March 19 2017

Palace line up for a corner but it was a Watford shirt that eventually decided the game

Two wins on the spin, so would a home game against Watford be a hat-trick? Yes writes a jubilant Jamesey.

I hardly need write that Selhurst was crammed as it always is nowadays (Mar 18) and to the fans’ credit, even in the darkest times this season they have been there noisily urging the team on.

A 1-1 away draw with Watford in December was manager Sam Allardyce’s first result so hopes were high for a win or a point here.

It’s worth noting that since CPFC have now won four of their six previous games, he is lifting the club away from the bottom three.

It’s a fair stretch yet but not conceding daft goals is a heck of a good start. Not only have Palace won three in a row but kept three clean sheets too.

As I write, we are 16th in the Stacksomoulah League so our manager is now doing the job he was specifically brought in to do.

As I wrote in this column when the news of Sam’s appointment broke, I thought that Steve Parish and the board had made an astute choice and despite a few doubts earlier on, it looks like a correct decision (it’s nice to be right sometimes!).

I thought the team’s performance against the Baggies (Mar 4), a 2-0 victory, was one of the best in a long time with three of the January additions (Patrick van Aanholt, Luka Milivojevic and Mamadou Sakho) playing magnificently.

However, after the first 10 minutes of the Hornets match it was blindingly obvious that a repeat performance was not on the cards.

The Eagles all looked well under par with passes going adrift and lack of cohesion everywhere. Too much couscous in Morocco during their warm weather trip?

Wilfried Zaha was being blocked and fouled, Andros Townsend was ineffective and Christian Benteke was getting no service from the wings.

Still, if “winning ugly” or playing for a 0-0 was the order of the day, most supporters would put up with the lack of footballing entertainment. When you are in desperate straits, the end justifies the means.

The second half showed a slight improvement and then came one of those golden moments that will stand out in Palace memories.

In the 68th minute a vicious Yohan Cabaye free-kick was gloriously met by the head of Watford’s Troy Deeney and steered into the Hornets’ goal.

And so it was that the player who had proved such a menace to CPFC in former games scored the only goal of the fixture and at the final whistle it was 1-0 to the Palace.

Needless to say the TV pundits and the sports media seized on the issue that the team with no direct chances on goal had won the game.

Were we worried? Not a bit. Three lovely points.

Thinking ahead to another campaign in the Loadsadosh League (we hope), your columnist has been told by CPFC that his season ticket seat is disappearing by the 2017-18 kick-off.

No, this was no conjuring trick but a compulsory edict (nothing to do with the club) to expand seating provision for the disabled meant that many seats in the Arthur Wait would be taken over, one of which was mine.

The Ticketing Office have handled matters with great efficiency and I was invited to Selhurst to select an alternative seat anywhere in the ground bar the directors’ box. This would be at the same price as my old seat with some monetary compensation as well as the “early” discount.

I was met by a courteous gentleman, shown around the stadium and I found a reasonable new seat in the Arthur for next season. It was a weird experience walking through a silent and empty ground.

I have been told by another source that the existing disabled quota is rarely taken in full.

While no one could really object to extra facilities for disabled folk who enjoy their football, it looks like the club is the loser in this instance. Revenue for sought-after seats to be replaced by empty spaces for the disabled. It doesn’t make much sense.

Email Jamesey with your comments to jevans3704@aol.com

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