Sheffield Wednesday 4 - 1 Palace

Saturday April 14 2001 - League

Crystal Palace plunged deeper into relegation trouble after losing 4-1 to fellow strugglers Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.

The Eagles had a dream start when Clinton Morrison tapped in from close range on two minutes.

The lead lasted less than 30 minutes as Efan Ekoku's header found his way into the Palace net.

Eight minutes later, Wednesday took the lead through Belgian striker Gilles de Bilde.

Seven minutes before half time, Palace were given a penalty after Dutchman Gerald Sibon had brought down Dean Austin in the box.

The defender decided to take the penalty himself, but it was too weak and Owls goalkeeper Kevin Pressman had no trouble saving it.

On the stroke of half time, Wednesday made it 3-1 when Sibon scored from a Stuart Ripley pass.

In the second half, David Hopkin had a chance to pull one back for Palace but his shot was deflected for a corner.

But as the visitors pushed forward, it was the home side who went on to score on 63 minutes through Ripley, scoring on his debut.

Hopkin was denied his first goal for Palace by Pressman in the dying minutes of the game.

The Eagles now find themselves third from bottom with 42 points from 41 games.

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