September 21 2017

Sakho: Gets an 8 out of 10

Following Crystal Palace’s first clean sheet of the season, Mike Scott looks back at the win over Huddersfield in the Carabao Cup.

The second time that Huddersfield have been entertained this season at Selhurst ended with a much better outcome for the Eagles, with Bakary Sako scoring the winner to advance Palace into the fourth round and a trip next month to Bristol…

Julian Speroni - 7

Captain Speroni has a nice ring to it and the keeper was the picture of self assurance throughout the game. As useful with his feet as ever, he dealt with any pressing from the attack with ease and set some moves off down the flanks in the first half. Most chances the away side did have didn’t test him, but he was on call for a save from Tom Ince and another from Rajiv Van La Parra, both resulting in familiar cheers of his name from the Holmesdale.

Martin Kelly - 6

A return to the right back position for Kelly, the man chosen for the cover of the game’s programme seemed to do the job for Palace. Less expansive going forward than Ward has been in league games, Kelly held his position and seemed to work well alongside Tomkins, limiting Huddersfield to scraps down his flank. Some wayward passing did come through as pressure told in the second half, but solid nonetheless.

James Tomkins - 7

A welcome return from injury for Tomkins saw him form a solid partnership with Sakho. Keeping to the basics, he made sure Palace held their line and that saw Huddersfield caught offside a couple of times, much to their frustration. Looked assured in front of Speroni and only looked a little more stretched after Sakho’s departure, perhaps still searching for full match fitness.

Mamadou Sakho - 8

Having seen Sakho complete 45 minutes for the U23s just over a week before, this writer was a little worried he would not be fully fit in time for the game, but those worries were alleviated within a couple of minutes. A series of early loose balls were cleaned up by the Frenchman and he linked up well with Milivojevic and Van Aanholt to launch some moves that were a joy to watch. His confidence on and off the ball appeared to be infectious, with the backline feeding off it. Fitness issues told in the second half and he was substituted for Damien Delaney (6), who weathered the storm of nerves towards the end.

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Patrick van Aanholt - 7

A much changed backline was completed by the return of Van Aanholt, who seemed to be out of favour under De Boer. He did allow Scott Malone through to knock in a cross for the visitors’ best attack of the first, but early signs of nerves were overcome and he looked to be more comfortable after Souare came on to allow him more opportunity to get forward. A lack of product, particularly in the second half, will be an issue Hodgson will want to address.

Luka Milivojevic - 7

The influential Serbian enjoyed his first start in midfield since the departure of Sam Allardyce and it was seemingly a popular sight amongst the Palace faithful. Playing a holding role in front of Tomkins and Sakho, he seemed to slow down Huddersfield moves and got in some decent tackles against a side who did play plenty of balls through the middle.

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Jairo Riedewald - 7

Hodgson’s tactical changes also saw Riedewald make his first start in midfield, following a promising few minutes as a substitute in the final embers of the Burnley game. His measured passing is clearly a real strength; he was an outlet for Kelly and Tomkins on several occasions and provided the free flowing option while Milivojevic did the clean up jobs. Was frequently the instigator of balls to Townsend and Lee to make forward runs.

Was replaced by Yohan Cabaye (6) with ten minutes to go, who didn’t have a great deal to do, but doubled up alongside Milivojevic to prevent any late drama.

Andros Townsend - 7

With Benteke not on the pitch to make the social jokes about Hodgson making him take the corners a reality, Townsend delivered a sublime corner in for the only goal of the game from Sako. As ever, he did cause issues down the right, although without the usual target man in the box, he tried a few more cut ins for efforts on goal himself. Limited to speculative efforts in a tight game, his endeavour wasn’t quite matched by his final balls.

Lee Chung-yong - 6

Following his nightmare game against Southampton, the South Korean had a much improved game against Huddersfield, looking busy alongside Towsend and Sako. Some exceptional runs did worry the defence, but too often they ended up with him being dispossessed or making misplaced passes. Was involved in a couple of inspiring front to back moves, but Hodgson will need to find a stronger replacement on the left wing for Zaha in the future.

Jeffrey Schlupp - 6

Following a difficult afternoon against Shane Long and the Southampton forwards, Schlupp was given a freer role in front of Van Aanholt against Huddersfield and the experiment seemed to yield much better results. Some lovely triangle plays between the two of them and Sakho give the fans some confidence; the issue for Schlupp was the lack of outlets in front of him. It will be good to see him being given another chance to play a similar role when a couple of key players are back for him to work with. The experiment was changed at half time, with Pape Souare (7) making his return and allowing Van Aanholt to play in front. Souare made some telling challenges as the away side pushed on for an equalizer.

Bakary Sako - 8

The gripes from some fans and commentators about Benteke not chasing balls down the flanks and making a nuisance of himself could not be levelled against Sako, who, like Lee, ran for every lost cause and looked to be the outlet for any possible cross. As well as scoring the goal that separated the two sides, he delivered a couple of decent crosses of his own, including one in the second half that Lee should have converted.

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