March 8 2009

Selhurst Park

Spring was in the air on Saturday for our home date with Preston North End. But Jamesey took his seat with trepidation after our recent slump in form.

The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, the first green shoots were sprouting on shrubs and trees and, after a particularly harsh winter, you could feel warm without several layers of insulation.

But the question for Eagles supporters was whether our team could score and win a league game of football for the second time in 2009.

The answer was a resounding Yes and within a minute or two of the starting whistle, it was apparent that a real Palace team had turned up on this occasion.

Of our three lumps - er, sorry, target men - Shefki Kuqi continued to show why he was once a highly rated striker. He has so much more to offer in terms of skill and intelligence than Alan Lee and James Scowcroft, and seemed to be developing a good understanding with new boy Anthony Stokes.

The game's three goals were all scored towards the end of the first half within the space of five minutes.

After dominating the first half hour Palace were bamboozled by a clever Preston move and the North Enders were one up after their first real attempt of the game.

But instead of lumbering towards yet another flop, the Eagles immediately retaliated with a cracker of a strike from Stokes, followed by another beauty by Neil Danns, set up for him by Paul Ifill.

And despite some worrying moments in the second half, that's the way it stayed to give Palace a 2-1 victory and still a faint chance of a play-offs place.

My own MOTM was the superb Claude Davis. He was literally a tower of strength in the middle of the field and made a massive difference with his excellent defending and intelligent distribution of the ball.

But that is not to take anything away from the other team members who all played their hearts out, especially the much-maligned Matt Lawrence who turned up an absolute blinder.

For once, the official gate of 16,340 looked as though it might have been somewhere near the real figure and, being given a decent display of football, the crowd responded with enthusiasm and volume.

And, wonder of wonders, there have, as yet, been no complaints about the match officials from Neil Warnock. Ah, but we won.

Email Jamesey with your comments to jevans3704@aol.com

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