Those prone to bouts of optimism at Crystal Palace believe this most unpredictable of seasons could potentially yield European football, so victories like this will only fuel such conviction. Alan Pardew’s team bucked a trend here to check a run of seven successive league defeats to Southampton and now loiter right on Tottenham Hotspur’s shoulder in sixth place. These are heady days indeed in this corner of south London.
That has been achieved by a side who had been saddled with problematic home form and remain without a goal from a conventional striker in the league. Imagine what they might achieve if they had a regular scorer at the tip of their formation, for all that Connor Wickham’s feverish energy and rugged determination drew post-match praise from the management. This win might have been far more comfortable, with excellent opportunities created only to be passed up. As it was, it ended up with the locals hailing the intervention of their goalkeeper, Wayne Hennessey, in stoppage time and Pardew mopping his brow in mock relief on the touchline.
The chance had been squeezed out from a rare defensive error, Scott Dann and Damien Delaney challenging for the same lofted pass only for the loose ball to drop for Shane Long at the centre-halves’ back. The striker, free in the penalty area, gathered the ball and spat away a shot that Hennessey blocked with his legs. “A scary moment, I have to say,” said Pardew. “I thought he was going to score. But Wayne stood up and made it difficult for him. It was a good win, a good performance, a good day for Crystal Palace.” It was not a bad one for Hennessey, either, given the task he has faced in making the goalkeeper’s jersey at Palace his own. Julian Speroni and Alex McCarthy may have to be patient for their own opportunities.
The victory might actually have been more emphatic, and there would have been a collective gnashing of frustration from the majority within the arena had Southampton, now winless in five games, plucked parity at the last. In Yannick Bolasie and Wilfried Zaha the home side boasted the contest’s most effervescent attacking forces, with Jason Puncheon more like his old self and Yohan Cabaye an imperious presence in central midfield. The Frenchman is an inspiration in this lineup, starting and finishing the game’s only goal, and dictating the play almost unnoticed. Those creative talents around him thrive in his calming presence, with Pardew describing his performance as “a masterclass”.
The goal was actually pilfered after Southampton’s only concerted spell of pressure all afternoon. Hennessey had watched Sadio Mane curl a delicious shot marginally wide of the far post, and then reacted smartly to turn aside Steven Davis’ flicked header from Cedric Soares’ centre. Unperturbed, Palace broke downfield seven minutes from the break with Zaha doing well to control an awkwardly bouncing ball, played by Cabaye from the halfway line, before liberating Bolasie at his side.
The Congolese initially needed to readjust his body shape, though that served to rock José Fonte on to his heels and, with the centre-half slightly off the pace, the forward was away. He burst to the byline, those elastic legs a blur, with his pull-back dispatched first-time from close range by Cabaye. The Frenchman’s own dart from his original pass had gone completely untracked by a slack midfield and a defence that had been pulled to pieces. In truth, they had already been heavily reliant upon Paulo Gazzaniga up to then, the Argentinian goalkeeper offered a chance by Maarten Stekelenburg’s toe injury and excellent in denying Bolasie, Cabaye and Wickham in quick succession early on.
He was just as impressive keeping out the forward in the frenzy at the end, pushing out a shot at his near post, and then pawing away Bolasie’s belted volley from the resultant corner. “Neither goalkeeper deserved to be on the losing side,” said Ronald Koeman, a grumpy presence desperately trying to draw positives in defeat. “I’m worried about results, not about how we play football. But today we worked hard and did everything. We had the best chances to score. If we keep the level of today then three points will come, I have no doubts.”
The Dutchman will surely be proved right on that score, with this team crammed with too much quality to remain in a slump for long. Yet, as a first win in 14 top-flight matches between the teams proved, this was Palace’s afternoon.
