Summary:
- One change for Palace as Ayew replaces rested Olise
- Dipping Eze effort sails narrowly wide after 10 minutes
- Flicked Mateta header not far from finding the top corner
- Clyne makes important recovery tackle on Gordon
- Eze and Ayew test Dubravka’s handling from distance
- Henderson denies Isak with brave save with his legs
- HT: Palace 0-0 Newcastle
- Ayew slips in Mateta to strike Palace ahead early in the second-half
- Forward then first to Eze’s corner, heading at Dubravka
- Hughes curls narrowly over from inventive corner kick routine
- Outstanding Palace defending restricts Newcastle’s chances
- Palace survive late VAR review for a Newcastle penalty
- Mateta finishes off quick counter-attack to seal the match on 88 minutes
- Henderson preserves clean sheet with fine stop from Gordon
- FT: Palace 2-0 Newcastle
If there were any suspicion that the two teams’ respective fixture schedules might favour the Magpies – Palace had defeated West Ham just three days earlier, whilst Newcastle had enjoyed an 11-day break in games – the two teams’ starts dispelled that possibility.
Making only one change to the starting XI – Jordan Ayew replacing Michael Olise, who come off the back of his first back-to-back Premier League starts since December – they remained as hungry, as bright and as inventive, in the space afforded to them, as in Sunday’s impressive victory.
Nevertheless, Newcastle’s defence have proven a more compact proposition than the Hammers’ this season, and so the case proved as Palace swarmed their opponents high up the pitch, but failed to create too many meaningful opportunities in the first-half.
They did still create some, however, and Ebere Eze – so impressive at the weekend – was first to go close after 10 minutes, collecting a lay-off from Jean-Philippe Mateta and dancing inside a defender, before blasting a low shot narrowly wide from the edge of the box.
Moments later, Eze was involved again. Palace were proving quickest to every second ball in the opening stages, and when the playmaker’s corner was initially cleared, Joachim Andersen teed him up for a flat left-footed cross. Met at the near post by Mateta, the in-form forward flicked a header towards the far post – and it wasn’t too far away from dropping beneath the crossbar.
Struggling to gain a foothold in midfield – with Adam Wharton seemingly ubiquitous in his defending – Newcastle’s chances were limited, but one swift ball forwards did require a timely intervention from Nathaniel Clyne to deny Harvey Barnes a run at goal.
Palace were seemingly happy to shoot on sight, a marker of their confidence, and Wharton, Eze and Ayew all tested Martin Dúbravka’s handling with low strikes from distance.
Half-an-hour in, the first clear chance – and it went to the Magpies. Bruno Guimaraes’ lofted pass saw Alexander Isak and Andersen engage in a footrace. The Swede nodded it past the Dane and ran onto the ball, only for Dean Henderson to brave plunge at his feet and block the ball’s path, kicking away the danger.
Mateta would get Selhurst Park on its feet in the closing stages of a hard-fought first-half, striking the crossbar after being played through by Wharton, but the forward was – upon review – clearly offside.
No matter – it was merely a sign of things to come. Palace picked up the tempo following the interval and reapplied their constant pressure on the ball – and it was that which forced the opening goal after 55 minutes.
