Crystal
Palace became the first club in top-flight history to lose their
opening five games without scoring as Roy Hodgson's first match as
manager ended in defeat by Southampton.
The Eagles paid for slack
defending in just the sixth minute when a Dusan Tadic cross-shot was
parried to the feet of Steven Davis, who side-footed home from 10 yards.
Palace's
direct approach was contained for the most part, though Saints keeper
Fraser Forster did have to make point-blank saves to deny Christian
Benteke and Jason Puncheon either side of half-time.
His
resistance meant the hosts set a new top-flight record as they surpassed
the 438 minutes Newcastle went without a goal at the start of the
2005-06 season.
Palace did not offer enough and allowed the away
side to keep possession too easily as they secured a first win since 19
August.
Saints introduced Virgil van Dijk from the bench late on,
the defender making his first appearance since declaring he wanted to
leave in the summer.
His impact was minimal as his side easily
saw out the closing stages, with Palace resorting to hopeful crosses and
long balls, as they had for much of the afternoon.
Direct Palace lack cutting edge
Hodgson's
appointment following the sacking of Frank de Boer failed to produce
any notable increase in intensity or quality. In fact, Palace looked
more threatening in De Boer's final game, a 1-0 defeat at Burnley.
The
Dutchman had used a 3-5-2 formation in his opening three league games,
switching to 4-3-3 at Turf Moor. Hodgson opted for 4-4-1-1, with Ruben
Loftus-Cheek charged with playing close to Benteke.
It pointed a
little to his days in charge of Fulham, where a pragmatic 4-4-2 proved
hard to break down as he guided the Cottagers to safety against the odds
in 2007-08.
Despite being roared on by a boisterous crowd before
kick-off, Hodgson's side were anything but hard to get at in the early
exchanges.
And with six minutes on the clock, Davis found space
and fed Tadic, who easily passed Jeffrey Schlupp in the area before his
effort left Davis with an easy finish for his first goal in 489 days.
Loftus-Cheek
was a positive for Palace - he fizzed an effort wide from range in the
opening period and had a shot blocked by Ryan Bertrand after a powerful
run. His late withdrawal prompted some booing.
Palace may point to Forster's brilliant saves as key moments, but both Benteke and later Puncheon should have done better.
The
home side's brief seemed to be to play direct to Benteke, and it looked
as though they would always need a clever flick or fortunate bounce to
create meaningful openings.
Crosses were often from deep, with
Saints full-backs Bertrand and Cedric Soares rarely letting their rivals
in behind them to deliver from dangerous areas.
It ensured Palace
were blunted, and they join the Ipswich side of 1970-71 in going five
games without a goal at the start of a season.
The Tractor Boys
survived that season, a feat Hodgson says he feels confident of
replicating at Selhurst Park. He will now have a better gauge of the
task in hand.
More to follow.
Home TeamCrystal Palace Away TeamSouthampton
- Possession
- Home45%
- Away55%
- Shots
- Home14
- Away13
- Shots on Target
- Home3
- Away4
- Corners
- Home5
- Away5
- Fouls
- Home14
- Away13
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