Crystal Palace Fan View: VAR was the best thing about the Brighton defeat

VAR – does it stay or does it go?

The first competitive use for VAR in English senior football was in the game on Monday night and not only was it a success, but it set a number of popular misconceptions to rest in the process. It was never going to be horrendous, this is a concept that has been trialled in tournaments and league play elsewhere, but this morning there should be no discussion about its effectiveness.

The only relevant moment for intervention was Glenn Murray’s winning goal, which on first viewing looked like it could have come off his arm. Even if it did, which I’m not convinced of, it shouldn’t have been disallowed. He pulled his arm away from the ball, and the key contact was with his knee. VAR allowed a referee to look at this in real time, and if it had been a clear handball it would have been overruled there and then – in time the managers and players will learn to be more trusting of these decisions.

The best part was that this took no time. The review was conducted while the Brighton players were celebrating, it didn’t slow the game down at all but in real time we got a second opinion from someone with more perspective than the referee on the pitch. I look forward to seeing it again.

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Sako does himself no harm & Hennessey does himself no favours

Bakary Sako continued his excellent form with a committed display, which he capped with a stunning goal. He created the bulk of our chances and looked the most dangerous player on the pitch in a Crystal Palace shirt. He pressed and harried, ran the channels well and put in a couple of crosses that ought to have been tucked away. There is no doubt in my mind, Bakary Sako should be starting against Burnley, but he must not be moved out wide to accommodate Christian Benteke – he has to be alongside or instead of Christian.

Wayne Hennessey has been in and out of the team so far this season, but I expect Julian Speroni to be restored to the starting line-up against Burnley on Saturday after Monday’s performance. It wasn’t terrible, he claimed a number of high balls convincingly in the second half, but the first goal Crystal Palace conceded was a soft one, and he ought to have done better.

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Crystal Palace lose both Schlupp & Townsend

The last thing either manager would have wanted to do was to lose players to injury. For Roy Hodgson, watching both Jeffrey Schlupp & Andros Townsend leave the ground on crutches would have been one of the worst outcomes possible – as he put it he would “have swapped virtually any result to make certain we had Schlupp and Townsend and a few others fit”. Neither challenges were filled with any malice, but the outcome is little different.

Both will miss the weekend’s game at least, which is a real shame. After struggling initially Schlupp has settled into the full back position and made it his own. There was a fear that he was betwixt and between positions – not competent enough defensively but not attack-minded enough either. I think that’s been put to bed. As for Townsend, if nothing else we’ll miss his energy.