March 7 2004

Julian Gray

IAIN DOWIE said Palace fans should get behind the team after Julian Gray was booed in Palace's 2-2 draw with Reading.

Gray had a good first half but appeared to show a lack of commitment in the second period which angered much of the Selhurst Park crowd.

Palace fought back from a goal down to bring it to 2-1 through Dougie Freedman and Andy Johnson but Lloyd Owusu scored his second goal of the game to level the scores.

DOWIE said: "Gray was clearly the best player on the pitch in the first half by an absolute country mile.

"Julian is bringing an awful lot to this team. We've won six and had one draw in the last eight games and he has been right at the heart of that.

"He has been fantastic for this club since I've been here and he shouldn't get any sort of stick like that.

"He is a quality player and an intelligent lad and what he heard today will disappoint him and rightly so because it shouldn't happen.

"I imagine it is only a very small minority giving him stick and they can't be seeing what I am seeing out there. They should be cheering him and getting behind all the players."