Advertisement

Another game to forget for Palace

I was hopeful, if not expectant, before yesterday’s game against a resurgent Newcastle but it turned out to be a bit of a sham. Our second half no-show has happened one too many times this season and cost us at least a point against a Newcastle side which were quite obviously lacking confidence in the first period. The simple truth is, they deserved to win.

There was much to be encouraged about in the first half because we started fairly well. The game plan was obvious from the start – break the play up, time waste, basically do anything you can to get under the skin of the players and fans. For 45 minutes that plan was executed to perfection and it was having the desired effect because the home fans were getting edgy, they knew how big the game was in their bid to avoid relegation and we had the edge.

Although there wasn’t any gilt-edged chances in the first half, we did go close through Yohan Cabaye’s overlapping run and Yannick Bolasie’s wonderful effort on the volley but ultimately failed to score. With the exception of the Geordies predictably booing Cabaye every time he went near the ball, the first half passed by without anything of note really happening and at half time things weren’t looking too bad.

That changed in the second half.

From the outset we were lethargic, we were sloppy in possession and we lacked anything even approaching drive and determination. By contrast, Newcastle were everything we weren’t – they came out in the second half with energy and commitment and had a good spell in the first 15 minutes of the half which was topped off with a goal. Once again question marks swirl above Wayne Hennessey regarding his positioning but I’m growing tired of deciding whether he’s at fault for goals so instead I’ll just point out what a wonderful free kick it was from Andros Townsend, who was the best player on the pitch on Saturday.

I don’t usually pick out opposition players for praise but Townsend was wonderful yesterday, even if it was to Palace’s detriment. His energy tracking back was a big reason we struggled going forward but more importantly he had a big impact on the game going forwards. He was a constant thorn in Palace’s side going forward, his direct running and quality on the ball causing all sorts of problems in open play and of course it was his wand of a left foot that put the ball beyond Hennessey from a free kick.

However poor we were in the second half, Newcastle presented us with a golden chance to salvage something from the penalty spot and it was a chance we didn’t so much pass up as we did threw away. The penalty decision baffled everyone, players included I think, and it turns out it was given for a handball which looked harsh at the time but what his arms were doing flailing up there I’m not sure. It was Yohan Cabaye that stepped up to take it, to complete the fairytale return to the North East and… he bottled it. Whether or not he should have taken it at all is all conjecture but players miss penalties, that’s just the nature of the game. It’s gutting now but everyone, including Yohan, will move on.

Once we missed the penalty we were never going to get back into the game – we were even more deflated than before the penalty and truth be told we didn’t look like getting back into it then. Our Jekyll and Hide performance meant that at the end of the 90 minutes Newcastle deserved to win the game, they just showed more determination and hunger than we did when it came to winning the game. Technically we’re still not arithmetically safe so that still has to be the focus for the team and we’ve got two more opportunities to do it, starting with Stoke next weekend.

In reality I think we’re safe – it would take a highly unlikely set of results to send us down as things stand but our likely survival shouldn’t gloss over the simple truth of the second half of the season which is that we have won 1 game in our last 19 attempts.

One.

Attentions are turning now to next season and with that comes people questioning Pardew’s future. For what it’s worth I think he’ll stay and have another crack of the whip but a repeat of the kind of form we’ve seen since Christmas at any point next season could be devastating for both the club and him. It’s a sobering thought but if we had won one or two fewer games early in the season we would be in the relegation zone and staring at Championship football, possibly without him at the helm.