Summary
- Patrick Vieira makes three changes to the team that beat Southampton
- Palace start as the strongest side, creating early chances through Eberechi Eze
- West Ham capitalise on a brief spell on top, taking the lead through Saïd Benrahma
- The game falls a little quiet but Palace retain their grip on possession
- With five minutes until half-time Eze finds Wilfried Zaha in the box, who holds off his marker and slams in
- Half-time: West Ham United 1-1 Crystal Palace
- The second-half is fairly quiet, with Palace again dominant
- Paul Tierney awards West Ham a penalty after Michail Antonio broke into the box; upon review, however, Tierney overturns his decision
- With seconds on the clock Palace continue to push for a winner, and Michael Olise finds it by looping the ball over Fabiański in the 93rd-minute
- Full-time: West Ham United 1-2 Crystal Palace
If Palace could be accused of needing a more clinical edge at times against West Ham United, they couldn’t be accused of lacking ruthlessness.
After dominating much of the game but sitting level from the 40th-minute almost until full-time, the south Londoners put West Ham to the sword with seconds remaining: Michael Olise looping in to clinch three points.
Palace led the game from kick-off and produced two early chances through Eberechi Eze. Without troubling home ‘keeper Łukasz Fabiański too clearly the visiting team dominated, keeping the ball in West Ham’s half and enjoying the majority of possession.
They started to turn this into chances after 15 minutes but were unable to break through, leading to a short spell of home dominance.
The Hammers, without creating as much as Palace or sustaining their momentum in the same way, were more clinical, scoring with one shot as Saïd Benrahma launched the ball in from the edge of the box.
The south Londoners appeared unaffected, calming the game down and steadily gaining control again. Jeffrey Schlupp gave the hosts the biggest scare by trying to squeeze past Fabiański low to his right but otherwise half-time appeared to be destined for an unjust home advantage.
Almost from nowhere though Wilfried Zaha moved the balance of power by latching-on to an excellent Eze ball into the box, holding off his marker with strength and striking home in trademark style from 12 yards.
The second-half was much like the first in that Palace dominated without completely overwhelming their hosts. They enjoyed positive build-up play and Fabiański remained largely untested.
The clash began to grow in intensity with every stroke of the clock however, with Craig Dawson almost turning into his own net on the end of a fast Jordan Ayew cross. This time Fabiański was called into action, and rescued his team with commendable reflexes.
At the other end of the pitch Michail Antonio burst forward at the head of a threatening attack. He began to squeeze through the backline when the ball ran away from him and, hitting the deck, earned a penalty much to the confusion of the Palace defence.
After a lengthy VAR review and Paul Tierney’s own check the referee overturned his decision, with replays showing Marc Guéhi’s hand to have brushed Antonio’s side, but the striker to have tumbled of his own volition.
Whether this put the bit between Palace’s teeth or not Patrick Vieira’s side appeared to be determined for more than just a point, and they pushed against their hosts hard with moments remaining.
When Olise stood on the edge of the box at the end of a fast counter-attack and struck goal-bound there were just seconds left in the game. The ball took a nick, looped up, and nestled past Fabiański’s out-stretched glove, sending the away end into raptures.
