Saturday, 8 February 2014

Crystal Palace 3-1 West Brom: Ince and Ledley net on Eagles debut but visitors fume at Chamakh's spot kick

Two of Tony Pulis' January recruits put West Brom to the sword for Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
The sides were level on 23 points before kick-off and on the periphery of the Barclays Premier League relegation zone but first-half debut goals from Blackpool loanee Tom Ince and Wales international Joe Ledley saw Palace on their way to a 3-1 victory.
A contentious Marouane Chamakh penalty then made sure of the points after West Brom's own debutant, Thievy Bifouma, struck early in the second half.
Birds of a feather: Thomas Ince is grabbed by mascot Pete the Eagle on his first outing for Palace
In control: Thomas Ince
Birds of a feather: Thomas Ince shares a moment with Pete the Eagle after opening his Palace account

On target: Joe Ledley nods home the second on his first appearance for Palace
On target: Joe Ledley nods home the second on his first appearance for Palace

Match facts

Crystal Palace: Speroni 7; Ward 6, Dann 6, Delaney 6, Ledley 7; Jedinak 7, Dikgacoi 6; Puncheon 6 (Murray 72), Ince 8, Bolasie 7 (Parr 76); Chamakh 7 (Thomas 83). Subs not used: Gayle, Gabbidon, Hennessey, Bannan.
Goals: Ince 15, Ledley 27, Chamakh 69 (pen)
Manager: Tony Pulis 7
West Brom: Foster 6; Jones 6, McAuley 6, Dawson 6, Ridgewell (Sinclair 46); Gera 5 (Thievy 46), Yacob 5 (Berahino 71), Mulumbu 6, Brunt 5; Morrison 6; Anichebe 7.

Subs not used: Myhill, Lugano, Dorrans, Vydra.
Booked: Jones, Yacob, Brunt.
Scorer: Thievy 46.
Manager: Pepe Mel 6.
Referee: Chris Foy 5.
Man of the match: Ince.
Attendance: 24,501. 
*Player ratings by LAURIE WHITWELL at Selhurst Park
Palace have struggled for goals lately with only Jason Puncheon finding the net in the league since Boxing Day but they followed up their impressive FA Cup victory at West Brom last month with another success over the Baggies.

The Eagles have now taken 16 points from a possible 21 at Selhurst Park since Pulis replaced Ian Holloway in November as West Brom remain winless under Pepe Mel. The win enhances Pulis' hopes of continuing his record of having never been relegated and of becoming the first manager to keep the Eagles in the Premier League beyond a single campaign.

Kagisho Dikgacoi had an effort cleared off the line by West Brom's Youssouf Mulumbu, whose clearance hit Scott Dann but bounced high over the crossbar.

Yannick Bolasie was the next man to come close as he headed Jason Puncheon's cross straight at Ben Foster but the Eagles did not have to wait too long to break the deadlock.

Bolasie broke through and was brought down by Liam Ridgewell. Referee Chris Foy allowed play to continue and Ince beat Foster to the loose ball to score less than 15 minutes into his debut.

Craig Dawson smashed a speculative volley well over the top of Eagles goalkeeper Julian Speroni's bar as the visitors looked to level but it soon got worse for Mel's side.

This time Ince turned provider as his corner was met by Ledley who headed home unchallenged to double the Eagles' lead.
Controversy: Marouane Chamakh falls under the challenge of West Brom keeper Ben Foster
Controversy: Marouane Chamakh falls under the challenge of West Brom keeper Ben Foster

Going down: Chamakh falls to win a penalty, which he duly converted, at Selhurst Road
Going down: Chamakh falls to win a penalty, which he duly converted, at Selhurst Road

Double act: Chamakh celebrates with Mile Jedinak after firing Palace to another home victory
Double act: Chamakh celebrates with Mile Jedinak after firing Palace to another home victory
Bifouma was introduced alongside Scott Sinclair for the start of the second half and the striker, on loan from Espanyol, needed just two touches to add his name to the list of debutant goalscorers.

The 21-year-old played the ball out to Victor Anichebe before running onto the return and forcing it past Speroni at his near post to get the Baggies back into the game less than a minute into the second half.

With West Brom pushing further forward in search of an equaliser as the half progressed, the likes of Ince, Bolasie and Chamakh started to find more space to run into.

Thomas Ince hit the first goal on his first outing for Palace - check out his heatmap below... and for more amazing stats and figures, go to our Match Zone

Tom Ince goal

Thomas Ince heat map
But, with those extra numbers in attack, Mel's side were also proving more of a threat in and around the Palace box as both James Morrison and Sinclair forced superb saves out of Speroni.

His opposite number Foster was then involved in the game's most controversial moment as he burst from his line and challenged Chamakh, who was clean through on goal.

The former England goalkeeper took the ball but Foy pointed to the spot, before deciding against showing a card to Foster, and Chamakh dusted himself off to convert the penalty and wrap up the win for Palace.
Controlled: Scott Dann organises the palace defence as he makes his first appearance for the club
Controlled: Scott Dann organises the palace defence as he makes his first appearance for the club

Party time: Palace are out of the bottom three and looking up the table after their third straight home win
Party time: Palace are out of the bottom three and looking up the table after their third straight home win
The home fans were given further cause to cheer when striker Glenn Murray returned from the knee injury which had kept him sidelined since the first leg of the Championship play-off semi-final against Brighton in May.

West Brom came close to narrowing the margin as Morrison, Anichebe and Saido Berahino all came close late on but it ended as a 10th defeat of the season for the Baggies, who will end the weekend in the bottom three.
In the danger zone: Pepe Mel's West Brom drop into the bottom three after their defeat
In the danger zone: Pepe Mel's West Brom drop into the bottom three after their defeat

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