Post-match thoughts
Well that was an expert defensive performance from Sunderland. It was the kind of solid display that Allardyce can guarantee you. Are you watching Villa? For all of Palace’s technical quality Sunderland were just too well organised for them. For every Bolasie and Zaha flick and trick there was a block tackle and stern shoulder from O’Shea, Kaboul, Van Aanholt etc. Goals may be at a premium for Sunderland but with defensive displays like that they’ll pick up vital points. Survival looks to be a more tangible target now. Allardyce’s pre-match tomfoolery in which he announced he’d be playing a flat back four may not have fooled Pardew, who expected five at the back, but the indefatigable running dfrom Van Aanholt and Jones actually gave Sunderland a little more threat on the counterattack than he might have imagined. Scott Dann was the hero last time out, when Palace beat Liverpool at Anfield. He’s the villain tonight after the mix-up at the back. Such is life. Thanks for your emails. Bye.
Here’s Sachin Nakrani’s match report …
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Full-time: Crystal Palace 0-1 Sunderland
Cabaye curls the free-kick around the wall and into … the side netting. And that’s that.
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90+5 min: Palace win a free-kick after some ball hogging in the corner. The ball is pumped forwards and Palace win a free-kick a foot outside the box on the right corner of the area after Kaboul shoves someone. This is the last chance for Palace …
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90+3 min: Chamakh is robbed of possession after dawdling in midfield. Jinking Duncan Watmore races forwards, evading one challenge and very nearly swerving another. Palace clear but Sunderland regain possession and earn a breather by winning a free-kick wide on the left near the corner flag. Not long.
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90 min: And there’ll be five more minutes for Palace to try to salvage a point. They win a corner after Dann pumps a long ball forwards that Sunderland head behind for a corner. It’s curled in and DONK! – it’s cleared again. Bolasie whips the ball back in and it’s another corner. This time Pantilimon is fouled. This has been a defensive masterclass from Sunderland. So, so solid.
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88 min: Beep! Beep! Beep! This Sunderland team is reversing. The Great Wall of Allardyce is strung out on the edge of their box. “Is nothing sacred anymore (apart from, you know, religious stuff?). I have a serious first world problem with Sunderland wearing green. It’s like facing an entire team of goalkeepers,” writes Ian Copestake.
87 min: Bolasie has just danced and jigged his way past both Jones and Watmore. The youngster returns for another pop at Bolasie, though, and hacks him down. Yellow card. And the free-kick is whipped in by Bolasie but punched clear by Pantilimon. Palace have it about them now. They feel aggrieved, one imagines.
86 min: Pragmatism’s Danny Graham is on for Defoe.
84 min: Defoe’s ankle has bent underneath him after leaping for a header. His night is over. That looks nasty.
83 min: Well, that will help Defoe’s global brand. It’ll do nothing to help Dann’s chances of an England call up, though. Cabaye clatters a shot at goal but Pantilimon saves.
81 min: Sunderland win back possession in midfield. A pass is rolled forwards to him by Jones. Scott Dann shields the ball as Hennessey comes rushing out to clear. But Defoe shows great tenacity to wriggle into the space between the defender and goalkeeper, nick it round Hennessey and roll the ball calmly into the open goal. That is a smash and grab job. But Allardyce’s team have earned that chance with some fine defending. Dann’s defending was anything but fine.
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Goal! Crystal Palace 0-1 Sunderland (Defoe 80)
Well, well, well.
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76 min: Van Aanholt and Defoe combine with a simple one-two but the Ducthman blazes over from an angle that even Van Basten would have struggled to score from. An optimist at least.
75 min: Wickham is off. Chamakh is on. The Palace fans are all very excited about that. The weirdly coiffed striker is very popular with the Holmesdale fanatics.
73 min: Watmore is having a go. Go on Watmore you punchy upstart you! He Bolasies Bolasie with some half-nifty, half-clumsy footwork on the right wing, drives into the box and cuts the ball back to Jones on the edge of the area. The wingback has absolutely no confidence and drags his shot across goal. It’s half-heartedly cleared to Lens, whose shot isn’t struck cleanly but still causes Hennessey to need two stabs at making a save.
71 min: Bolasie has a pop from 25 yards. It’s comfortably gathered by Pantilimon but he’s always game is Yannick. On the subject of which, here’s Matt Dony: “Yannick Bolasie is possibly the most entertaining player in world football. Any time the ball is near him, something might happen. Probably not, but that possibility is so tantalising! For 10 minutes of every game, he’s the best player in history. For the other 80, he’s a liability. Just have to hope he does something special in those 10 minutes. It’s how I used to feel watching Luis Garcia for Liverpool.”
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70 min: “Any sign of Jermain Defoe’s new personal assistant helping to expand his global brand tonight?” asks John. Perhaps the stupid yellow card was intended to give him that bad boy image that the kids all love. I imagine Jermain Defoe calendar sales have rocketed in Malaysia.
69 min: Two corners. Both defended well at the near post. On we go …
68 min: Sako is then substituted. He’s twanged a hamstring by all accounts. That was a short cameo. Hard luck Bacary. Bamford jogs on to replace him.
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67 min: The Sunderland free-kick is drilled straight in to the wall and Palace break with Zaha … who sends Cattermole skittering past him with a body swerve and then invites M’Vila to hook his leg and bring him down cynically a few yards outside the area on the right. Sako whips the free-kick in to the near post but M’Vila clears for a corner.
65 min: Watmore, showing youthful confidence, turns Ward on the halfway line and scampers towards the Palace area only to be felled by a broad Scott Dann shoulder. A free-kick 30 yards out on the left though. It’ll help relieve some of the pressure.
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63 min: Palace attack down both wings but on both occasions the resulting crosses are dealt with expertly by the Sunderland defence, which is looking very much the well drilled Allardyce machine tonight. Lens has gifted possession to Palace on two occasions since coming on. That won’t please his manager one bit, mind.
61 min: Defoe is inches away from being sent through on goal after a beautifully weighted long ball from Cattermole, who won possession in midfield. But Delaney stretches his huge frame to hook the ball back and away from Defoe on the edge of the area before clearing. That was a vital interception.
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59 min: Sam Allardyce shuffles his pack. Fletcher and Larsson’s night’s work is over. Lens and Watmore trot on to inject a bit of energy into the defensive unit. The Big Sam Big Wall.
58 min: Action! Yes, action! Cabaye almost slips Zaha in behind Kaboul but the defender stretched a leg out and stops the slide-rule pass. Then Sako picks the ball up on the right, he cuts inside and has only one thing on his mind: walloping the ball at goal. It dips towards the far post from 20 yards out but is just a foot wide. There was some beef behind that.
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57 min: “What do Edred King of England, Roald Dahl, Margaret of York, Larry Hagman, Willem III King of Netherland and Crystal Palace v Sunderland all have in common ? They all fizzled out and died on the 23rd November.” Raymond Reardon isn’t expecting much tonight.
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56 min: Defoe is booked for standing in front of the ball when Dann wanted to take a free-kick from deep inside Palace’s half. Daft, pointless stuff.
54 min: Palace have upped the tempo. Jones will be walking a fine line now in every challenge with Sako, Bolasie or Zaha. Palace would do well to target the left-hand side.
52 min: Bolasie is sent tumbling after a hefty lunge from Jones. He wins some of the ball but a good deal more of Bolasie’s ankle. He also wins a yellow card. The free-kick is useless though. Just catching practice for Pantilimon.
51 min: There’s life suddenly. Some intricate triangles result in a shy at goal from Cabaye that Pantilimon gets down to touch away from the far post.
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49 min: But it’s Sunderland who almost take the lead. A hopeful ball is cleared up towards Van Aanholt, who has been full of energy tonight. He dinks the ball against Ward and wins a corner. This time the ball is whipped in by Larsson towards Kaboul on the front post, who leaps and glances the cross towards the far post where Cabaye clears off the line. Close.
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47 min: Palace have begun this half with some intent. Their passing is sharper and they look busier as they press Sunderland in possession.
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45 min: Cabaye is winded midway inside the Sunderland half. He exhales a couple of times, dusts himself off and lofts the resulting free-kick in towards Dann. He chests the ball down accurately for Bolasie but his touch towards goal is too wide and he runs the ball out of play for a goal-kick. Bright start for Palace.
Palace make a change. Bakary Sako is on for Jason Puncheon. More pace.
I suppose what’s happening here is that Palace are being treated like the threatening and talented side that they have become under Pardew. They’re being shown respect. But for all their possession there’s still the feeling that they could be Palaced themselves, with Sunderland constantly looking to spring Fletcher or Defoe on the break after they’ve won back possession. Just one accurate ball out of defence with Palace all weighted in the other direction and they could find themselves a goal down. Allardyce’s wing-backs have confused Palace at times.
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I’m off for a mince pie and a cup of tea. I know it’s a bit early for such festive fodder, but I need a bit of a lift after that half. I did warn you it would be attritional. Back shortly.
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Half-time: Crystal Palace 0-0 Sunderland
Kaboul is caught by Ward as he follows through while stopping the trundling centre-back with a slide tackle. Kaboul looks like he’s twisted something. He gets up but that could begin to bother him later on in the match. Peep! And that’s that. Barely a shot on goal. Big Sam will be chuffed with that. Half a job done as far as Sunderland are concerned.
45 min: Cattermole picks up possession under no pressure midway inside the Palace half. He looks up and sees Van Aanholt sneaking in behind Ward. Van Aanholt takes a touch to reach the byline but his cross is deflected out and nothing comes of a promising move.
43 min: Zaha drifts over to the right, where he shows Van Aanholt a magic trick with his feet. It leaves the Sunderland defender suitably stunned and he races off past him before pulling a cross back towards Wickham. Coates, a towering if somewhat awkward presence, leaps and clears to Bolasie on the edge of the D. He sets a shot up for Cabaye, but his effort is horrible and dragged over towards the corner flag. Really horrible, in fact.
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41 min: Quiz time! Did the corner A) Find its intended target and result in a goal? or B) Amount to nothing? Tricky one eh?
40 min: Sunderland win another deep free-kick that they just aimlessly launch forwards. This time Zaha gathers as it is cleared and puts the afterburners on. He makes rapid progress into the Sunderland half, turns inside and finds support. The ball is worked up to Bolasie on the edge of the area. He jinks left and right and whacks a shot at Kaboul that squirts out for a corner.
38 min: Cattermole is fouled by Ward. He’ll remember that. Mark my words. It lifts some of the pressure off Sunderland and allows them to get a few players into the Palace area. O’Shea pumps the free-kick in from the halfway line but it’s routine stuff and Palace clear.
35 min: Cabaye lofts a lovely diagonal ball to Zaha on the left corner of the penalty area. He kills the ball with his first touch and faces up to Jones. He dangles the carrot and then nicks the ball away from Jones’s intended tackle before dinking a ball towards Bolasie on the far post. But O’Shea gets a vital head on to the ball and diverts it behind the Palace player, who shoots across goal only for Zaha to be flagged offside. Better play from Palace. Mixing it up a bit.
32 min: This has become scrappy now, which suggests Sam Allardyce is winning. Palace have prodded and probed but have been too narrow. They’re not utilising the pace of Zaha and Bolasie in the wide areas in my humble one. As if to illustrate the point Souare is forced to play a flat pass into the penalty area from a central position which causes no harm.
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30 min: “The amount of ex-Manchester United players makes the mind boggle,” writes eagle-eyed Ezra Finkelstein. “O’Shea, Van Aanholt and Zaha. Also I’ve noted the makeover that Palace have undergone with last season starters Speroni, Ledley, Jedinak, Chamakh all making way for Hennessey, Wickham and Souare.”
27 min: Ward finds Puncheon on the back post with a lofted cross. The Palace playmaker can’t generate any power on the header, though, and Sunderland regain possession. If Sunderland’s quality on the break was better they could do some damage here. Palace are not the most convincing when faced with pace themselves.
26 min: Sunderland have a spell of pressure but Cattermole sends a rusty pass the way of Fletcher but it’s cut out easily. Palace try the long diagonal ball towards Wickham, it doesn’t find him but the resulting clearance invites yet more pressure. Zaha tries to work a pass through a wall of Sunderland defenders, who stand firm. Van Aanholt is sent scampering away on the break but the attack fizzles out with a misplaced pass towards Defoe.
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24 min: Larsson’s free-kick is cleared to Jones on the edge of the box, who scuffs a low shot into a crowd of players, from within which Dann clears. This is evening up as a contest now.
22 min: Defoe rolls back the years and spins away from Delaney and Souare on the right touchline in razor-sharp fashion. He drives towards the box but Souare tugs him down before he steps over the line. It’s a free-kick … but very nearly a penalty.
20 min: Sunderland win a free-kick by the right touchline. Seb Larsson, who possesses a silk-clad right foot, steps up to take it. It’s whipped towards the penalty spot but Palace clear.
18 min: Zaha tries to skip around Kaboul with some nifty footwork on the right but the Sunderland defender sticks dutifully to his task and slides in to win possession. The visiting team then play a few hopeful long balls towards Fletcher after soaking up some easy-on-the-eye Palace pressure but neither finds the intended target. Palace very much back in control.
15 min: Palace whip a cross in towards Bolasie who clatters into O’Shea in the sickening fashion. The Sunderland defender hits the deck hard as does Bolasie. No one to blame. Both players were focused on the ball. Focus seems a bit of a problem for O’Shea now, mind. But a couple of minutes’ treatment rids him of the stars he’s seeing and we’re back under way. It’s intriguing this match.
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13 min: This is better from Sunderland. Cattermole plays a disguised pass inside his marker and finds Defoe on the edge of the box, whose footwork bamboozles Delaney but his shot is curled a yard wide. He can’t quite wrap his right foot around it. Sunderland are very much shaping up as the counterattacking side, the tactic that Pardew’s side normally utilise to such good effect on the road.
11 min: A decent chance for Van Aanholt, who Jones finds with a razor-sharp pass played low and diagonally into the box from 15 yards outside the penalty area. Van Aanholt rushes his shot though and drags it a couple of yards wide. A bit of composure there and he could have, well, should have bothered Hennessey.
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9 min: Cabaye has attempted to loft two diagonal balls towards Wickham, who has tried to flick the ball on to Bolasie running in behind him on both occasions. Neither comes off but if it works the next time no one will catch the Palace winger as he runs in behind. A warning sign.
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7 min: This is all Palace, who are strolling around in possession without any great pressure on them. Meanwhile, here’s Shaun Wilkinson with some light relief: “Pressure especially on Big Sam tonight, but I bet both managers will walk out feeling a little down in the dumps. Both were fully expecting to be named the new Real Madrid manager a couple of hours ago.” Honk!
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6 min: … but Puncheon hits it pretty low and hard again – presumably it’s a training ground move because each one has been the same – but it’s easily dealt with. I’m guessing someone is expected to nip in at the near post and flick those on? Maybe I’m being too kind and they’ve just been rubbish.
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5 min: Bolasie brings his dancing feet to the party and wins a third corner for Palace …
3 min: Palace break and win a corner. Puncheon drives it in but it’s flat and is cleared to Bolasie. He whips a ball in towards Connor Wickham on the penalty spot but Sunderland clear for another corner. That one comes to nothing but Palace keep the pressure very much on.
2 min: Sunderland get the first sight of goal. Defoe drops off at the back post and cushions a header down to Fletcher who, eight yards out, blazes over under considerable pressure.
1 min: Peep! We’re under way at Selhurst Park. Meanwhile, Daniel Schulwolf scratches his head: “I would be utterly shocked if Big Sam opts for a 4-4-2 here. Playing any of O’Shea, Kaboul, or Coates as a fullback seems ludicrous given their lack of pace, even with Billy Jones presumably helping out in front of them. As a biased American, I can’t help but wonder why the jet-heeled Yedlin was left out of the starting lineup against such pacey opposition, despite his propensity for the occasional defensive lapse. I remember him performing quite brilliantly as a right midfielder against Belgium in the Round of 16 in Brasil, completely nullifying Eden Hazard after coming on as a first-half substitute for the injured Fabian Johnson.” Well, it looks like Big Sam has been up to mind games. It seems he’s lining up with a back three of O’Shea, Coates and Kaboul with Jones and Van Aanholt as wing-backs. Oh Big Sam. You Big Tease.
The players gather around the centre-circle as the Marseillaise is played in memory of the 130 people who died in the Paris Attacks. The whole stadium joins in with a round of applause – some fans sing the anthem too.
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The teams emerge from the tunnel, where there’s a cracking atmosphere at Selhurst Park. The Holmesdale Road End is in terrific voice as usual, banners and flags fluttering in the cold autumn wind. The Sunderland fans have sold out the away section too and are also giving it plenty of welly.
The two managers speak: Crystal Palace’s Alan Pardew says he’s glad to have Connor Wickham back in the team to hold the ball up and link play up in the final third. He also says he expects Sunderland to play five at the back. Sam Allardyce is having none of that, though. He’s going gung-ho by his standards. A 4-4-2 with Fletcher and Defoe up front. He thinks that two banks of four will prevent John O’Shea getting horribly exposed for pace at left-back. Hmmm. I’m not sure about that. He’s up against Zaha, or if they switch positions, Bolasie. That’s some rapid running right there.
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And as for Sunderland, Lee Cattermole returns after injury. Lee Cattermole is still only 27 years old. Let that sink in. Surely he’s been playing since Ian Porterfield walloped that one home in the 73 FA Cup final. Will he steady the ship in his own unique Lee Cattermole way?
1 - Sunderland have won just one of their last 15 Premier League games, drawing five and losing nine. Quagmire.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 23, 2015
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Palace fans, what do you make of the potential investment in the club? Is it what the club needs to kick on to the next level or would an injection of cash spoil the wholesome feel that surrounds Selhurst Park at the moment?
Here’s what Steve Parish had to say:
There has once again been plenty of speculation regarding potential investment in the club. I can confirm that talks are in an advanced stage which would still see me as the joint largest shareholder alongside David Blitzer and Josh Harris, meaning the day-today running of the club will remain the same. It’s important to me and the three other current owners, who will all stay involved in any future structure, that the club remains in the hands of people who love it as much as we do, and we’ll continue to do everything we can to drive it forward and establish ourselves as a force in the Premier League for a long time. Redeveloping the stadium is key to that, and this is what the extra finance will help bring about sooner than we can at the present. I feel as though the current owners and new investors can work together well and hopefully a mix of UK and USA personnel can help avoid the mistakes fans from other clubs have experienced when boardroom level changes are made. I know some people may have reservations about this but I firmly believe this is what is needed to move us to the next level, and as always we only have the club’s best intentions at heart. If it all goes ahead then it’ll be great for Crystal Palace Football Club, but we all know that these deals are complicated things so if it doesn’t go through then we’ll still be in a good position. I’ve said that we hope to get things done before Christmas if possible but we’ll see – I’ll keep you informed.”
Hello. If Sunderland can be half as defensive as Florentino Pérez was just then in the Bernabéu press room, they’ll do all right tonight.
Teams
Crystal Palace: Hennessey; Ward, Dann, Delaney, Souare, McArthur, Cabaye, Zaha, Puncheon, Bolasie, Wickham. Subs: Speroni, Kelly, Ledley, Jedinak, Sako, Chamakh, Bamford.
Sunderland: Pantilimon, Jones, Van Aanholt, Cattermole, Larsson, Kaboul, O’Shea, Defoe, M’Vila, Coates, Fletcher. Subs: Johnson, Lens, Graham, Toivonen, Yedlin, Mannone, Watmore.
Preamble
Evening. It appears Sam Allardyce will have to use every wily trick in his Big Book of Management to stop this being anything other than a routine home win tonight. Crystal Palace are having a very good season and come into this on the back of a deserved 2-1 win at Liverpool in which they played some wonderfully courageous counterattacking football. The one sliver of hope for Sunderland is that the Black Cats won 3-1 at Selhurst Park last season and Allardyce’s old team, West Ham, won by the same scoreline this season. However, the three league defeats Palace have suffered at home this term have come against Man City, Arsenal and West Ham, all top-six teams. Sunderland still look like a confusing collection of previous managers’ bad ideas. Allardyce, however, has the ability to set any team up to frustrate. If they sit deep and refuse to give Palace the chance to counterattack they could get something out of the game. Although, with Yohan Cabaye pulling the strings in midfield, it’s hard to imagine Palace not carving out at least a handful of decent chances.
Allardyce sounded quite the Alan Pardew fan in his pre-match press conference:
“Alan has a squad of players who have responded to him very quickly. He’s maximised their strengths. He’s found a system that suits every individual in the team and also suits the team as a whole. Basically, they are a super counter-attacking side. He’s using the skills of the team to the maximum potential. Unfortunately, I haven’t found our maximum yet. Hopefully I will find it very soon.”
What is Sunderland’s maximum?
I’d argue it’s a 1-1 draw in an attritional battle at Selhurst Park tonight. Oh yes, I can sense your mouth is watering, reader. Let’s hope I’m completely wrong. Let’s also hope that no one tries to land one on Kayla the eagle. I’ll be away delving into matters surrounding Rafa Benítez’s Real Madrid future in the buildup to the match but I’ll be sure to post the team news and be back in time for kick-off.
In the meantime, kids, Eric Goulden is touring at the moment. Yes, Wreckless Eric, who at 61 might be more accurately monickered Bit More Steady These Days Eric, or some such. He has a new album out. It’s very good. Go along if you can. Hopefully he’ll play these three minutes of perfection too …
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Gregg will be here shortly.
