Crystal Palace (Away) 13.12.2020

While losing the lead was a disappointment, the loss of two points in this 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace was softened by results elsewhere meaning we keep the top spot in the division for the time being.  Only some fine stops by Vicente Guaita stopped Tottenham adding to Harry Kane’s goal, while one moment of quality from Ebere Eze produced the chance for Schlupp to score from close range.

A rainy Selhurst Park welcomed Spurs, who were without an ill Gareth Bale and a missing Harry Winks. Everyone took the knee before the kick-off but Christian Benteke just wanted to break into the Spurs half, having to put his knee down albeit in Tottenham territory !

While Palace started the game, Tottenham broke early and kept the ball around the home penalty box for the next few minutes. Palace got a lot of shirts behind the ball and packed the middle of the box, but Spurs worked the ball well without being able to get a sight of goal. Palace did break on goal, but Zaha’s cross was headed back to Hugo Lloris by Tanguy Ndombele then Eze and Zaha linked with Toby Alderweireld blocking the winger’s shot, despite having to put his hands behind his back.  The Belgian was in attacking mode next, when his long ball in behind Kouyate found Son in the box and he was just too wide of the goal on the right to be able to pull his shot on target. The width was being used to try to drag Palace defenders out of their central defensive positions, with Reguilon and Aurier playing in advanced positions, but a straight ball from Eric Dier along the floor through the middle could have set up a chance, but Harry Kane couldn’t control it. Hugo was forced into a save when Palace broke and Zaha hit a low shot of the wet turf and the Spurs skipper got down to his right to save and then grab the ball at the second attempt. Eze’s ball over Dier found Zaha but Eric got back to close him and force him to shoot way over the bar.

Spurs were moving the ball from side to side to try and make some space and when Aurier’s low ball in was deflected to Ndombele, his low shot was very well saved by Guaita to his right and it fell just out of Kane’s reach to get to the rebound. Another Aurier cross was cleared to Reguilon, who came in on his right foot to fire a shot that took a touch as it went narrowly over. From the corner, Kane got to it, but his header was saved by Guaita with more ease this time.

Milijovic let the ball be taken off him and he fouled Kane in an attempt to win it back and picked up a yellow card for his foul. Spurs tried to work a complicated free-kick, but the ball ended up floating through to the Palace keeper. He wasn’t so lucky when Regi played the ball infield to Ndombele, who laid it on to Son. He set up Harry Kane (as you would expect) centrally and his early shot from 25 yards out caught Guaita out, as he moved right as the ball swerved the other way and ended up in the Palace net. It was a skidding shot that Kane struck with great power and it bounced just in front of him, but it made him look like he dived out of the way.

A free-kick for a crude jump at Bergwijn to try and win the ball in the air by Kouyate handed Tottenham a free-kick left of centre but about 28 yards out, so when Kane fancied his chances, you wouldn’t have bet against it. Unfortunately, this time, the ball went the wrong way for him and the right way for Guaita and swerved well wide. 

Half an hour in, the Palace fans finally had something to cheer about when they were awarded a free kick 25 yards out, but the shot was headed out by Kane in the wall. Harry was then on the edge of the Palace box, when he put Bergwijn in ten yards out. Guiata was on him and blocked his shot, but Ndombele followed up and his shot came off the keeper’s back for a corner. Crosses into the home box were causing problems, with Kouyate skying his clearance to the next one.

The home players were dropping off when Spurs had the ball at the back and when they had it in defence, they tried to play it out, but were caught out by the Tottenham press. When they did work the ball to Schlupp, he was on the inside of Reguilon and Sissoko’s slide brought him down just outside the area. van Aanholt tried to hit it low to Lloris’ right, but Son was back to block it. Palace fans wanted a penalty for handball when it was headed away ! They did come close when Eze bent a low shot around Dier from just inside the area, but although the ball beat Hugo, it came off the foot of the post and behind for a goal-kick. 

When Tottenham looked like breaking away, Palace inevitably committed a foul to break up the move and that was in addition to petulant fouls by Kouyate on Reguilon and Zaha on Hojbjerg, but at half-time, Tottenham were a goal up.

When play restarted, Reguilon played a loose ball that Zaha got onto and it looked as though Sissoko fouled him, which already having picked up a yellow card wasn’t great, but the ref waved play on.  Tottenham’s passing was generally off at the start of the second half and they had to then press to regain possession from Palace. Benteke and Zaha worked a move that saw the latter freed in the box, but his shot was over the bar and the centre-forward had been offside anyway. Zaha then went down saying Toby had studded him down his shin, but it was the Palace man who had been pulling Alderweireld in the first place.

55 minutes gone and another big cheer from the fans in the ground for getting a free-kick on the halfway line. Eze and Zaha linked in the Spurs box again, with Zaha bending a shot over the top from the left side. The rain that had been falling throughout made the surface so wet that the ball was throwing up spray when it went along the ground. Palace began lumping the ball forward to Benteke and tried to either feed off knock-downs or win free-kicks. As it was his wrestling skills were to the fore, with a throw on Sissoko that brought no interest from the referee.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg struck a shot all the way along the floor but two feet wide of the keeper’s right-hand post which preceded Ndombele departing for Lo Celso to come on. Zaha won a free-kick 25 yards out and Benteke’s header fell for Schlupp, who sliced his volley way high and wide. Set-pieces looked the most likely way that the Eagles might score, with Friend obliging by providing a string of free-kicks for them. As it was, it should have been a Spurs dead ball that should have put Tottenham a further goal ahead. Schlupp had brought down Reguilon, with Giovani floating a ball in towards the penalty spot, where Dier ran in unmarked but guided his header wide, when it could have spelled danger for Palace had it been on target. 

Schlupp sent Lo Celso flying and the referee failed to take any action against him for a series of fouls he had committed. Palace were getting more possession and were in the Spurs half for longer, coming close when Benteke headed a corner over the bar when free in the box. As they pushed for an equaliser, they were aiming for the big men in the box and Cahill won a header from a corner and then Benteke headed the second ball straight at Lloris. Then a free-kick on the Palace left was played in by Eze and with a group of players in front of Lloris, he fumbled it and Schlupp was on hand to knock it in from two yards out.

Nine minutes left to get a winner, Kane was brought down five yards outside the box and just to the left of the goal, so he stepped up and his shot took a flick off the wall and dropped wide with the keeper stuck on his line. Reguilon went off to be replaced by Ben Davies and Dele replaced Bergwijn when the corner was about to be taken. Dele’s first involvement was to tackle Eze deep in his own half when the home side broke from the corner. With five minutes left, Davies’ cross dropped over Guaita’s head to bounce back off the bar and Serge Aurier smashed a shot at goal that Kane got his head to and the keeper made a very good reflex save to keep the ball out.

Two minutes into added time, Kouyate committed another stupid foul and Dier curled it towards the keeper’s top right-hand corner, but Guaita reached up to push it over. With about the last kick of the match Spurs had a free-kick when Zaha fouled Lo Celso, but it didn’t beat the first man and a draw was the final result due to Guaita’s saves to stop Tottenham getting a winner.

The way Tottenham played in the first half, a second goal might have finished it off, but Palace did produce a reaction in the second half, perhaps earning enough credit to be worth a draw, but Spurs did buck up after Schlupp’s goal and had a few decent chances, which, on another day, might have ended up in the back of the net.

With Liverpool drawing, Chelsea losing and the Manchester derby ending up all square, the only big winners were South Coast Big Club and West Ham United London, who ended up fourth and sixth respectively.  Tottenham need to pick up as many points as they can now for leaner times might later in the season, but teams will be up for games against us now and that will start on Wednesday when we travel to Anfield.  A win there is about as rare as rocking horse shit, but a win would keep Spurs top for an unprecedented third week.

Matt Anderson

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