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December 3 2024 5.31pm

Derby County 0 - 1 Palace

Wed Mar 5 2003 - League

Crystal Palace's slim hopes of a play-off place were boosted with a 1-0 victory away to Derby County - their first league win of the year.

It was a perfect response to the 4-0 thrashing by Wolves on Saturday as Tommy Black scored his 10th goal of the season in the only goal of the game.

Match Stats

Ground: Pride Park (Attendance: 22682)

Derby County: Grant, Jackson, Elliott, Mills, Boertien (McLeod, 82), Bolder, Lee, Burley, Morris (Zavagno, 45), Chadwick (Tudgay, 66), Ravanelli

Subs not used: Camp, Murray

Bookings: Elliott, Grant

Palace: Berthelin, Butterfield, Popovic, Powell (Symons, 82), Borrowdale, Derry, Mullins, Thomson, Gray, Black, Adebola (Akinbiyi, 24)

Subs not used: Kolinko, Routledge

Goals: Black 61

Referee: A R Leake (Darwen)

Black pounced just past the hour mark, heading home Julian Gray's cross following a great run.

Derby's Nick Chadwick, who is on a month's loan from Everton, nearly put the Rams ahead when his header crashed off the woodwork in the second minute.

Then Derby keeper Lee Grant could have been sent off after bringing down Black on the edge of the box but referee Tony Leake showed him a yellow card.

Cedric Berthelin saved a header from Fabrizio Ravanelli before Palace had two chances to get a goal.

Gray waltzed through the Derby defence and hit a shot which was saved by Grant and Palace hit the woodwork themselves as on 16 minutes, Shaun Derry's 25-yard free-kick hit the bar.

Chadwick was clear on goal and struck his shot straight at Berthelin and seconds into the second half shot wide from Ravanelli's cross.

Then Black struck for what proved to be the winning goal on 61 minutes and with three minutes left shaved the upright with a curling free-kick.

Post match comments:

Trevor Francis said: "It's been very frustrating not scoring but when we have scored we normally don't lose.


It was a relief when we scored and it was a relief to win this game
Trevor Francis

"That was why it was a relief when we scored and it was a relief to win this game.

"Falling behind like we have has made it very difficult but you can never say it isn't a possibility.

"This has rekindled our spirits and if we had lost it would have been very difficult for us to mount a challenge. But now we go to Bradford on Saturday with far greater confidence."

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