September 18 2004

Johnson scored from the penalty spot

Crystal Palace are still looking for their first win this season after losing 2-1 at home against Manchester City, by Simon Pophale.

I was going to open this with, Black skies gather over Selhurst, but as he has left for Sheffield United on loan, not much point really. Still the skies were overcast as we looked for our first win this season. Surely against a much maligned City side, we could get 3 points? Rumours of unrest, injury to Macmanaman and Sinclair, David "donkey" James in goal and Keegan getting the boot after the game if the lost. This is going to be our best ever chance.

Meeting up with some other HOL regulars at The Selhurst Arms before the game, the talk was mostly confined to who Dowie would change, would Speroni go? Would Hall move to the defence and Micheal Hughes return? All questions that would need to be addressed after the shambles last week at Portsmouth. Change was most definitely imminent.

However when the team was announced, I was more than surprised at the fact that Popovic has been dropped and Kolkka had been dropped to the bench. Speroni was still there in goal with Hall and Hudson making up the centre back pairing. Shaun Derry made the move to left midfield in Kolkka's place. It was going to be an interesting afternoon.

The first half started with us on the attack. Danny Granville having a free kick after only 2 minutes, but he placed it high and wide. Sandor Torghelle, now clearly over his injury, was putting himself about making some very good challenges, trying to keep the Blues at bay. But the hordes were coming,Antoine Sibierski putting through Ben Thatcher on 5 minutes, then moments later Emmerson Boyce making a great tackle to deny the Frenchman another opportunity. It was becoming one way traffic, with Shaun Wright Phillips setting up Jon Macken who fired wide from close range. 15 minutes gone and the signs are looking ominous.

With Calamity James in goal, being offered the reception on reserved for keepers of Milleresque proportions,we had yet to seriously test him and how different it would have been if after a small period of pressure, we had found the net. Aki Rhihilaati was making a surging run towards the City half when he was unceremoniusly dumped on the floor by Sibierski, which won the Frenchman a yellow card and us a free kick. Although the free kick came to nothing, moments later, with us still encamped in the City half, Wayne Routledge sent over a cross which Torghelle got only a tiny purchase on it, to see if drift wide of the left hand post.

Then it was back to the normality of seeing City pile on the pressure. On 21 minutes Nicolas Anelka sent over a cross which Siberski managed to prod goalwards to see it cannon off Macken and Speroni to safety. 60 seconds later and a repeat of the Everton shambles nearly occurred again when Speroni attempted to outjump Macken and in doing so, seeing the ball hit his arm, with him outside the area. Howling City fans protested,referee Martin Atkinson waved away the protests.

Joey Barton then tested Speroni from 15 yards, but the Argentine was equal to everything that City through at us, making saves from Macken as well before City wasted probably their best chance of the half on 38 minutes, when Macken turned in the box to drill his shot over the bar.

If Speroni was not trying to gift the opposition with a goal, Mark Hudson attempted to by keepy upping the ball out for a needless corner which came to nothing. We cannot keep making these basic errors. Despite all the City dominance of the first half, it ended all square at 0-0.

We have been notoriously bad at the start of halves this season. So the fear was high as we entered the second half. For the first 5 minutes we kept possession, passed it around manfully but not really getting any penetration. City though hit straight back with Shaun Wright Phillips becoming more of a menace as the time ticked by. Shaun Derry had kept him quiet in the first half but it was from this source the first goal came.

Anelka took a corner which was not cleared and although Wright-Phillips drilled in a cross which saw a Sibierski header cleared off the line, the ball fell back to Anelka and he shot home from 15 yards. 1-0 and the same old story.

It was going to get worse before it got better. Granville was having a torrid time now against Phillips and he was adjudged to have brought him down in the box. A soft penalty, but one that the referee (who should now be called Dolland and Atkinson) gave and Anelka made it 2-0 on 64 minutes.

Iain Dowie had made 2 substiuations moments before this, bringing Derry and Torghelle off and replacing them with Ventola and Kolkka. The result was almost instant as a cross from Kolkka saw a free header which Ventola put wide of Calamitys goal. The Italians expression said it all.

It was to be one of only a few chances as City had more of the possesion and Sibierski, one of the more impressive members of the blue army, forced another save out of Speroni.

We were now coming forward in more and more numbers, Kolkka getting plenty of the ball and his crosses were causing havoc. One such cross saw Ventola blatantly pushed by Danny Mills, but the ref should have gone to Specsavers, as he waved play on. 3 minutes later, Ventola was hauled down in the box and although Atkinson appeared to wave away the calls, the assistant referees flag caused a change of heart. The spot kick was duly despatched by Andy Johnson so we were back in it, 1-2 down. Seeing Ventola trying to gee up the crowd and clenched fists was great to see. He did more in his 30 minutes than our last Italian striker, Michele Padovano, had done at Selhurst in his whole Palace career. Ben Watson also came on for Aki Rhihiilaati and made some postive contributions, his passes finding others wearing red and blue, rather than the Sky blue of our opponents.

The next 15 minutes was full of Palace endeavour, but with no end product. Ventola and AJ were trying to make inroads everytime we got the ball and try as they might, it was not to be. The game was certainly not dead and buried and at the final whistle, City supporters could be forgiven for breathing a huge sigh of relief as they got their first away win in 7 months.

The most disturbing thing was seeing Andy Johnson carried off at the end by two of the physios. His presence will be missed sorely. Lets hope it was not a serious injury.

Plus points? Nicola Ventola and Joonas Kolkka came on to pose an immediate impact, as did Ben Watson, who appears now to be part of Dowies' plans again. The downside could be that we may be without AJ for a period of time and that we still only have that one point. 4 defeats in a row now. Maybe the only good news is that we have Hartlepool next week!

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