Eddie Howe’s Mags could not weather the South London storm as we were picked off by a Crystal Palace side who were the better team from start to finish.
The Eagles’ Jean-Phillipe Mateta bagged a brace as a below-par Toon did not even muster a single shot on target until the final 10 minutes of a game we never got to grips with. We were second best in all departments, looked surprisingly flat and a shadow of the side that blew away Spurs 4-0 in our last outing.
It is a missed opportunity to stake a claim for sixth in the league, with advantage swinging to Manchester United, who leapfrog us and move into the Europa League spot after their 4-2 win over Sheffield United.
The Toon performance lacked precision in the first half, with Palace getting to the second ball more often than not. The Eagles pressed us well and were by far the superior team in the first half, creating more, holding the ball better and looking more energetic.
It was almost a carbon copy of the first half we saw against Fulham recently. At Selhurst Park we only managed one shot in the first 45 minutes.
The second half started brighter in spells, with a couple of half chances for the Toon down the wings. But a poor clearance from Krafth allowed Palace to win the ball high up the pitch and Mateta played a one-two with Ayew and struck the ball past Dubravka into the bottom left corner.
It forced Howe into a change as it was clear that the system that worked so well against Spurs was not working here. He introduced Wilson and Hall after the hour mark and we moved to a more comfortable shape. In truth, it was a mistake opting for the same makeshift defence that outworked Spurs, as Palace’s set up posed a completely different set of problems. Murphy never settled at right-back, the centre-back pairing of Schar and Krafth didn’t work and Burn looked uncomfortable at left-back, raising questions why fit again full-backs Hall and Livramento weren’t recalled.
That said, we were almost handed a lifeline with little under 15 minutes to play as Longstaff was slipped into the box and caught by Will Hughes. There was initial confusion as the ref looked to have given a penalty, but his gesture was for a goal kick and VAR did not deem the contact enough to give the pen. It felt like a harsh decision given the clear contact on Longstaff and should have been checked more thoroughly by VAR.
Then, the worst happened. Mateta struck again, showing a quality that was lacking from our lads to slot the ball through Dubravka and into the net. Palace were creating chances and having attempts on target and we were not and you simply cannot win a football match if you do not shoot on target.
The match is a real dent in our European hopes as we fall to seventh. We welcome Sheffield United to St James’ next this weekend and must get back to winning ways in our push for sixth place.
STARTING XI: Dubravka – Murphy, Krafth, Schar, Burn – Longstaff, Bruno, Anderson – Gordon, Isak, Barnes.
SUBS: Karius, Wilson, Dummett, Ritchie, Hall, Livramento, White, A. Murphy, Parkinson
We all know team selection has been difficult this season due to injuries – but when you have Tino & Hall on the bench and decide to play Krafth, Murphy & Anderson out of position – that needs some explanation imo.
Tino & Hall could both play those wing back roles anyway – and it would be a more natural fit.
I can only think we might be on to sign Tosin & Kelly in the summer and he’d look to play with 3 CBs – because nothing else makes sense about last night given the players on the bench.
Sharpy17(Quote)