FULL TIME: Crystal Palace 0-1 Southampton
And that’s that! No dream start for Roy Hodgson, then: his team remain rooted to the bottom of the Premier League, pointless and goalless. Saints meanwhile launch themselves up the table to fifth, for a couple of hours at least. Hodgson congratulates his opposite number Pellegrino - “Well played!” - then trudges off with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He’s got quite the job on here.
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90 min +4: Ward looks for the top-right corner from 25 yards. He finds the top-right corner of the stand.
90 min +3: Schlupp tries to clear upfield, but Ward-Prowse hassles and harries. The episode ends in a goal kick, but there’s more time eaten up successfully by Saints.
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90 min +2: Benteke comes back into his own half to win the ball back. But all he does is bowl Romeu over, and that’s a free kick that’ll allow Saints to run down the clock a bit further.
90 min +1: Gabbiadini comes on for Long.
90 min: Palace throw it into the mixer. Forster gathers. Van Dijk waves his arms around, organising in the I’m In Charge style. There will be five extra minutes.
89 min: Cedric twists and turns down the right and slaps a shot goalwards from just inside the box. It’s gathered easily enough by Hennessey.
87 min: Tadic is replaced by the returning Virgil van Dijk. He seems to get a fair enough reception from the away support. Almost as though most of the heat and noise surrounding transfer talk is generated by the media and on the internet, well away from the real world.
86 min: Bertrand earns a corner for Saints down the left. It’s hit long, and Ward tries to hook a ball over his own head and into the top right from the right-hand corner of the box. Ambitious, to say the least. Up the other end, Yoshida blasts a common-or-garden clearance into the back of Lemina. The ball rebounds into the arms of Forster.
85 min: Ward-Prowse comes on for Redmond.
84 min: Townsend shimmies in from the left, and curls deep for Sako. But Bertrand stands firm and blocks his man in a fair tussle. The ball flies out for a goal kick.
82 min: Dann miscontrols in the midfield. Long goes scampering off. Dann has no option but to drag him back. That’s Palace’s fifth booking of the game. It’s not been a dirty match, this, but there you have it. I’m feeling old.
81 min: Once again, Saints find a bit of joy down the right. Cedric and Tadic combine, though eventually the ball’s run out for a goal kick. This flank has been a serious problem for Palace all afternoon.
80 min: The impressive Lemina goes on a George Best skitter, left to right on the diagonal, and nearly works enough space in the area for a shot. But he’s swarmed by Palace defenders, and slips the ball wide left to Redmond. Redmond hesitates, though earns a corner. Nothing comes of the set piece.
78 min: Hodgson is booed by his own fans! The reason? He replaces the impressive Loftus-Cheek with Sako. Only a smattering of dissent, to be fair, but even so! They work fast round Palace these days.
77 min: Long is booked for complaining, no free kick forthcoming after his being brought down by Ward.
76 min: Cabaye’s delivery is appalling. Easily cleared by Saints.
75 min: Palace are awarded a very cheap free kick out on the right, Ward losing control of the ball, but being lightly brushed in the back by Redmond a split second afterwards. A chance for Palace to load the box.
73 min: Fosu-Mensah goes down holding his ankle. That looked a sore one, but he’s up quickly enough, after a bit of treatment, and looks good to continue.
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71 min: Palace enjoy a little possession in the midfield. They go nowhere, but they’ve not kept hold of the ball well today, so it’s better than nothing. Small acorns, and all that.
69 min: McArthur is hooked in favour of Milivojevic. And there’s another good run by Loftus-Cheek down the left. He earns a corner, which is headed out harmlessly by Dann, but this is a little better from Palace, who have improved in this second half, even if that’s not saying a whole lot.
68 min: McArthur is booked for a clumsy slide on Bertrand. Then the lively Loftus-Cheek goes racing down the left, gets the better of Lemina, and crosses for Benteke. But Hoedt contorts his body to hook away.
66 min: For the 387th time this afternoon, Tadic is sent away down the right, this time by a clever reverse ball from Long. To give Schlupp some credit this time, he hares back and stops Tadic in his tracks with a glorious saving tackle, but it should never have come to that. Long races over to try to latch onto the loose ball that’s sprung from the tackle. He pings off Schlupp and goes flying into the stand in the slapstick style. All good knockabout fun.
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65 min: ... there’s nowt of note.
64 min: Tadic is once again found in preposterous space down the right. This is a joke; Palace haven’t closed him down this afternoon at all. He should set Long free down the inside-right and into the area with a diagonal sliding pass, but plays it too close to the back-pedalling Dann and the defender slides across to block out for a corner. From which ...
62 min: A free kick out on the right for Saints, Cedric having been upended by a combination of McArthur, Cabaye and Puncheon. The latter, having already been booked, is the recipient of a stern lecture by the referee. He’s on his final warning. To be fair, he hasn’t really done much that’s so awful this afternoon, it’s only fair he’s cut a little slack.
60 min: Cabaye, in the centre circle, quarterbacks long for Benteke. The big striker rises on the edge of the area, and clanks a header miles wide left, and high to boot.
59 min: It is tipping down in south London. Stair rods. Meanwhile the Saints, after rocking early in the half, have reestablished their earlier dominance. They’re first to everything again.
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57 min: Ward is booked for a foul committed a couple of minutes earlier, when he dallied on the ball, allowed Davis to run off with it, and rugby tackled him to the floor.
56 min: And now it’s Southampton’s turn to pass up a great chance to score. They ping the ball around awhile, then Redmond bursts into the box down the right. His cross is missed by everyone, then recycled by Tadic out on the left. Tadic chips the ball back into the centre, and Long should plant a header home from six yards. But he fails to connect properly, and after a little pinball, the danger is gone.
54 min: Virgil van Dijk warms up on the touchline. Meanwhile on the pitch, Saints have slipped into game-management mode. The referee has a word as Long takes his sweet time over a throw.
52 min: Thing is, Palace have been pretty poor so far, all told. And they still could, arguably should, have scored on three separate occasions. That surely augurs well. They just need the dam to break.
50 min: Puncheon is booked for a frustrated clatter into the back of Tadic. And a period of pressure is released.
49 min: It’s a slightly subdued Selhurst. And then the roof suddenly nearly comes off! First, Loftus-Cheek dribbles down the right, reaches the byline, and fizzes a low ball through the six-yard box. How did that stay out?! How did Cabaye and Benteke miss it? Then Schlupp drifts in from the left and sets up Puncheon, who has to score from six yards, but Forster blocks brilliantly and Lemina knocks it clear calmly. Much better from Palace, who should be level! When will they score?
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47 min: It doesn’t lead to much, but Lemina sells McArthur an outrageous dummy in the midfield, a trick that incorporates a subtle drag-back. He looks a very fine signing indeed.
And we’re off again! Saints get the ball rolling for the second half. No changes.
Half-time reading:
HALF TIME: Crystal Palace 0-1 Southampton
Roy Hodgson storms off in the businesslike fashion. He’ll need to give his team a good talking-to. They’ve been bossed by Saints. The plus points: they’ve nevertheless still managed to create a couple of chances, while their opponents are a little blunt up front, despite their dominance everywhere else. It promises to be a fascinating second half.
45 min +1: So having said that, Palace nearly equalise, Townsend scampering after a long ball down the inside-left channel and sending a screaming, dipping shot just over the bar from an angle!
45 min: The half-time whistle can’t come quickly enough for Palace, who are reduced to a shambles. They’re second to absolutely everything. Redmond crafts more space for himself, this time in a central position, but his shot from 25 yards is weak and easily gathered by Hennessey.
44 min: Palace are hanging on here. Redmond skedaddles into their area from the left, then cuts the ball back for Tadic, whose shot from the penalty spot is blocked.
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43 min: Saints ping it around nicely, as they’ve done for the majority of the half. After a few pretty triangles, the ball’s clipped down the inside-left channel for Lemina by Davis. A bit too much juice behind that, or Lemina would have been clear.
42 min: Saints launch yet another attack down the right. This is getting old. Long very nearly scampers clear, but Dann comes across to harry him off the ball.
40 min: Hoedt, deep on the left, sprays a golden pass wide right to release Tadic into acres. Schlupp is on walkabout, goodness knows what his game is. Thankfully for Palace, Tadic’s low cross is dismal. The home side should have been in serious trouble there.
38 min: Cabaye floats a reasonably aimless cross into the Saints box from the right. It’s not what Benteke is after, and the big man communicates this point in the direct style. A few whistles. Both players and punters getting irritated.
36 min: Davis chips forward, down the middle for Redmond, who chests down on the edge of the Palace area with his back to goal. He turns and very nearly slides a clever pass forward to release Long. But Fosu-Mensah and Dann get in the way. Palace are living a little dangerously, and will be thankful that Saints have a few goalscoring issues themselves right now.
34 min: Yet again, Tadic is afforded too much time out on the right. Not entirely sure what Schlupp is up to this afternoon. Fortunately for Palace, Saints haven’t exactly over-committed, and they can easily deal with the resulting cross. But this surely can’t continue. Saints have the run of this flank.
33 min: Cabaye is booked for leaving his foot in on Lemina, as the Saints midfielder whipped a pass away. He can have no complaints, having landed his boot on Lemina’s toes.
31 min: Loftus-Cheek so nearly scores a glorious goal! Townsend wins a ball he had no right to win 35 yards from the Saints goal in a central position. He slips it to his right for Loftus-Cheek, who drops a shoulder once, then twice, and zips past a couple of despairing Saints challenges on a slight left-to-right diagonal run. He enters the area, makes enough space, then looks to whack low into the bottom left. But his effort is deflected out at the last, and the resulting corner comes to nothing. Still, that’s much better from Palace.
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29 min: Loftus-Cheek and Benteke one-two in the midfield, allowing the former to have a pop from 25 yards. He sends a glorious low fizzer inches wide of the left-hand post. Had that been on target, I’m not sure Forster was getting to it.
27 min: Tadic finds more space down the right. His cross takes a nick off Schlupp and threatens to loop into the top left along a crazy arc, but Hennessey claims well. Then another Saints attack, as Redmond springs Long free down the inside-right channel. The flag goes up, and it’s the correct decision, but it was very close indeed, and had the linesman kept his flag down, it’d have been an understandable error. Palace playing with fire.
26 min: Something of a lull, but Saints remain in command, keeping hold of the ball. Palace are unable to get anything coherent going.
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24 min: An encouraging spell for Palace, who knock it around in the midfield for a while. Schlupp sashays down the inside-left channel before shuttling the ball inside to Cabaye, who sends a speculative effort, aimed for the top left, high and wide from 20 yards.
22 min: Saints continue to hog the ball. Some patient passing, hither and yon. Eventually Redmond takes a whack from 25 yards. It’s straight at Hennessey, albeit oscillating in the air enough to pose the keeper problems. Hennessey deals with it well.
20 min: A pretty dribble down the middle by Saints’ club-record signing Lemina. Ball-on-string stuff. But with options either side as he advances towards the Palace area, he gets giddy and drags an ambitious effort wide left from distance. He had options either side. The home fans beginning to get a little edgy as Saints probe for a second; Palace can’t afford to ship another right now.
18 min: The corner leads to another corner, and that second one comes to nothing. What a chance for Benteke, though. Palace still haven’t scored a goal this season. After that Benteke effort, straight at the keeper, and Scott Dann’s late close-range header at Burnley last week, Palace will be wondering if they’ll ever break their duck. But at least they’re creating chances.
16 min: Redmond slips and allows Townsend to make off with the ball down the right. A pass is slipped forward to Loftus-Cheek, who crosses low. Benteke must score from six yards! But he doesn’t connect powerfully, and Forster is able to claw the ball away. Corner.
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14 min: Saints are completely bossing this game right now. They’ve enjoyed nearly 70% of possession in these early exchanges. “I do hope Mr. Hodgson does not moan at the lack of ‘famous support’ his team are getting,” quips Ian Copestake, with reference to Mr Hodgson’s famous stint at Anfield a few years back. Oh Roy!
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12 min: Davis swings a cross into the Palace box from a deep position on the right. Ward and Fosu-Mensah are all over the shop, and nowhere near Long, who is drifting in from the left. Long opts for a spectacular header, looking to guide the ball first time into the top right from a position to the left of the D. His effort flies miles wide right. He had time to take that down, and will wish he did so now.
10 min: Townsend goes racing down the right and falls over Hoedt’s extended leg. The ref doesn’t give the free kick, much to the home support’s collective annoyance. Probably the right decision. To be fair to the Palace support, they don’t slip into an extended sulk, and after ironically cheering a decision in their favour 30 seconds later, go back to making a hell of a racket.
8 min: A free kick for Saints out on the right, and a chance for the visitors to load the box. Davis loops it in. Schlupp heads away powerfully, and in any case the whistle goes for some Saints pushing. On the bench, Hodgson has assumed the pensive pose, chin on palm, eyes fixed on some point in the middle distance.
GOAL! Crystal Palace 0-1 Southampton (Davis 6)
So much for Roy Hodgson’s honeymoon period. Davis slides a pass down the inside-right channel for Tadic, who drops a shoulder to waltz past Schlupp. He reaches the byline and fires into the middle low and hard. Hennessey can only parry out to Davis, who had been following up and sidefoots confidently into the bottom right. On the bench, Hodgson tries his best to appear calm. He just about manages it.
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4 min: Space for Tadic down the right, set free by a lovely crossfield pass by Redmond. Cedric goes deep on the overlap. A cross, and Palace make a pig’s lug of clearing the ball. Davis has a whack from the edge of the box, though he doesn’t connect properly and Hennessey claims easily enough as the ball bounces apologetically towards the bottom right.
2 min: Townsend races after a long ball down the right wing. Hoedt comes across to shepherd the ball out of play for a goal kick. Palace are certainly on the front foot in these very early exchanges. A fine atmosphere at Selhurst Park, incidentally, though that’s hardly breaking news. There’s always a fine atmosphere at Selhurst.
And we’re off! Palace get the ball rolling and they’re out of the blocks quickly, Benteke romping down the left, checking his run, spinning, and looping a cross into the centre. Townsend sticks out a telescopic leg but can’t control and the ball squirts out for a goal kick, to the left of goal. Hopefully as far as Palace are concerned, that’s not the end of Hodgson’s honeymoon period.
The teams are out! Crystal Palace are in their usual red and blue, while Saints sport their Rank-Xerox-era-referencing blue-and-very-dark-blue stripes. Or is it blue-and-black? Hm. Anyway, they’re in that. Roy Hodgson waves at the crowd, then gives the cuddly mascot a hug and his best PR smile. We’ll be off in a minute!
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Roy Hodgson talks! “I thought Palace’s performance last week at Burnley was a good performance, the team was unlucky. But Loftus-Cheek is fit again, so I thought it was good to bring him back. We are very eager. For the players, it is another new start, but we believe in the players and their experience and quality. There is only one way to prove that they are a good team, and that is on the field, and that’s what they hope to do today.”
Mauricio Pellegrino speaks! “Virgil van Dijk is training well. But he is coming from eight months without playing the game. Hopefully he can be ready to play. Physically he is good, but he needs more time to be at the same level with his team-mates.”
It’s not quite a case of If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It for Palace. But they did play pretty well at Burnley last Sunday, without reward, so there’s only one change to their starting XI. Lee Chung-Yong, whose poor early backpass sealed Frank de Boer’s fate, and ushered in the Hodgson Era, loses his place to Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Saints by contrast ring the changes, having gone down miserably at home to Watford last week. Out go Jack Stephens, James Ward-Prowse, Sofiane Boufal and Manolo Gabbiadini. In come Maya Yoshida, Mario Lemina, Dusan Tadic and Shane Long. And who’s that on the bench? Why, it’s only Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, ready to be reintegrated away from the white-hot heat of St Mary’s.
The teams
Crystal Palace: Hennessey, Ward, Fosu-Mensah, Dann, Schlupp, McArthur, Cabaye, Puncheon, Townsend, Benteke, Loftus-Cheek.
Subs: Speroni, Van Aanholt, Milivojevic, Tomkins, Lee, Sako, Kelly.
Southampton: Forster, Cedric, Yoshida, Hoedt, Bertrand, Romeu, Lemina, Tadic, Davis, Redmond, Long.
Subs: Stephens, McCarthy, Ward-Prowse, van Dijk, Boufal, Gabbiadini, Targett.
Referee: Robert Madley (West Yorkshire).
Welcome to the big Saturday lunchtime match ...
... in which Roy Hodgson returns to club football, desperate to end his long career on a high note by hauling his boyhood heroes out of trouble, while goal-shy Southampton continue to search for their misplaced mojo.
Let’s not kid ourselves: recent form suggests this might not be a free-wheeling classic. Palace have lost all four of their Premier League games so far this season, and have yet to find the net; Southampton have played five matches in league and cup, and have failed to score in four of them. But something’s got to give at some point, and it may as well be today. Especially as we’ve just tempted fate by making a big thing about it. Goal frenzy, please!
Kick off: 12.30pm.
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