Report & Highlights: Ten-man Palace fight back to earn point against Hammers

Summary

• Joe Whitworth came in for Owen Goodman in the only change to the side

• West Ham took the lead 11 minutes in through Kamari Swyer

• The Irons doubled their lead just 10 minutes later as Luizão scored from a corner

• Palace responded within a minute of conceding the second through Ademola Ola-Adebomi

• Kofi Balmer was shown a red card in the 29th minute for a challenge on Divin Mubama

• Half-time: Crystal Palace 1-2 West Ham United

• Armstrong Oko-Flex added a third for West Ham in the 49th minute

• Victor Akinwale pulled another one back for Palace on the hour-mark

• Ola-Adebomi saw a chance cleared at point-blank range in the 65th minute

• Jack Wells-Morrison levelled for the 10-men of Palace from the spot

• Ola-Adebomi nearly won it for Palace late on with a side footed volley

• Full-time: Crystal Palace 3-3 West Ham United

Just over a week on from their 3-1 comeback victory away at Blackburn Rovers, Crystal Palace Under-21s welcomed London rivals West Ham United to Copers Cope as they continued their chase for top spot in the Premier League 2 Division 1.

Manager Darren Powell made a single change to the side which won against Blackburn Rovers as Joe Whitworth came in for Owen Goodman between the sticks.

Palace found themselves a goal behind after conceding from the first chance of the game. A West Ham corner from Freddie Potts was met at the near post by Kamari Swyer, who managed to get a glancing touch to guide the ball into the back of the net.

It was déjà vu 10 minutes later for Palace, as they conceded once again from a corner at the near post. This time centre-back Luizão got on the end of a Regan Clayton corner to double the lead for the Hammers.

After going two goals down, Palace responded within 60 seconds to halve the deficit. A driving run down the left from Tayo Adaramola saw him cut the ball back across the box into the path of Jadan Raymond - the midfielder’s misqueued shot fell perfectly for Ademola Ola-Adebomi to finish inside the six-yard box for his 10th goal of the season.

The Eagles looked to draw level after pulling one back, but they were dealt a huge blow just before the half-hour mark as centre-back Kofi Balmer was shown a straight red card for an innocuous challenge on Divin Mubama.

Now a goal and a man down, Palace had it all to do to salvage something from this game. They managed to quash West Ham’s man advantage in the time that remained in the first-half, going into the interval with it all to play for.

Palace came out in the second-half with a slight change of shape to adapt to being a man down, but the Hammers managed to restore their two-goal cushion through Armstrong Oko-Flex just five minutes after the restart. A well-worked one-two with Swyer saw the striker neatly finish inside the box.

On the hour-mark, Victor Akinwale managed to pull a goal back for Palace to reduce the deficit to one. Second-half substitute Seán Grehan won the ball off Mubama near the half-way line and saw it break to David Ozoh. The midfielder picked out Ola-Adebomi with a clever ball and the Palace No.9 picked out his strike partner who finished unmarked inside the West Ham box.

Palace were in the ascendancy after Akinwale’s eighth goal of the season and nearly drew level just five minutes later. Ola-Adebomi was denied at point-blank range, after being the first to react to a smart free-kick from captain Jack Wells-Morrison - which crept under the wall to force a save from Krisztián Hegyi.

With just over 15 minutes remaining, Adaramola won a penalty for Palace after he was brought down inside the box following a surging run. Wells-Morrison stepped up from the spot and sent Hegyi the wrong way, notching his third goal in as many games and Palace’s third of the game to draw level.

Momentum was heavily in favour of the south Lononders as they looked to find a winner in the closing stages of the game. The pick of the chances fell to Ola-Adebomi just before stoppage time, though the forward saw his volley go wide of the mark after getting on the end of a great ball from Adaramola.

A last-gasp victory wasn't on the cards for the 10-men of Palace in the end, though their spirited efforts saw them earn a well-deserved point to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 10 games. They remain third in the Premier League 2 Division 1, a point behind Chelsea in second with a game in hand.

Crystal Palace: Whitworth (GK), Imray, Rodney, Balmer, Watson, Adaramola, Ozoh, Wells-Morrison, Raymond (Grehan, 45), Akinwale, Ola-Adebomi (Umeh, 90+2).

Subs not used: Izquierdo (GK), Vigor, Mooney.

West Ham United: Hegyi (GK), Chester, Luizão, Potts, Casey, Laing, Swyer, Appiah-Forson (Orford, 84), Mubama (Kodua, 71), Oko-Flex (Earthy, 84), Clayton (Scales, 84).

Subs not used: Knightsbridge (GK).