Stoke looked the more incisive, but for most of it, Palace held their own. And the second half of the match made up for the way we played in the first. 

 

Given the shoddiness of Palace's home form however, the boos can be excused. Palace fans, to their credit, have been incredibly patient during the second half of the season. 

 

Despite infuriating defeats and questionable performances, the Palace faithful have been just that - they've stuck behind the team. Alan Pardew was right to apologise for the home form when he spoke during the lap of appreciation. It must improve next season. 

 

We know what Dwight Gayle is capable of. We know he can score goals and that he's our best finisher. And this season, like the previous three, will see Gayle finish the term as our top scorer. 

 

His first goal showed just what he's good at - hovering around the action, ready to pounce should the opportunity arise. It was clinically-taken finish. His second was a wonderful free-kick; another quality we know he possesses. 

 

Gayle will need to make the rest of this season count and really push for a starting place next season. We've seen lesser players picked ahead of him previously - he must take this chance. 

 

 

Stoke under Mark Hughes have done an impressive job fooling everyone into think they've moved on from the physicality of the Tony Pulis era. They are, as before, still has aggressive and cynical as they were before - they just play slightly better football. 

 

Palace's midfield suffered at the hands of some of that rough treatment. After a first half battle in which Yohan Cabaye was knocked to the ground and had lumps kicked out of him, the Frenchman didn't return for the second half. His replacement - Joe Ledley - went off just a few minutes after taking the field thanks to a knee to his thigh. 

 

Cabaye is a player who seems to get singled out for aggressive tactics. Because of his role in the team, it's understandable that opponents would want to reduce his effectiveness. A little more protection from the referee would be welcomed, though. 

 

It has taken most of this season, but some of the service into the box against Stoke was excellent. We saw crosses from Yannick Bolasie, Pape Souare and Jason Puncheon which put their defence under considerable pressure.

 

The cross from Souare to Connor Wickham, which the striker headed against the post, was a great example of the quality that he has. It was, after all, his cross too which secured us an FA Cup Final appearance. 

 

It's something Palace fans have been screaming out for this season. It's good to see it finally happening. 

 

There was a growing sense of concern as Palace's descent down the division materialised. As defeats and draws became the norm, that concern turned into genuine fear that Palace might somehow, miraculously, snatch relegation from the jaws of a top-six finish.

 

That concern and fear did manifest itself into tension at Selhurst. It's not the fans fault - you attend a match in the hope for a win and you see the performance of a side severely lacking in confidence - it's frustrating. 

 

But relegation was as unlikely ten weeks ago as it was on Saturday. The chances of Palace losing every game for the rest of the season were so minimal - statisticians had Palace as 1% likely to go down. Oldham 1993 will long live in the memory - let's hope Stoke 2016 makes up for it.