November 29 2017

James Tomkins

Crystal Palace’s first league clean sheet of the season finally came on a cold Tuesday night at Brighton. Mike Scott rates the players.

Events off the field may have overshadowed the game, with hundreds of away fans either missing the first half or not getting in at all. But those who did get in, didn’t get to witness a classic by any means. What they did get to see though was a very solid defensive display...

Wayne Hennessey - 7

Keeping his place following the win at Stoke, Hennessey again put in a good display with some strong saves and (perhaps more importantly) some commanding high takes from an absolute barrage of Albion corners. He was only really beaten once, when Townsend cleared a chance off the line from Glenn Murray. Other than that, he stopped decent efforts from Jose Izquierdo and Lewis Dunk, among others.

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Joel Ward - 6

Ward has really settled into the role of good, old fashioned full back that Roy Hodgson has asked him to play. He had a tough assigned keeping Izquierdo quiet, but did a fairly good job, even getting to him enough that (arguably) he should have been sent off for a second bookable offence on at least one occasion. The heart-in-mouth moments of earlier this season have properly gone.

James Tomkins - 7

Arguably he has now been Palace’s best player two games in a row. Looks far more at ease than Dann had previously, he seems to float around the Palace half much more fluidly, staying close to Milivojevic when required, but getting back with assurance. He seems to instill confidence in Hennessey and made himself an outlet for quick balls out as often as he could. He had a good chance to win the game at the death too with a long range effort.

Mamadou Sakho - 6

The Amex won’t go down as one of Sakho’s busier nights. What threat the hosts did have tended to come from set-pieces which, at the moment, Palace have a decent back line to defend against. Sakho can take a lot of credit for that, although he still was prone to a couple of wayward, dangerous balls to the opposition.

Jeffrey Schlupp - 6

Schlupp kept the in-form Anthony Knockaert quiet, which in itself is a decent achievement. Very little came down his flank in comparison to what Ward had to endure. He was as ever a decent attacking outlet too, although with precious little quality coming from the forward men, his runs were, more often than not, a little redundant.

Luka Milivojevic - 6

Milivojevic had a real game to forget against Stoke, so he looked as nervous as anyone against Brighton, with the pressure of a bad game Saturday added to the tension already on display from most players in a derby game that everyone was desperate not to lose. He played the sweeper role excellently, keeping Brighton to almost nothing in the first 45 and not a whole lot in the second either. A few wayward passes were still evident, but he looked more menacing going forward and was unlucky to head a Cabaye corner over. There was a collective sigh of relief when he ran off what looked like it might be a bad knock.

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Yohan Cabaye - 5

A tough night for Cabaye in a saturated midfield meant he didn’t have the impact he has been having of late. There were rumours he wasn’t 100 per cent fit following Saturday’s game, which were only compounded when he was substituted for James McArthur (5) on 65 minutes. The Scotsman had minimal impact and the side looked a little less balanced without Cabaye.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek - 6

Loftus-Cheek had the perfect opportunity to make Palace fans’ week with a late, curling effort that was saved by Mathew Ryan in the Albion goal. Other than that, he had a few moments of real class, showing real physical strength that Brighton had trouble dealing with, although he didn’t manage to capitalise on the moments he did get the better of the Seagulls and, generally, had a quiet game.

Andros Townsend - 6

Townsend certainly earned Palace a hard-earned point with a save off the line from Murray, before the ex-Eagles man was subbed off, much to his clear disdain. Before that, Townsend made plenty of runs and produced plenty of crosses, but he and Benteke seemed on a different wavelength with each other; not many of the crosses found red and blue shirts.

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Wilfried Zaha - 5

The home fans’ open abuse of Zaha seemed to do the job, because he had a very quiet game by his standards, although he was at the centre of Palace’s best chances to score. The first came early on in the game, when he managed to find Ryan following the keeper’s parry away from Benteke shot. The second came late on, when a darting run ended in a wayward shot. He’ll need to be back to his old sharpness against West Brom at the weekend.

Christian Benteke - 5

Whether he is still some way off full fitness, or simply doesn’t fit nicely into Hodgson’s current formation, Benteke had an anonymous game. He was involved in an early move that Palace were unlucky not to score from, when he smashed a shot at Ryan. Other than that, his contributions were mainly flick-ons and as Hennessey’s target man. Neither of those roles caused Brighton any trouble. It is not necessarily his fault, but his talents are still not being utilised properly.