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Crystal Palace into Champions League places at West Ham's expense with help of VAR

VAR gave Jordan Ayew's winning goal that was initially ruled out for offside - Getty Images Europe
VAR gave Jordan Ayew's winning goal that was initially ruled out for offside - Getty Images Europe

Jordan Ayew needed two VAR checks to confirm his 87th-minute winner. But it was worth it to celebrate a strike that took Crystal Palace into fourth place in the Premier League.

Despite Palace’s lofty league position, manager Roy Hodgson downplayed suggestions so early in the season that they might have designs on a European place. “Its nice to start reasonably well, but you know you’ve got to keep up that pace and one of the things we don’t have is a big squad,” he said. “But if we can keep our heads above water and get to January I hope we can do something about that.”

West Ham have been spoken of more widely as potential top-six material and would have gone third had they hung on to the lead given them by Sebastien Haller. “You need to play in every game,” said manager Manuel Pellegrini. “We missed a good option to be third but there are plenty more games.”

This one started slowly, with Palace gradually growing in confidence against a strangely passive home side. But after 28 minutes it was revealed as a cunning plan to lull the visitors into a false sense of security.

A quick forward pass from Mark Noble found Andriy Yarmolenko on the right. He crossed low before Palace could react and Haller met the ball first time eight yards out only for goalkeeper Vicente Guaita to block.

Jordan Ayew celebrates his winning goal - Credit: Reuters
Crystal Palace are one of the league's best away teams Credit: Reuters

Back came Palace and Wilfried Zaha twisted past Aaron Cresswell on the right before rolling the ball into the path of Jeffrey Schlupp, whose scuffed effort was hooked off the line by Ryan Fredericks. At the other end, Guaita came to Palace’s rescue again as Gary Cahill’s attempt to clear a cross almost ricocheted in off Martin Kelly’s knee.

After 54 minutes came the goal that the game had needed, Haller, the £54 million signing from Eintracht Frankfurt, sliding in a low cross from Fredericks for his fourth of the season.

But seven minutes later, Rice senselessly raised his arm to block an attempted cross from former Hammer Cheikhou Kouyate, Patrick van Aanholt converting the inevitable penalty kick.

And in the 87th minute Ayew tucked in the winner after Kelly had nodded on a cross by substitute Andros Townsend, with both Ayew’s and Kelly’s touches checked by VAR for offside. “I’d prefer if you’d write about the quality of our performance [rather than VAR],” Hodgson said. “Our performance means we have no need to apologise to anyone.

“The players deserved it and they worked hard for it.”

7:25PM

FT: West Ham 1 Crystal Palace 2

That's that! Another away-day heist by Palace who spoil West Ham's day.

7:23PM

95 minutes: West Ham 1 Crystal Palace 2

West Ham throwing bodies forward. Zabaleta fouled by Townsend close to the left corner of the penalty area. Great position for West Ham to throw the ball into the box.

Noble does well to save it around the back, volleying across to keep it alive but West Ham head straight at Guaita.

7:21PM

92 minutes: West Ham 1 Crystal Palace 2

Haller down appealing for a penalty under challenge from Cahill. Good, experienced defending - got tight to Haller who was backing in but pulled his hands away just in time.

7:19PM

90 minutes: West Ham 1 Crystal Palace 2

Six minutes added on after that VAR delay.

7:18PM

GOAL! VAR gives the goal

After an interminable delay, the goal stands! Kelly was just onside when Townsend whipped the cross in and he made exactly the right decision to head across for Ayew. The easiest of finishes. West Ham's tactic of pushing to the edge of the box punished.

7:16PM

Palace have it in the net...but the offside flag is up

Cross dinked in to Kelly who headed across to the unmarked Ayew to tap home. Two possible offsides - from the cross and whether Ayew was in front of Kelly. VAR checking.

7:14PM

86 minutes: West Ham 1 Crystal Palace 1

Nice touch from Wilshere at the edge of the box but his pass to Haller is cut out. Is there one more chance in this for the home team?

Maybe not because Zaha is away down the left and this time Fredericks is penalised for a fould. Yellow card and a free kick in a dangerous position.

7:12PM

84 minutes: West Ham 1 Crystal Palace 1

Aaron Cresswell has pulled up with an injury. Pablo Zabaleta replaces him.

7:11PM

82 minutes: West Ham 1 Crystal Palace 1

Danger for West Ham, Zaha tempts Fredericks into a challenge but does not get the foul he believes he deserves.

7:08PM

80 minutes: West Ham 1 Crystal Palace 1

Palace's turn to make a change, Andros Townsend is on. They are starting to show a bit more adventure, keeping the ball in West Ham's half. The London Stadium has gone a little quiet.

7:05PM

77 minutes: West Ham 1 Crystal Palace 1

Zaha wriggles free of some pressure to set Palace on the break, it looks like a three on three. Slips a pass to Ayew but West Ham's defenders did well. Stayed on their feet and ushered him down a blind alley. Jack Wilshere replaces Yarmolenko.

7:03PM

75 minutes: West Ham 1 Crystal Palace 1

Guaita punches clear and Palace push out. Ray Lewington is out on the touchline barking instructions and Palace settle down into some unchallenged possession at the back. Good challenge by Anderson on Ayew sees West Ham regain possession.

7:01PM

72 minutes: West Ham 1 Crystal Palace 1

Poor from Zaha who had the chance to slip Ayew in but Ogbonna cut out his pass. Rice fouls Ayew to relieve any building pressure. West Ham soon have it back and Anderson's enterprise wins a corner.

6:58PM

70 minutes: West Ham 1 Crystal Palace 1

Good effort by Haller but his volley is blocked. West Ham will be hoping to pile the pressure on in this last 20 minutes. They are seeing all of the ball but Palace are sitting back stubbornly in their shape.

6:55PM

68 minutes: West Ham 1 Crystal Palace 1

Fornals coming on to replace Lanzini. Yarmolenko tries an inswinging cross with his left foot but Haller is pulled up for a  high foot.

6:54PM

66 minutes: West Ham 1 Crystal Palace 1

Since the start of the 2013-14 season no team has won more penalties than Crystal Palace. You'd have to think that is down to having dribbles like Zaha and Townsend.

6:51PM

GOAL! Van Aanholt sends Roberto the wrong way

No heroics from the back-up goalkeeper, and van Aanholt keeps his cool. All square.

6:50PM

PENALTY PALACE!

Rice penalised for raising his arm to block Kouyate's acrobatic shot. It struck him on the elbow. It stands after a VAR check. Van Aanholt to take.

6:49PM

61 minutes: West Ham 1 Crystal Palace 0

Palace have to open up and chase the game now which should suit West Ham.

6:46PM

58 minutes: West Ham 1 Crystal Palace 0

That was West Ham's new identity in a nutshell, every player involved in a crisp passing move and attacking full-backs involved.

6:43PM

GOAL! Haller makes the breakthrough

By far West Ham's best move of the match that started in their own half with an Anderson nutmeg, and then Noble releasing him on the run. Play is switches to Fredericks with Palace pushed back into their box, and he picks out Haller who turns home from close range. Good move.

6:41PM

52 minutes: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

Ogbonna blasts over from close range after a set-piece dropped to him in the Palace area. Just West Ham's fifth shot of the game so far - it's not really good enough in this type of fixture.

6:38PM

50 minutes: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

Zaha has a chance to break but an offside flag puts a stop to the move.

6:35PM

47 minutes: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

Nice drive from Lanzini to carry the ball through midfield and win a foul. West Ham need to take more risks defensively in this half, try and press higher and force Palace into mistakes. It might leave space for Zaha, but this is a game they must win if they want to finish in the top six.

6:33PM

KICK OFF!

West Ham get us started in the second period.

6:20PM

Sterile possession

I mentioned about the centre-backs seeing all of the ball and the numbers show it: Issa Diop, Angelo Ogbonna, Gary Cahill and Martin Kelly are four of the game's top five passers so far. Ogbonna to Diop and Cahill to Kelly are two of the top three passing combinations.

Diop has completed 19 more passes than Noble, which shows West Ham have spent too long in the wrong areas.

6:18PM

HT: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

West Ham have had the chances, but Palace will be the happier. Not one for the ages.

6:18PM

45+1 minutes: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

Ooooh, another West Ham chance. Cross comes all the way to Anderson at the back stick who shows great composure to feed a first time lay-off into the path of Lanzini at the edge of the box but he curls it wide of the post.

6:16PM

45 minutes: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

Two minutes added time. Not much happening at either end after that flurry of attacks.

6:13PM

42 minutes: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

Great strike from 25 yards by McCarthy, but Roberto beats in away. From the resulting corner, Roberto spills Cahil''s header down at the back post but Ayew cannot fashion room for the shot.

6:11PM

40 minutes: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

Guaita comes for a cross and cleans out van Aanholt. Lack of communication between the two of them. Better again from Zaha who makes a run in behind that wins Palace a throw deep in the West Ham half.

Palace keeping the ball well now, but Rice nips in with a sliding tackle on halfway to set West Ha on the break. Anderson's cross hit the West Ham defender and deflected straight to Guaita - that could easily have been an OG.

6:08PM

37 minutes: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

That was sublime from Zaha as Palace put the pressure on for the first time in the game. The ball falls for him in the right section of the penalty area, flag stays down, and from a standing start with his back to goal he rinses Cresswell in one movement and picks out Ayew. Did not make the best connection on the shot, which enabled Fredericks to hook off the line!

6:06PM

35 minutes: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

Both teams are sitting quite deep which is leading to a lot of sterile possession, I imagine both sets of centre-backs are among the games top passers. Not great to watch but Palace will be happy to suck the life out of the game.

6:04PM

32 minutes: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

And another chance for West Ham from a cross form the right. Fredericks stands one up to the backs post but Anderson completely skews his side foot volley with nobody around him. Should be 1-0 to the home team. Anderson has one goal in his last 23 league apps which surprised me.

6:01PM

30 minutes: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

That's more like it from the home team. They work the ball out to Anderson who whips a dangerous ball into the avenue of uncertainty that van Aanholt heads behind for a corner.

Ooooooh...what a miss! West Ham starting to get going as Yarmolenko skins Cahill in the right channel and puts it on a plate for Haller, but he hits it straight at Guaita from six yards out. There was no Palace defender near him, but the ball did just skip up before contact.

5:57PM

26 minutes: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

West Ham doing that thing all Pellegrini's teams do, pushing out to the edge of the box whenever the opposition pass backwards in the final third. Almost catches them out after Kouyate makes a run from deep, but the ball runs through to Roberto.

5:55PM

23 minutes: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

West Ham getting caught in a bit of a scrap here, which does not suit their artisan forwards. Ayew charges down Diop, forces a turnover and wins a free kick in a dangerous position. Ogbonna clears, then in the next phase of play Ayew almost finds room for a curling shot but it's blocked by Cresswell.

5:52PM

21 minutes: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

McCarthy is fit enough to carry on which is good news for Palace fans. Palace enjoying some easy possession with West Ham sitting in a shape, perhaps trying to draw them out.

Good burst through the middle from Zaha who attracts West Ham defenders, opening up space for van Aanholt cross but it is blocked and the attack fizzles out.

5:48PM

17 minutes: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

James McCarthy down after a collision with Mark Noble. That's always a worry given his injury history. Palace have Townsend and others out warming up as McCarthy stays sat on the turf. Looked like a whack on the head which requires due caution.

5:46PM

15 minutes: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

Palace are starting to settle on the ball a little more, but have not fed Zaha in any dangerous areas. Neither team really squeezing up the pitch or looking press, perhaps wary of the pace of both attacks. It's leading to quite a wishy-washy game so far.

5:44PM

12 minutes: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

Better from Palace as they get Ayew in behind in the left channel but Schlupp is stopped in his tracks as he tried to dribble in the penalty area. Yarmolenko chips it to Rice who hooks away.

Good play from Joe Ward to venture forward behind Anderson and he hooked a dangerous ball right across the six-yard box. Nobody there.

5:41PM

10 minutes: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

Very flat atmosphere in the game, it almost feels like a testimonial. West Ham stroking the ball around at the back but not really going anywhere. Finding it difficult to get players in between Palace's back four and midfield.

5:38PM

7 minutes: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

The game has a slow tempo in the first seven minutes. Sometimes it can almost be too easy against a team sitting this deep. It can actually be easier to pass incisively when the opposition are putting some pressure on and forcing you to  play one or two touch. Palace get their first spell of possession, but Rice does well to snuff out Schlupp.

5:36PM

5 minutes: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

Noble tries to drink a chipped pass over the top to Yarmolenko, but he is penalised for offside. Was very tight, I thought officials were trying to keep their flags down in those scenarios? It does seem a natural imbalance of VAR - it is easier to rule goals out than go back and let them stand. All West Ham so far, Palace deep in their own half and looking to soak up pressure.

5:32PM

2 minutes: West Ham 0 Crystal Palace 0

West Ham establish possession straight away, with Palace falling away into a 4-5-1 shape. Looks like Zaha is starting on the right with Ayew through the middle and Schlupp on the left.

5:31PM

KICK OFF!

Palace gets us going - not many empty seats at the London Stadium which is good to see.

5:26PM

Players in the tunnel

All eyes on Roberto and how he deputises for Fabianksi. No Milojevic for Palace either due to suspension, which is a blow. West Ham will fancy this.

5:19PM

West Ham's joker in the pack

This might be the player to unlock the door for West Ham: Andriy Yarmolenko. As this piece by Sam Dean and Jason Burt gives an insight into his character in the dressing room. Here is a taste:

“It was exactly the same when he knew that he had a big injury and he would be out for six or seven months. He is the first one to be joking. As a character, he always helps the team.”

4:36PM

Palace team

4:35PM

West Ham team

1:19PM

West Ham's best side in....20 years?

Where could West Ham land this season? They might feel aggrieved not to be receiving the commendation reserved for Leicester City by pundits as they sit within touching distance of the top four.

Andriy Yarmolenko, Manuel Lanzini, Pablo Fornals, Felipe Anderson and Sebastien Haller are possibly the best collection of attacking talent outside the top six and there is greater consistency to Manuel Pellegrini's team this season.

Declan Rice and Mark Noble are also keeping things ticking in the middle of the park, with Rice keeping his spot in the senior England squad for the forthcoming international break.

If they have a weakness it might be in both full-back positions, something Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend might look to exploit on the counter-attack this evening. West Ham are also without the excellent Lukasz Fabianski, so much will depend on how deputy goalkeeper Roberto fares.

Despite Palace's reputation as away day specialists, their form has been quite patchy. They were truly abysmal at Sheffield United, and routed 4-0 by an otherwise struggling Tottenham team. Even their 2-1 victory at Man Utd was slightly fortuitous, outshot 22 to to five and seeing 29 per cent of the ball.  A home win over injury-ravaged Norwich was also not enough evidence to suggest they will have a stress free season.

This was Roy Hodgson's assessment of Palace's opponents this evening:  "They have a quality frontline and are capable of scoring goals. We're going to have to be very diligent in our defending and work very hard to stop those players getting their chances."

Manuel Pellegrini added: "We are winning because we are playing with high pace and doing things well. You must continue doing that because winning the last game doesn't mean you're going to win the next one."

Team news on the way shortly.