PALACE BEAT SPURS

CRYSTAL PALACE 2 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1

BY AYODELE ODUMADE AT SELHURST PARK

Crystal Palace beat Spurs in a feisty London derby, in Alan Pardew’s first home game as Manager at a club, which he served for four years as a player.

It took 17 minutes before the first shot of the game was registered and it was a comfortable save for Julian Speroni from Harry Kane’s shot.  Spurs should have taken the lead just before the midway point of the half. Following some neat passing the ball was played to Kyle Walker down the right, who crossed the ball into the box. However it fell just behind Christian Eriksen and his shot was just wide of the post.

Palace went down the other end and Dwight Gayle the ball to James McArthur but his header was over the bar. 

With 27 minutes gone, Gayle crossed again and this time the reinstated Glenn Murray saw his header go wide of Hugo Lloris’ goal.

Ten minutes before the break Palace should have taken the lead. Murray was played in by McArthur and he was one on one with Lloris, however the Spurs keeper stood up long enough and got something on his shot, which went out for a corner.

There was a moment of controversy just before the break. A long ball was played to Gayle and it appeared Federico Fazio nudged him and he went over but the ref waved the Palace appeals away.  The game remained goalless at the break.

Three minutes after the break, Nacer Chadli passed the ball to Harry Kane and the young man who has been in sensational form this season pulled the trigger and hit his shot low past Speroni to give Spurs the lead.  That was Kane’s 18^th goal of the season for Spurs in all competitions.

A few minutes later Palace should have been level. Jason Puncheon floated the ball into the Spurs box however Gayle hit his shot straight at Lloris took a free kick from the right.

Midway through the half, Benjamin Stambouli brought Joe Ledley down in the Spurs box and the referee awarded Palace a penalty. Gayle stepped forward and hit his penalty low to Lloris’ right to level the scores.

In the 79^th minute Palace took the lead.  Second half substitute Wilfred Zaha wriggled his way past two Spurs defenders and cut the ball back into the box. Puncheon ran onto it with his left foot and buried his shot in the bottom corner past Lloris. The Palace fans nearly took the roof off the stands as they celebrated. It was no more than the South Londoners deserved for the endeavor in the second half. Spurs were stunned as they had been in control of the game mostly without touching the heights of some of their recent performances. 

Puncheon deserved that goal with his work rate as he covered every blade on the field and moved from the right flank to the left one to leave the Spurs defence confused at times and not knowing how to deal with him.

Kane had a shot but it was straight into the hands of Speroni.

In stoppage time Zaha broke down the left and cut inside the box but rather than passing to one of two team mates in a better position he tried to beat Lloris at his near post but the French man had it covered.

Etienne Capoue tried his luck from distance, but Speroni comfortably saved it.  There was still time for Zaha to cut inside and take another shot but Lloris saved it.  As the final whistle went the Palace fans cheered. It is lift off for Pardew.

Mauricio Pochettino said: “I think the penalty was a key moment in the game.”

Alan Pardew said: “Strange game. We really wanted to start fast. We were organized and disciplined without carrying much of a threat. In the second half I think we shaded it. Wilfred came on and gave me exactly what I was looking for. I left him out to see how he would react.”