Crystal Palace will be drawn out of the fifth round draw of the FA Cup for the first time in five years after a comeback inspired by Marouane Chamakh seen the Eagles dispose of surprise Premier League package Southampton.
It was the first game in the competition between the two sides since their semi-final meeting at Stamford Bridge in 1976 when the hosts on this occasion prevailed by two goals to nil to go on and beat Manchester United in the final 1-0 at Wembley but with the form the two sides were in before the start of the game, a very different game was expected and it is fair to say that no fans were disappointed.
Alan Pardew made three changes to the side that defeated Burnley last weekend in the Premier League with birthday boy Wayne Hennessey coming in for Julian Speroni, Frazier Campbell replacing the in-form Dwight Gayle whilst Chamakh who was returning from injury took the place of Jason Puncheon on his return to St Mary’s.
The Eagles had the first chance of the game in the opening exchanges of the game on the south coast as after winning possession from Southampton’s kick-off, Wilfried Zaha made the most of the opportunity he was given as the winger had an early attempt on goal after being laid-off the on-loan winger put too much on his shot, seeing it go over the bar and causing no alarm for Fraser Forster in the Saints goal.
It was Southampton though who managed to find the back of the net though after eight minutes as after Joel Ward denied a cross from heading into the box, it went out for a corner; allowing the hosts to score in a similar fashion to Burnley last week, the corner was put into the area by James Ward-Prowse towards the back post where Graziano Pelle was waiting to slot the ball past Hennessey from close range to put the Saints ahead.
Palace didn’t let the lead last for long though as only two minutes after the opening goal of the game, Yaya Sanogo was denied his debut goal for the club after he shot at the Southampton goalkeeper after being put into attacking action when he was handed the ball on the left-hand side of the area where the shot then ricocheted off Forster which Chamakh got to, managing to get it underneath the outstretching arms of the goalkeeper to put Pardew’s side level.
Both defences were shaky after the early goals, both looking vulnerable with shock after the early goals and that was to be added to five minutes after Chamakh’s equaliser because when Ryan Bertrand delivered a low cross into the box from the left-hand side heading towards a waiting Hennessey, Scott Dann decided to attempt to clear it out for a corner but his deflection ended up in the back of the net past his own goalkeeper.
Yet again, Crystal Palace looked for a quick reply and with Sanogo having a chance at scoring his debut earlier on in the game, he wasn’t denied it this time as on the 21 minute mark, the fourth goal of the game was scored; after collecting the ball from Zaha who threaded it through to the on-loan player from Arsenal, Sanogo fired it past Forster who was left on his knees for the second time.
Surprisingly the two teams were still very even despite the momentum pushing behind the Palace players after the equaliser with the addition of the sold-out away support getting behind their team with their relentless support but Southampton continued to threaten with first of all Ward-Prowse hitting a shot from 25-yards out, forcing Hennessey full stretch despite the ball fizzing past the post before Steven Davis had a similar shot which went a little further out.
Chamakh picked up a second though, putting his team ahead for the first time in the game with six minutes remaining before the break; Joel Ward managed to get down the right wing with the help of Wilfried Zaha who had been in fine form throughout the game where he finally got through the middle of two oncoming defenders before sweetly dinking it over the top of the Southampton back-line, finding Chamakh who found the back of the net with a calm and collect finish.
In the second half, the game slowed down and the attempts on goal decreased as after an exciting first half both teams fixed up at the back – focusing on keeping the ball from heading into the back of the net for another goal.
Despite getting onto the scoresheet in the first half, Sanogo continued to look for another goal to put his side further ahead as on the hour mark after a free-kick was won in a dangerous position, the striker was found by a Chamakh header from McArthur’s corner where the forward attempted a scissor kick, only to find out he had given the hosts a goal kick.
The Saints increased the pressure with less than a quarter of the game left, looking to grab an equaliser in the attempt of forcing the game into a replay but despite their efforts – Crystal Palace stood strong, leaving the visiting supporters happy at the final whistle.
Alan Pardew’s start as manager continues on a strong foot with four wins on the bounce in all competitions whilst managing his side into the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time in five years and with major contenders of the tournament being knocked out on a crazy day of cup football – can Crystal Palace really make it far in this season’s competition?
