Crystal Palace rack up the chances against Cardiff City – but inability to make superiority count underlines striking deficiencies
CARDIFF 0
BY SAM SMITH AT SELHURST PARK
After an energy-sapping 3-2 victory against reigning Premier League champions Manchester City, there was a chance that Crystal Palace’s next fixture might prove to be underwhelming.
And that’s exactly what happened.
The Eagles did everything but score. Roy Hodgson’s side amassed 31 shots, struck the woodwork twice and were denied by two excellent last-ditch tackles by Cardiff defenders.
But City goalkeeper Neil Etheridge was only tested five times, which underlines how poorly Palace finished their chances. Cardiff should have been put to the sword.
The lack of a top-level and fully fit striker is an easy excuse. They would have been out of sight against inferior visitors had they possessed one.
That man was once Christian Benteke, but the Belgian has not been a reliable source for goals since mid-2017.
The former Aston Villa striker has been absent since September with a knee injury and continues to misfire even when he is fit. Having netted just three times in the last campaign, he is yet to score in this one.
Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend complete a makeshift strike partnership which, more often than not, flatters to deceive.
The pair are natural wingers and Palace play so much better when the duo are used in their correct positions. Having scored a goal at the weekend which may win Goal of the Season, Townsend proved again in midweek that he is still unable to convert the simpler chances.
A wonderfully-crafted move involved Zaha and Cheikhou Kouyate eventually found the former Tottenham Hotspur man, who inexplicably dinked his effort against he crossbar rather than lashing it into the net from less than 12 yards.
It is these chances that Townsend must score more often if he is to ever hit double figures, something which a player of his quality should do. Four of his five goals this season could plausibly be up for the club’s end-of-season award for the best goal, but only one – against Chelsea in November – involved a composed finish under pressure in front of goal.
Connor Wickham’s introduction just after the hour mark – his first Selhurst Park appearance since he scored against Manchester City in November 2016 – allowed Zaha and Townsend to play wide. Subsequently, Palace looked far better.
Zaha was able to run at defenders on the left, situations in which he offers far more to this side, and Townsend could cut in from the right and supply crosses.
Wickham provided the focal point that Palace have been desperate for all season in Benteke’s absence. No longer was the first pass constantly aimed with hope towards Zaha.
Wickham had a glorious chance to score within five minutes of his introduction, swivelling to meet James McArthur’s pass but lashing wide. Luka Milivojevic then struck the post with a delicate free-kick which had left Etheridge stranded on his goal-line, watching on in hope as the ball rebounded off the woodwork and away to safety.
Palace were rarely tested at the other end of the pitch, although Vicente Guaita – gaining a run of games due to Wayne Hennessey’s back injury – made one good stop to deny Kadeem Harris after the Bluebirds winger had latched on to a mistake by Mamadou Sakho.
Bar the odd lapse from the Frenchman, Palace are defensively sound.
This was the South Londoners’ sixth clean sheet of the season, the most for a club outside the top six. Sakho and James Tomkins provide solidity at centre-back, Patrick van Aanholt’s improvement into a defensively-excellent full-back over the last 12 months has been remarkable, Aaron Wan-Bissaka continues to mould into one of the Premier League’s best right-backs, and Guaita has finally secured his spot as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper.
There is a foundation for a fine side at Palace, one that can threaten the top half of the table. A good goalkeeper has finally been signed, the back four is settled and the midfield well-balanced.
But all the time they lack a centre-forward who can regularly score goals – someone who would be the difference in games as tight as these – the Eagles will waste some of their potential.
Crystal Palace (4-4-2): Guaita 6, Wan-Bissaka 6, Tomkins 6, Sakho 5, Van Aanholt 7, McArthur 5, Milivojevic 6, Kouyate 7, Meyer 5 (Wickham 6), Townsend 5, Zaha 6. Not used: Speroni, Dann, Ward, Ayew, Schlupp, Puncheon.
