February 9 2006

Aki Riihilahti

I for one was unsure whether Aki Riihilahti would have much of a future at Selhurst Park once he returned to the Palace fold after injury, writes Stuart Pink.

The emergence of Ben Watson and Tom Soares, the reliably of Mikele Liegertwood and the general importance of Michael Hughes, led me to doubt whether there would be space for everybody's favourite Finn.

But I hold up my hands and admit Riihilahti's return has given the Eagles a welcome boost since he made his comeback against Preston in the FA Cup two weeks ago.

He made an immediate impact in that game and gave the side a much sterner look, something which was again evident on Saturday.

His workrate and will to win possession is never doubted, but there is far more to the midfielder's game.

Riihilahti is very underrated going forward. Many people forget that the Finn scored four goals last campaign plus a number of assists.

Goals have been a problem coming from the centre of the Palace midfield and Riihilahti seems to be the more consistent scorer from that area, as he displayed on Saturday against Cardiff.

Riihilahti and Hughes may be a no-thrills if not unspectacular midfield partnership, but they're certainly effective and I hope they will be given a run as they give the Eagles a much more balanced look.

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