At first glance this may look simply like the natural order being imposed, a Premier League club easing out a side from two tiers below even if they were forced to endure the irritation of extra-time in the process. Crystal Palace, however, will consider it an exorcism.
Confronted by their bogey team from a bygone era, Alan Pardew’s players only imposed themselves upon an impressively resolute Shrewsbury Town in that added half-hour as Glenn Murray’s penalty edged them ahead and in the time that remained, quality in possession eventually told. This was a first win here against the Shrews since 1982, and only a third in 18 matches stretching back to Terry Venables’s first season in charge in the 1970s. The quirkiest of hoodoos is no more.
For a while, this had been an upset in waiting. Shrewsbury, without a win in League One this season but with five strung out across their back-line and Ryan Woods a bundle of energy in the centre of midfield, had hassled and harried to ensure the home side lacked any kind of rhythm. Within nine minutes they also led. Woods and Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro combined with the striker sending the right wing-back, Matt Tootle, galloping unchecked into the penalty area. His finish was crisp and low beyond Wayne Hennessey and those locals with long memories cursed a familiar sense of exasperation.
Pardew will have shared that anxiety having been in the previous Palace team to confront the Shrews, in 1989, when Steve Coppell’s side were actually on the charge to the top flight but, true to form, still sunk without trace at Gay Meadow. “We were dysfunctional in that first half, with a few rusty ones involved and nine changes [from Saturday],” admitted the Palace manager. The loss of his captain, Mile Jedinak, to a hamstring strain was worrying before Saturday’s trip to Chelsea.
Wilfried Zaha eventually won a penalty just before the interval, eking a foul from Jermaine Grandison. Dwight Gayle converted with ease though, even then, Town refused to wilt. A rusty Patrick Bamford and the livewire Zaha might have edged Palace ahead, but Mickey Mellon’s side remained resolute even as Gayle clipped the bar in stoppage time. As it transpired, the extra period would yield relief.
Murray won a penalty himself from Mat Sadler and converted, while Lee Chung-yong’s neat finish effectively killed off the visitors’ resistance. Zaha’s emphatic header from Pape Souaré’s centre gave the scoreline a deceptive feel, even if it capped his own excellent personal display.
“Zaha, that’s a freak of nature,” said Mellon. “I’ve not seen anything like that before live. He was sprinting as quick in the last minute of extra-time as he was in the first minute. That’s not a bad weapon to have in your armoury.”
Charlton Athletic await in the third round but in some part courtesy of their winger’s freakish energy, mention of Shrewsbury need no longer bring Palace fans of a certain age out in a cold sweat.
