Crystal Palace vs Newcastle 22/23

Hi everyone,

Hope you’re all well!

On Saturday 21st of January Palace hosted Newcastle United at Selhurst Park in their second back to back home fixtures.

Sadly I wasn’t able to attend the midweek fixture against Manchester United but I’m very pleased with what I saw from home and we finally got a point at Selhurst with a Michael Olise wonder goal in the final few minutes - definitely the best free kick I’ve seen in a while! Palace would be hoping to carry this momentum into the game today.

Newcastle came into the game on fine form picking up points in all of their Premier League games since the break in which they’ve conceded zero goals. They have also beaten the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham and picked up a point against current league leaders Arsenal - so this game was going to be a big test for Patrick Vieira and his men! With Newcastle still being in the Carabao Cup it was uncertain how focused they would be on this game and if they would name a strong line up or save them for the upcoming knockout games, though they did opt to start the same line-up as their previous win over Fulham.

Patrick Vieira made four changes to the line-up compared to the United game this saw Ward, Schlupp, Eze and Ayew return to replace Clyne, Hughes, Olise and Mateta. Although Olise scored the equaliser last game I think the decision to bench him is warranted as in the game he didn’t offer much creativity and gave the ball away multiple times. Academy products David Ozoh and Jack Wells-Morrison were also named on the bench.

The game ended in a bore draw, nevertheless a momentous occasion for 17-year-old substitute David Ozoh who became Crystal Palace’s youngest ever Premier League player!

Newcastle started the brighter of the teams with an early Miguel Almirón shot finding the side netting, the travelling fans at the other end of the stadium saw the net ripple and thought they got more but the scores reminded level. Vicente Guaita was called to action to save two close range shots from Joelinton and Dan Burn as the pressure continued.

The home team’s best chance of the half came when Cheick Doucoure played a ball over the top leaving Zaha clear in behind, the Newcastle defence managed to get back in time to put a tackle in and prevent the shot. The ball fell into the path of Edouard but his shot was deflected wide; from the corner Chris Richards came so close to getting his first goal for the Eagles, but his header from an Eze cross flew just over the bar.

The half lacked any real chances from either team, but Newcastle were still in domination of the game. Palace looked strong in spurts when attacking but gave the ball away cheaply or unnecessarily went backwards losing momentum.

The second half saw Newcastle playing very direct, with Palace’s defence remaining strong including another good performance from Chris Richards.

The balls out from Guaita were slow and frustratingly allowed Newcastle to regroup in defence.

Wilfried Zaha’s 450th appearance was cut short due to an injury, Vieira looked to the bench making four replacements with Clyne, Hughes, Olise and Mateta replace Ward, Schlupp, Eze and the injured Zaha. Joel Ward had a good game, and I probably would’ve stuck with him till the end rather than replacing him, Clyne didn’t have the best performance.

The substitutes were instantly involved with Hughes getting stuck in within the midfield, and Mateta producing the best chance of the game forcing a fantastic fingertip save from Nick Pope.

The closing stages of the game favoured the home team who was further inspired by the introduction of Academy player David Ozoh to make his Premier League debut and became the club’s youngest Premier League player; although it did seem as though he was playing up front with Mateta!

The game ended 0-0 and is definitely a point the Eagles will take especially at home (with their current form) against a strong Newcastle who are looking to take their club to the next level. They had some good performances throughout the pitch, with the MOTM award deservedly going to Chris Richards who will continue to prove his ability to Vieira and try to remain in the starting 11!

Crystal Palace’s next game is another tough battle against United, hopefully they can take the momentum from the last two games on the road and get something out of the game. The next game I’m attending is B*ighton at home on the 11th of February so look out for that post!

Thank you for reading!

Ellie Xx