October 16 2016

Eagles at the ready for a corner in the first half

Rain showers of monsoon-like intensity hit Selhurst for an evening home fixture which West Ham won 0-1. Jamesey reports.

It's nearly a month since I last put pen to paper (oh, all right, digit to computer keyboard to be strictly accurate) for this column.

That was a satisfying piece to write. A rollicking 4-1 home victory over Stoke City followed by an away win at 'Boro.

After a lacklustre start to the season, a couple of league wins were just what we were hoping for.

After that, an away win and a draw at Sunderland and Everton respectively, had taken CPFC out of the PilesoTVcash League's lower reaches into the top half of the table.

Last weekend international qualifiers forced many of us football addicts to watch England play Slovenia at the weekend.

Let's face it, however many times you have sworn never to watch the England national team again, it is always tempting to sneak back in the forlorn hope that the Three Lions might roar again.

It was an extra temptation for your columnist who had the pleasure of meeting caretaker manager, Gareth Southgate, a couple of times when he was one of ours in the early '90s.

Oor relegation took Gareth to Aston Villa where he prospered and personally I have always wished him well.

Nevertheless regardless of the manager, the national team struggled to draw with a low-ranking side in an area which is prone to quakes both physical and martial.

To the present, the visit of West Ham (Oct 15) presented a scenario where a struggling team in the relegation zone (them) were away to a club on a superb run of three league wins and a draw (us).

Old Palace hands should have felt the all-too-familiar sense of foreboding behind the above statement.

Foul weather and a TV showing didn't dent the near sell-out capacity of 25,643 and West Ham brought a big following as I was all to aware, being in the middle of many of them in the walk from Fort Neef station to the ground.

The Hammers went at full throttle right from the kick-off. Whatever Slaven Bilic had said and done they all but overwhelmed the team in red and blue.

Almost inevitably in the 19th minute, a cross from Aaron Cresswell found Manuel Lanzini who made it 0-1.

The rain continued to pelt down and the Eagles – misfiring, making unforced errors and showing tactical naivety – looked like relegation candidates, as they had in the season's opening games.

The home supporters were given a ray of hope just before the half-way mark when Christian Benteke was brought down in the area.

The Hammers keeper Adrian, who learned his trade in the beautiful Andalusian city of Seville, guessed wrongly and dived to his right while the Belgian blasted the spot-kick to his right and missed.

Having wasted the chance to equalise, Palace did improve in the second period but it was to no avail.

The Eagles could have used the advantage of Aaron Cresswell's dismissal after two yellows in the 75th minute.

The pundit jury on MOTD with the massive benefit of slo-mo and hindsight decided that both yellows were unjust and Cresswell should have stayed on the pitch.

Recent recruit, the oleaginous Neville (P) is already getting on my wick. Even Gary Lineker who is often reasonably sensible joined in the baying against the match official.

It made no difference as it happens.

Whichever regime has been in place over the years, Palace almost never seem to have the wit to take advantage of playing against 10 men.

I remember with some pain a match in the early Jordan era when Trevor Francis was the boss, the Eagles couldn't even capitalise on playing against nine.

It is hard to say where we are going now after a very average and disjointed home performance. Blip in the recovery or back to mediocrity?

The next two weeks (away to Leicester and home to Liverpool) will give more of an answer.

Email Jamesey with your comments to jevans3704@aol.com

In Depth Jamesey's Veteran View Index