BY OUR MAN AT SELHURST PARK
IT IS one of the great cathedrals of English football, a place where the Holmesdale End usually creates a wall of noise capable of rattling any visitor. But as the New Year’s Day sun set over SE25, Selhurst Park felt less like a fortress and more like a high-pressure pressure cooker.
Crystal Palace and Fulham shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw that left Oliver Glasner admiting his side are in “survival mode.”
For the home fans, who haven’t tasted a home victory since November 1st, it was a case of deja vu as a late strike cancelled out Jean-Philippe Mateta’s first-half opener.
The South London air was thick with anticipation early on, though the football failed to match the atmosphere.
It took 20 minutes for either side to even register a shot, as the two London rivals felt each other out under the Selhurst floodlights.
Palace, desperate to arrest a slide of three straight defeats, finally found their spark in the 39th minute.
Nathaniel Clyne, rolled back the years with an exquisite cross that found the head of JEAN-PHILIPPE MATETA.
The Frenchman, who had been enduring a barren run of seven games, powered his header past Bernd Leno, sending the Selhurst faithful into raptures.
But the “Cottage” was not to be outdone. Marco Silva’s men, arriving on the back of three straight wins, dominated possession and looked the more likely to score throughout a frantic second half. Raul Jimenez saw a header clip the woodwork, while the Palace goal lived a charmed life as Maxence Lacroix saw a header tipped onto the bar by Leno.
The pressure finally told ten minutes from time. Selhurst Park fell silent—save for the pocket of traveling Fulham fans—when substitute TOM CAIRNEY picked up the ball on the edge of the area.
With the poise of a veteran, the 34-year-old curled a trademark left-footed beauty beyond the reach of Dean Henderson.
It could have been worse for the Eagles.
In a frantic six minutes of stoppage time, the ghost of Christmas past nearly returned to haunt them. Former Palace favorite Joachim Andersen had the goal at his mercy from six yards out, but he ballooned his effort over the bar, sparing Glasner’s blushes.
”We are in survival mode,” Glasner confessed after the whistle, pointing to a threadbare squad and a mounting injury list.
For Fulham, it’s a point that keeps them in the top-half hunt. For Palace, the Selhurst Park wait goes on.
