MATCH FACTS
- Date – 3rd January 2016
- Venue – Selhurst Park
- Attendance – 24,913
- Referee – Paul Tierney
- Bookings – Tomkins, Kelly, Llorente
- Goals – Mawson (42), Zaha (83), Rangel (88)
- Star Eagle – Wilfried Zaha (7.4)
TEB VERDICT
A dire first half encouraged the fans to express their displeasure at the half time whistle and even though some fight was shown, this result clearly shows the size of the task facing Sam Allardyce. The visitors who sat firmly at the bottom of the table before this fixture looked the better side throughout. Even though the Eagles could have benefited from two penalty shouts, there was simply no excuse for such a tepid performance lacking structure and direction.
PLAYER RATINGS (courtesy of Who Scored)
13 Wayne Hennessey (6.1) – Questionable for the second goal but was left very exposed. Made some crucial saves throughout.
2 Joel Ward (6.8) – As poor as anyone else in the opening half but worked hard in the second in his running battle with Routledge which the former Eagle just edged.
5 James Tomkins (6.5) – More valuable minutes for the centre back returning from injury but he was part of a disorganised back line.
27 Damien Delaney (6.4) – Was not his usual battling display in what was a real off night for the Eagles but will no doubt be one player hurting after this loss.
34 Martin Kelly (5.8) – After recent good performances he struggled in this one against a side that continued to grow in confidence. Replaced by 22 Jordon Mutch (6.1) on 91 minutes who had no time to make an impact.
16 Joe Ledley (6.5) – First game back from injury and almost scored with a shot from distance. Was not as involved as perhaps he needed to be against a side that looked increasingly comfortable on the ball.
7 Yohan Cabaye (7.2) – Always seemed at the heart of most things in the midfield but struggled to create anything significant. Did the simple things well and got stuck in.
42 Jason Puncheon (6.3) – Dragged too far deep all too often in an effort to try and create something which had an knock on effect to Benteke being more and more isolated. Kept working and harassing but ended up being one to forget.
11 Wilfried Zaha (7.4) – It is a fond farewell for a few weeks but what a leaving gift even if the stunning strike was not enough to get something out of the game. We wish him well for the AFCON with the Ivory Coast.
10 Andros Townsend (6.1) – Arguably the pick of a poor bunch in the first half but struggled to make a real impact. Replaced by 26 Bakary Sako (6.4) on 53 minutes who was lively and direct. Two good efforts on goal, one a stinging free kick well saved and should see more game time in the absence of Wilf.
17 Christian Benteke (6.4) – Became increasingly isolated, unlucky not to have won a penalty when brought down by the goalkeeper and never recovered from the shoulder injury he received as a result. Replaced by 9 Fraizer Campbell (6.0) on 46 minutes who created some much needed urgency in the final third.
Unused substitutes – 1 Julian Speroni, 4 Mathieu Flamini, 14 Chung-yong Lee, 45 Michael Phillips
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAID
‘The lack of energy the players had showed massively. We struggled to keep up with Swansea, we hadn’t recovered properly. I should have made more changes but I still don’t know the squad. The second half was ours, we saw a wonder goal from Zaha that should have got us at least a point. You can see it with your own eyes, you don’t need to be a football manager. Some people say it’s rubbish but it’s not, the players were trying 100% but they were not physically able to reach their usual levels. They are shattered.’ – SAM ALLARDYCE courtesy of BBC Sport
‘It is a terrific result for us and a huge three points. The first half performance, we were excellent and we could have gone in with more than the one goal. We have been accused of lacking character but we came back and won it and we deserved it. In training you see the players have the ability, it is just the confidence that has been lacking. Any team under Sam Allardyce will come on strongly, they have some terrific players. We had 24 hours more rest compared to them and that may have made a difference.’ – ALAN CURTIS courtesy of BBC Sport
MATCH STATISTICS
The Who Scored man of the match was Alfie Mawson (8.4) while Jason Puncheon, Bakary Sako, Ki Sung-yueng and Jack Cork shared the most shots (2). Joel Ward and Kyle Naughton made the most tackles (4) and Naughton, Wayne Routledge and Gylfi Sigurdsson had the most dribbles (2).
- Team rating: 6.42% – 7.02%
- Total shots: 7 – 11
- Shots on target: 3 – 4
- Possession: 47.1% – 52.9%
- Pass success: 77% – 79%
- Aerials won: 11 – 23
- Dribbles: 4 – 9
- Tackles: 17 – 12
- Corners: 4 – 5
- Dispossessed: 8 – 11
POSITION IN THE TABLE
Palace remain in 17th place after 20 games on 16 points, one point ahead of Sunderland and Swansea City in 18th and 19th respectively and three behind Middlesbrough in 16th.
