West Brom 0-3 Crystal Palace: Townsend repeats Hawthorns heroics as Eagles progress in Carabao Cup

Andros Townsend must love playing at West Brom.

He scored Crystal Palace’s goal of the season there in early 2017 after a full-length run of the pitch.
And on Tuesday night he opened the Eagles’ Carabao Cup clash at the Hawthorns with another belter, curling in from 35-yards after just six minutes.

It was his first goal of the season and set Roy Hodgson’s current side on their way to a third round victory against one of his many former clubs.

Hodgson, who got as much love from the West Brom fans as he did the travelling supporters, picked a mainly second string team but did include some familiar faces.

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Palace started the game brightly with new signing Max Meyer pulling the strings in the middle of the park on only his second start since signing from Schalke on a free transfer.

He was joined by Cheikhou Kouyate and Andros Townsend as the only other first-teamers in the starting lineup, although star right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka was introduced mid-way through the first half after Jairo Riedewald hobbled off.

After Townsend’s spectacular opener, Palace pressed for a second and probably should have doubled their lead as Jeffrey Schlupp met the goalscorer’s cross with a header but planted it straight at Boaz Myhill.

Carabao Cup regular Alexander Sorloth, a $7m signing from Norwegian side FC Midtjylland in January and Christian BEnteke’s ony real like-for-like challenger, then had two headed chances but was denied by Myhill on both times.

Spurred on by a frustrated home crowd, the Baggies pushed for an equaliser towards the end of the first half but James Morrison, who had volleyed wide earlier, saw a speculative effort from the edge of the box tipped over by Palace’s new Spanish keeper Vicente Guaita.

Palace wanted a penalty after the break as Meyer went down in the box but referee Peter Bankes waved away the Eagles’ protests, before Patrick van Aanholt burst into the box and found the German but his low effort was blocked by teammate Sorloth on the line.

Myhill again had to keep Schlupp out before Baggies boss Darren Moore went for it and make a triple substitution to try and get back into the game. Hegazi, Barry and Mears are replaced by Howkins, Edwards and Brunt.

But it had little effect and it was Palace who went down the other end and doubled their lead as Van Aanholt capitalised on a slip in the Baggies defence to fire home right-footed past Myhill.

Townsend then added his second of the night as he danced his way into the box and drilled past Myhill to send Hodgson’s side into the hat for the next round of the draw.