Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth

Hi everyone, hope you're well.

On Tuesday 3rd December I attended Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth with my Mum and Uncle.  It was our first evening game of the season and as it is approaching Christmas, there are many games being played in a short period of time. Due to this being an evening match there wasn't many disabled fans so there was more freedom to seat wherever you wanted too. This was the case for the rest of the stadium but there was still a good atmosphere.

The game started at 7.30 and it was a very chilly evening which lead to my hands freezing. Palace had kick off for the first half but we were able to gain a very early free kick just outside the box after a foul on Ayew. Milivojevic took it but it wasn't his best and it went straight over the bar. Palace started the game very well in being able to test Bournemouths defence but they werent able to get anything from the opportunities they were given. Throughout the whole match Zaha played really well and helped the team a lot, hopefully his goals have brought back some of his confidence and we are now starting to get back the Zaha we know and love. 

In the 13th minute we got a free kick from the right side of our box as there was a tussle between Callum Wilson and Sakho but nothing came of this. Almost immediately after we won another free kick but again nothing came of it. Kouyate did very well to stop a Bournemouths attack after perfectly taking the ball out of his stride. In the 19th minute there was a red card awarded; we were slightly confused as to who it was for as we didn't see an incident but we realised later it was Sakho. He managed to win the ball but his follow through ended with a Bournemouth player on the floor after he got a stud in his leg. This now meant Palace were down to 10 men. In the 26th minute Palaces day went from bad to worse after Patrick Van-Aanholt went down injured, he immediately shook his head which wasn't a good sign. He had to be substituted off but during this time Palace were down to 9 men. It went till the 29th minute Jeffrey Schlupp came on to replace him. 

We know had a very "make shift" back fall with Kelly being on the right, Kouyate dropping to a centre back along with Tomkins and Schlupp playing on the left. This wasn't a good sign for Palace as all of our defenders were getting injured this could cause major problems for us longterm. I feel that if this problem continues to occur we should look into investing into some new defenders in the January window. Before Van-Aanholt was substituted he looked to be playing very well linking up with Zaha down the left so this was disappointing. 

Palace won another free kick in the 32nd minute Milivojevic was able to get it into the box but it was met by Bournemouths goal keeper. Bournemouth created a chance in the 35th minute after they were able to get the ball out before putting it back to the middle but Townsend was able to head it clear. Palace had another opportunity in the 37th minute and after we were able to win a corner Milivojevic took it. It was able to get to Kouyate who managed to nod it forwards but it wasn't low enough and skimmed the face of the goal. Bournemouth were able to have a shot in the 39th minute but their attempt just went straight into the hands of Guaita. Palace once again had another free kick but Bournemouth was able to clear Milivojevi's delivery. this was the last piece of action before half time. 

As the referee walked down the tunnel there were many boos around the home end for him having such a poor impact on the game. 

For the second half it was Bournemouths turn to kick it off. During the break Palace had made a substitute bringing Townsend on for McCarthy. This may be due to Kouyate having to drop into the back four. Bournemouth had a key chance ion the 48th minute when Harry Wilson was able to pass the ball across the face of the goal but it was just ahead of Callum Wilson so he was only able to send it out for a corner. Bournemouth started the second half much better than the first half, they were able to get a few balls into the box but we were able to deal with them. 

Palace weren't able to get into their oppositions half until the 53rd minute when Zaha forced an error from the Bournemouth goal keeper meaning he could only kick it out of play. this lead to us gaining a corner. Milivojevic was able to get a good ball into the box where Ayew was able to meet it at the near post but sadly it went passed the outside of the post. We won another free kick in the 55th minute but once again nothing came of it. Bournemouth were able to control the game for a few minutes but they weren't able to test us too much. 

The first yellow cared of the game didn't come until the 63rd minute which was awarded to Solanke after he fouled Zaha after he was able to get the better of him down the wing. In the 66th minute another of Palaces defender went down injured but thankfully Kelly was able to continue. Zaha drew another foul in the 68th minute after Bournemouth defender stuck his leg out receiving a yellow card. Zaha was a key player in the second half and in the 69th minute he was able to get down the left before dinking the ball into the box. He then got passed two Bournemouth players at ease before playing the ball into the area but the other players were too far in front of the ball so the opportunity was denied. There was immediately a penalty shout from Zaha after he was able to run into the box at pace before being fouled by Mepham but the referee waved it off. Guaita showed some good goalkeeping after Callum Wilson was able to get into the box. Kouyate tried to stop the attack but wasn't able too but Guaita was able to pounce on the ball.

In the 76th minute 10 men palace were able to make the score line positive to us. Schlupp was able to make a run through the whole of the left side before finishing into the bottom far corner. The Bournemouth keeper got attached to it but the ball had too much power for him to put a stop to it. The whole of Selhust Park was extremely happy with this goal. This was Schlupps 2nd goal of the season and even though he was playing in defence he can still score from anywhere! 

After our goal we became very dominant of the game. We had another opportunity in the 79th minute after McArthur was able to get a shot from the top of the area but the bournemouth goalkeeper was able to send it over the bar. 

The closing stages of the game were very tense as in the 88th minute Bournemouth had an opportunity but thankfully Guaita was able to make a superb save. There was four minute add-on to the game to the end and in this time Bournemouth tried desperately to get a goal but they were unable to. The final piece of action of the game was Palace had a free kick just outside the box, the ball was taken shirt but Zaha was flagged offside. That was the final part of the game and it ended 1-0 to us. Leaving Palace 5th in the league table temporarily. 

After the game we didn't stay behind due to it being a night game and it was freezing so we left. 

Match stats: 

• Palace had a total of 30.8% possession, Bournemouth had 69.2%

• Palace had a total of 7 shots with 2 on target. 

• Bournemouth had 6 shots with 3 on target. 

Thank you for reading 

Ellie X