Crystal Palace 1 Brighton & Hove Albion 1
Throughout his managerial career, Graham Potter has had to learn to be patient. But even the Brighton manager must have given up hope after a second half that had seen his side bombard the Crystal Palace goal to no avail.
Ahead thanks to a disputed first-half penalty from Wilfried Zaha – his seventh goal against their bitter rivals – it appeared as though Roy Hodgson’s side had done enough to hold on to victory despite registering only one shot on target compared to 16 from their opponents. However, a last-minute equaliser from substitute Alexis Mac Allister earned Brighton a share of the points that was no less than they deserved.
Potter’s path to the Premier League via Swedish side Östersund is strikingly similar to the journey taken by Hodgson more than 40 years ago and for large parts of this match it was the more experienced man who looked like he would come out on top. But in a bad-tempered finale that saw Lewis Dunk shown a red card for a lunge on his counterpart Gary Cahill, Potter will be relieved to have avoided a fourth defeat in their opening five fixtures of the new season.
Palace’s hopes of recording a first home victory over their rivals since April 2018 had been boosted before kick-off with the inclusion of Cahill for the first time this season after a long-term hamstring injury – one of four changes from the 4-0 defeat to Chelsea a fortnight ago. Much to Hodgson’s relief, Zaha was also available having recovered sufficiently from a groin injury he picked up on international duty with Ivory Coast last week.
Having earlier confirmed the signing of Danny Welbeck on a free transfer, Potter opted to leave Aaron Connolly on the bench and recalled Adam Lallana to his midfield, while Dan Burn and Tariq Lamptey – a height difference of 33cm – were employed as the wing-backs. Lamptey has made quite an impression since joining from Chelsea in January and looked in the mood once again as the visitors made a bright start. It took all of Palace’s defensive nous to block his effort inside the area in the seventh minute, with the 20-year-old testing his marker Tyrick Mitchell on several occasions during the opening stages.
But despite an effort from Yves Bissouma that whistled just past the post and Ben White’s shot after he had intercepted a stray pass from Mitchell, once more Brighton were made to pay for their profligacy. Palace had barely put a foot in the opposition’s half until the 20th minute, when a high cross from Andros Townsend at first looked destined for the head of Michy Batshuayi but – much to the bemusement of Potter – Lamptey’s tug on the Belgium striker’s shirt was deemed enough contact by referee Stuart Attwell to warrant a penalty. Having assumed spot-kick duties against Manchester United last month, Zaha converted with aplomb .
Brighton struggled to regain their rhythm after that setback, with Palace – led by the impressive Jairo Riedewald in midfield – largely happy to sit back and defend their lead until the break. Having seen his side succumb to similar tactics during their 1-0 home defeat to these opponents in February, Potter knew the onus was on his players to up the tempo and Brighton began the second half with much more purpose. Only a brilliant last-ditch intervention from Cahill denied Neal Maupay an equaliser before Batshuayi’s net-buster following an excellent through ball from Riedewald was narrowly ruled out for offside.
More heroic defending from Joel Ward to block Maupay’s effort from close range soon after ensured Palace clung on to their slender lead. Perhaps seeing the writing on the wall, Hodgson opted to change to a 4-3-3 formation in an attempt to stymy Brighton’s increasing attacking threat. It almost paid dividends until Mac Allister’s late intervention, although even the Palace manager would have to admit all three points would have flattered his side on this occasion. - Guardian
