Honors Even as Crystal Palace, Newcastle Clash in Edgy Encounter
Crystal Palace came from behind to draw 1-1 with Newcastle United, as they played out a tightly-contested Premier League match at Selhurst Park.
Newcastle took the lead midway through the first half, as Mohamed Diamé profited from a disorganised Palace defence to fire home from close-range. Palace pulled a goal back early in the second half, with Luka Milivojević firing home a penalty kick. With neither side either to make the breakthrough, the game finished honours even in the nervy encounter.
With Selhurst Park alive with a crackling atmosphere, the hosts has their first chance in the first minute of the match. Milivojević's through-ball found Wilfried Zaha, who burst between the Newcastle central-defensive pairing, but Ciaran Clarke recovered to disposes the Ivory Coast international - allowing goalkeeper Karl Darlow to pounce on the ball.
Dwight Gayle registered his side's first shot on target soon after, as he turned Martin Kelly smartly on the edge of the area, but could only strike a tame shot straight at Palace stopper Wayne Hennessey. The Magpies began to grow in confidence, with Matt Ritchie and DeAndre Yedlin linking up to great effect on the right side of the pitch.
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The Eagles should have taken the lead in the 8th minute, as Patrick van Aanholt won the ball in midfield and burst forward - his through-ball caught Clarke by surprise, allowing Christian Benteke to charge through on goal. Newcastle's shaky defence were spared punishment by Darlow, who rushed out of goal to make a fine block to deny the powerful Belgian international.
With both sides desperate for a win to aid in their fight to avoid relegation, both sides showed no hesitance in pouring forward at every opportunity. The frantic style of football saw the visitors come close to scoring on the quarter-hour mark - as Yedlin's whipped cross was volleyed goalwards by Ayoze Pérez, drawing a solid save from Hennessey.
The Magpies took the lead in the 22nd minute, as Palace's inability to defend a corner saw the visitors strike gold. Chelsea loanee Kennedy fired a low corner into the box, which was completely missed by four Eagles defenders. Diamé found himself unmarked at the back post, where he cooly slotted the ball home to send the Newcastle fans into hysteria.
Zaha missed a sitter soon after, running onto Timothy Fosu-Mensah cross with acres of space in the middle of the area, only to smash his shot directly into the back of Jamaal Lascelles and behind the goal. Newcastle reposted to the pressure, with Kennedy cutting inside and seeing a close-range saved by Hennessey, before Pérez drew another save from the Welshman.
With half-time approaching, Palace worked their way nearly into the penalty area, before Zaha's fiercely struck effort was well-saved by Darlow. The ball span into the path of Benteke, but the pace of the deflection meant that the powerful forward could only scuff the ball agonisingly wide of goal from three yards out.
Palace came racing out of the raps in the second half, with Patrick van Aanholt creating an overlap on the left flank to put the Newcastle defence under heavy pressure. The tenacious full-back tore down the wing early on in the half, but his cross was just too high for Andros Townsend, who headed the ball over the bar from ten yards out.
In the 53rd minute Palace's dominance was rewarded, as Clarke tugged Benteke's shirt in the penalty area, preventing the striker from leaping for a header. Milivojević struck a firm penalty low to the right of the goal, and Darlow's strong hand could only palm the ball onto the inside of the post and into the back of the net.
The game began to slow in pace, as both sides appeared reluctant to surge forward with the costs of losing so high at such a pivotal stage of the season. With the game heading into the final fifteen minutes, Cabaye's tantalising cross caused serious problems in the Newcastle defence - causing Darlow and Lascelles to collide before the ball was scrambled to safety.
James McArthur then danced his way through the Magpies' defence, and his right-footed effort dipped just over the crossbar with Darlow well-beaten. As the game headed into the final ten minutes, the tension around the stadium heightened - with both of sets of supporters wary of the consequences of a defeat.
Substitute Isaac Hayden drove a shot straight at Hennessey as the game drew to a close, while Zaha curled a right-footed effort wide of the far-post from a tricky angle. In the 87th minute Zaha ripped the Magpies defence to pieces, and his tantalising pass across the face of goal triggered a goal-line scramble, with Benteke's eventual shot deflected over by Clarke.
The match petered out into a draw, as neither side was able to find the vital breakthrough to secure the victory. The result sees the Eagles move up to 14th in the Premier league table on 27 points, while Newcastle remain in 16th place. However, both sides remain in the relegation battle, with just seven points separating 11th place from the bottom of the table.
