Four takeaways from Crystal Palace’s 1-0 defeat at Spurs – Nothing sweet about the referee’s performance as the Tottenham hoodoo continues

Crystal Palace suffered a 1-0 defeat at Spurs on Saturday thanks to Harry Kane’s header before half-time.

Here are Adam Sells’ four takeaways from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium:

FRUSTRATION, FRUSTRATION, FRUSTRATION

Palace fought gamely throughout this encounter, looking comfortable in possession and forcing Tottenham back in spells.

The difficulty was in working Fraser Forster in the home goal. The keeper was not really called into action too often, but in truth, neither was the Eagles stopper Sam Johnstone, as clear-cut chances were at a premium.

Johnstone denied Son superbly, but that was pretty much it.

In the end, it came down to the man who knows where the goal is… Harry Kane.

One chance came the England captain’s way, and he ruthlessly despatched it.

There wasn’t – and isn’t – so much between these two London rivals, but in the final third, the quality of Son and Kane has often decided these battles.

Two world-class players tipped the scales again here.

THE TOTTENHAM HOODOO CONTINUES

Whether it has been White Hart Lane, Wembley or the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Palace do not like an awayday at Spurs.

The Eagles have now failed to score in nine of the ten fixtures against the north Londoners since being back in the Premier League.

Christian Benteke’s header was the only occasion in a 4-1 defeat during the Covid period when games were played behind closed doors two years ago.

With the home side having conceded fifteen goals in the past four games, Palace may well have thought today was the day, but despite knocking at the door for long spells, there was no way through.

NOT ENGLAND’S FINEST

On a day when most of England were celebrating the King’s Coronation, referee Darren England was far from the country’s finest here, as the final quarter of the game became very stop-start, and tempers began to fray.

When asked by the SLP’s Edmund Brack in the post-match press conference, Hodgson was reluctant to comment, but his refusal to comment spoke volumes.

The Palace boss described the choice of match officials as a “chocolate box”, adding, “You get what you get.”

There was nothing sweet about England’s performance here.

DEJA VU

This felt much like the recent defeat at Wolves.

Palace came off on the wrong end of the result, pretty much giving as good as they got.

The Premier League is tough, but the two defeats suffered since Hodgson’s return have been unfortunate, and a case could be argued on each occasion that his team were very much in a game and worthy of a result.

That’s a huge positive, and with a summer ahead to improve the squad, there is much to look forward to.

First, there are three games and still the chance to match Palace’s best points total of 49, which seemed a remote possibility at the end of March.