Southampton 1 Crystal Palace 1 – Injury-ravaged Eagles on a very respectable 27 points by the end of 2019
BY SAM SMITH
A first goal of the season for James Tomkins was not enough to earn Crystal Palace victory at Southampton.
The defender headed home early in the second half but Danny Ings equalised midway through the second half.
Palace were denied a goal by VAR with their first proper attack on 15 minutes. Wilfried Zaha beat Cedric Soares to advance into the penalty and the Ivorian squared for Max Meyer to tap in. However, the top of Zaha’s shoulder was offside in the build up and the goal was disallowed upon referral.
Enough of this. VAR is killing football. pic.twitter.com/FJ4Xx9mTKA
— carl (@Carl_Unofficial) December 28, 2019
Southampton spurned an excellent opportunity to score when Mamadou Sakho was caught in possession on the edge of the Palace penalty area, but Nathan Redmond wasted the cross.
It was becoming increasingly clear that these two teams had only played 48 hours earlier. Perhaps that was why temperatures begin to boil late in the second half when Luka Milivojevic escaped a second yellow card for dissent. James McCarthy and James Ward-Prowse also appeared to square up.
👏 James Tomkins today:
7 aerial duels won.
12 clearances.
100% tackle success.
1 goal. #CPFC | #SOUCRY pic.twitter.com/JB2kxIl8On— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) December 28, 2019
Jack Stephens missed a chance to put Southampton ahead as the half drew to a close, flicking over from close range having met a right-wing free-kick.
It took Palace fewer than five minutes into the second half to take the lead. Milivojevic appeared to be shaping to shoot from a free-kick but instead dinked the ball into the penalty area where Tomkins headed in via the crossbar.
The Eagles had an appeal for a penalty waved away after Ward-Prowse challenged Meyer in the box following a powerful run by the influential Zaha.
Having withstood so much pressure so capably, it was harsh on Roy Hodgson’s side that their opponents equalised through an error. In truth, there had been lapses on the ball previously, but Martin Kelly’s square ball to Tomkins was loose – allowing Ings to finish past Vicente Guaita.
Forgetting Kelly’s mistake for the equaliser, I’m still not sure if it’s a case of him having an all-round stinker or Djenepo being quality.
— HLTCO (@HLTCO) December 28, 2019
Guaita made an outstanding stop to deny Moussa Djenepro as the Saints grew in confidence after their goal. There was then a save almost as good to beat away an Ings header.
Ward-Prowse was the next to be denied by Guaita with the Englishman letting fly from a 25-yard free-kick.
The result puts Palace on a very respectable 27 points before the new year.
Finishes 1-1. Guaita ended up keeping Palace in it towards the end but that was a tremendous effort from Hodgson's side. Harsh for the equaliser to be a defensive error after the back four were excellent #CPFC
— Sam Smith (@SamGeorgeSmith) December 28, 2019
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