After Palace suffered a 3-2 defeat after extra time against Newcastle in the Capital One Cup, Mark Gardiner assesses the Eagles' performance. Didn't fancy a late October trip to Manchester anyway...
So, after a late night, a full day of spreadsheet surfing and no opportunity to see any clips of last night’s game, it’s all up to my hazy memory to make some sense out of last night’s clash. The game was always enjoyable, with both sides trying to play good attacking football, but Newcastle had the edge in a slightly stronger team and probably deserved their narrow win.
Warnock elected to make the full eleven changes to the starting XI with a 4-1-4-1 formation. Of note was Fryers making a debut at left back, a diminutive central midfield pairing of Williams & Bannan, and Wilf starting wide right with Gayle wide left. With Guédioura as the holding midfield player the centre lacked the steel that Jedinak, Ledley or even departed KG provided, so there was the promise of some passing football. While this was attempted the old problems of a weakened team came to light in a lack of cohesion – many good looking moves were cut short when the final ball or run was sub-standard – while several players were short of game-time. Another issue with the formation was that Gayle rarely stayed wide and often the defence lacked an out-ball mostly down the left, although Zaha & Gayle did swap wings occasionally.
The opening was quiet although Gayle’s early snap shot whizzed just wide. Palace chances in the first half were at a premium: Doyle seized on a defensive error but lacked the pace to pull clear of the cover, while a Bannan free kick was tipped over. Newcastle saw a lot of the ball but didn’t do much with it, and we were treated to the sight of Hangeland & McCarthy playing cross-field passes as Palace looked to build from the back. The first opening came when Zaha down the left for once beat his marker but didn’t quite escape him; I thought the tackle made contact with the ball so was pleasantly surprised to see a penalty awarded; Gayle’s effort beat Elliot for pace. Newcastle responded by making ground down the flanks, particularly our left, and a number of crosses fizzed into our box with no one seemingly able to get a decisive touch, with Hennessey making a couple of awkward-looking stops while Hangeland made a couple of good interceptions. The goal seemed to come out of nowhere, Rivière turning Hangeland on the edge of the box and suddenly appearing in so much space, and his effort was so perfectly placed in the corner that Hennessey didn’t move.
The second half started with a penalty for Newcastle. When Ameobi picked up the ball on the right side of our box and was faced with McCarthy, his winger audibly informed him: “Run at him!” He did and Paddy couldn’t deal with the threat, bringing the striker down for a clear spot kick, which Rivière put in about the same place as Arfield’s a couple of weeks ago but Hennessey was unable to repeat Speroni’s feat. Newcastle seemed content to play on the break as Palace took some time to settle, with both Gayle & Bannan sending decent chances over the bar; in return Hennessey had to tip over a shot from distance. The return of AJ in place of Doyle added some pep and as the second half drew to a close Gayle had a header that looked from our end to have just slipped past but seems to have come off the post. Young Kaikai and Gray were thrown on with Palace switching to 4-4-2 but it seemed that our chance had gone when Kaikai forced the ball past Elliot at the second attempt in stoppage time; I thought the cross from the right came from Mariappa, who by that time was playing at centre back, so what he was doming there…
Extra time saw Abeid dismissed for two yellow cards which gave Palace the edge in men; the Toon simply sat back and looked ready to play for penalties (how Pardew has the gall to complain about Julian’s time wasting given Elliot’s display beats me!). They looked to have been undone when a fine shot from Gayle hit the net but the flag had been up several seconds before. Almost from the free kick Newcastle made ground down our right and some fine wing play (from Haïdara?) set up a chance for full back Dummett to score from inside the six-yard box. Palace tried hard and in one late scramble a Mariappa header was blocked and Hangeland did put the ball in the net but the whistle had already gone.
Hennessey – 6 – No chance with any of the goals, made a couple of scrambling saves in the first half and one good one in the second. Looked comfortable under the high ball.
Mariappa – 6 – Started at right back but ended at centre half. Not sure where he was when Ameobi’s run into the box was terminated by Paddy’s clumsy challenge, or for Dummett’s winner, but am almost certain it was his cross for Kaikai’s goal.
Fryers – 5 – Not easy to make your debut in a scratch side when you are lacking competitive practice so was relatively unimpressive.
Hangeland – 6 – Thought he had a mixed game, mostly good with a couple of tackles that you didn’t expect a player of his physique to make, but his lack of agility was pounced on by Rivière’s turn for their first goal. Was a threat to their goal but I want to look again at the winner to see what his role was.
McCarthy – 5 – Badly embarrassed by Ameobi for their penalty and also made a very loose pass that nearly let them in during the first half.
Guédioura – 6 – Mixed game as defensive midfield doesn’t really seem to be his forte, with his challenges a little rustic looking. Did make some decent passes but his shooting… one was dragged so far wide it was frankly embarrassing. Late on suffered from cramp and a blow inflicted by Abeid.
Williams – 6 – Thought he was our best player in the first half, as though trying to make a point, although lack of physical presence did lead to him being eased off the ball more than once. Faded in the second half, one pass in our half setting off a Newcastle attack.
Bannan – 7 – Not the perfect display and I wouldn’t fancy a midfield pairing of Barry & Jonny in the Premier League, but probably our best player, especially in the second half. Set piece delivery was variable, with a couple of free kicks wasted compared with one that drew a save from Elliot, while his shooting from open play could also use some work. Did get stuck in and harass the opposition.
Zaha – 5 – Looked short of pace in the first half – even when winning the penalty he was caught up by the defender he’d beaten. Tried hard but seldom broke free, coming in for some tough tackling that occasionally edged into the realms of foul play, escaping once in the second half to set up a chance. Compare his display with the move that brought the Toon winner, which was more like the Zaha of two seasons ago.
Gayle – 7 – Not sure if he was meant to play wide or as a second striker, although he ended up as the latter from about the middle of the second half. Had plenty of efforts on goal, some good (snap shot wide, header just wide / clipping post), some bad but always a threat. Penalty beat keeper for pace.
Doyle – 5 – Worked hard but lacks the pace to seriously worry good defenders, exemplified by intercepting a ball halfway inside their half but being caught from behind by the covering defence. Did win several balls in the air but usually so deep that nothing came of them.
Johnson – 6 – Intelligent running but not surprisingly no longer blisteringly fast so unable to seize on half chances that came his way, his one shot weak.
Kaikai – 6 – His first touch gave the ball away deep in our half, so it could only get better, which it did with his reactions to have a second stab at a late chance to register a debut goal. Did look a little lost at times in terms of positioning and gave the ball away with some poor passing, and was it his man who scored the winner? There’s enough to work with there.
Gray – 6 – Came on at right back and put in a good display, especially going forward, with a couple of good crosses.