn’t cope with him and that goal is a contender for goal of the season.” – ALAN PARDEW courtesy of BBC Sport
‘I’m disappointed but also really proud of the way we played. We were on the front foot most of time, we were competitive but when you score three at home and don’t get a win, we should have seen it through. The last goal was a poor goal to concede, these things happen when you lose concentration.’ – MIKE PHELAN courtesy of BBC Sport
MATCH STATISTICS
The Who Scored man of the match was Wilfried Zaha (9.0) while Json Puncheon had the most shots (6). Three players shared the most tackles (4) – Curtis Davies, Jake Livermore, Ahmed Elmohamady. The most dribbles were made by Wilfried Zaha (3).
- Team rating: 6.89 – 6.58
- Total shots: 15 -14
- Shots on target: 6 – 6
- Possession: 57% – 43%
- Pass success: 79% – 72%
- Dribbles: 6 – 9
- Aerials won: 22 – 19
- Tackles: 20 – 7
- Corners: 4 – 7
- Dispossessed: 5 – 17
POSITION IN THE TABLE
Palace move on to 15 points in 15th after 15 games, level with Middlesbrough in 16th and one point behind Leicester City in 14th.
