Palace stumble at Selhurst

After the goal glut of the week below, palace should have been in line for another feast against lowly Hull, but it was not to be.

Palace, retaining the same starting line-up, struggled to make an impressive against a dogged, but over-physical and very dour side.

After a muted opening with little in the way of action at either end, Hull’s Michael Turner was lucky to escape a red card when he fired the ball at a prostrate Stuart green and apperaed to follow that up with a stamp. A booking was deemed satisfactory after consultation with the linesman who was right in front of the incident.

Palace’s first decent chance saw Leon Cort rise to meet a Mark Kennedy corner, his bullet header was clawed from under the bar by Boaz Myhill. Moments later, at the other end, Stephen McPhee paid a heavy price for a theatrical tumble in box, not only a justified yellow card but a tweaking hamstring to boot forcing his eventual substitution.

Right on half time, his replacement Dean Windass struck an almost perfect free kick which Scott Flinders managed to apply the faintest of touches to kock it onto the post.

Palace came out brighter in the second half and took the lead within six minutes of the restart when Jobi McAnuff jinked around two Hull defenders before unselfishly tee-ing Carl Fletcher on the edge of the box, who dispatched a perfectly struck sizzler from 25 yards. A few minutes later, Shefki Kuqi wasted a glorious chance heading over a Marrk kennedy cross when it seemed easier to score.

This let-off saw Hull drag themselves back into the game and after a period of pressure, on 72 minutes, Ian Ashbee headed home a corner from around 12 yards, with Mark Kennedy lunging despairingly having moved away from the post he was supposedly guarding too early. Palace almost struck back immediately when a Leon Cort effort unluckily struck Myhill in the face.

The game seemed to be petering out by Hull almost snatched what would have been an underved win when Sam Parkin’s drive was bundled untidily by Flinders, but the ball bounced clear and, in the very last moments of the game Windass again found the woodwork.

Hull fans were delighted with their draw and although a point extends Palace’s own unbeaten run, it was hardly the follow-up that Peter Taylor or the palace crowd envisaged after last week’s away win.

Palace: Flinders, Lawrence, Hudson, Ward, Cort,McAnuff, Fletcher, Green (Ifill 62), Kennedy (Morrison 83),Freedman (Soares 70), Kuqi. Subs Not Used: Kiraly, Butterfield.

Goals: Fletcher 51.

Hull: Myhill, Dawson, Delaney, Turner, Ricketts, Marney,Ashbee, France (Elliott 82), Forster, McPhee (Windass 37),Parkin. Subs Not Used: Duke, Coles, Duffy.

Booked: Turner, McPhee.

Goals: Ashbee 72.

Att: 17,012
Ref: C Penton (Sussex).



Posted by neil