Match Report: Crystal Palace vs West Brom
- Oct 4, 2015
- 2 min read
A fast paced game between two clubs desperate for points has finished with Crystal Palace on top, defeating a gallant West Brom side 2-0 with late goals to Yannick Bolasie and a Yohan Cabaye penalty. Both teams had many chances to go ahead but it was evident that West Brom would be happy to leave Selhurst Park with a clean sheet and only a point gained, instead it ended up being Palace who walked away with their heads held high.
Bolasie's goal was his first at home since 1 January 2015 while Cabaye scored just his third for the season.
Former Manchester United defender Jonny Evans was substituted early after suffering an injury and from there West Brom were always on the back foot. A lack of creativity up front saw many chances go wide or even stopped before they could really start developing. Saido Berahino looked sluggish throughout the first half and was pulled at half time for Craig Gardner who helped the defence deal with Dwight Gayle and Wilfried Zaha. The young winger continued his fine form of recent weeks, causing trouble for the West Brom defenders all afternoon with his darting runs behind the lines. It's good to see the youngster playing so well after having his career come to a momentary halt when he signed with Manchester United.
The game saw Crystal Palace largely dominate the chances but couldn't find the back of the net until late in the game. While Alan Pardew will be happy to come away with the three points, an area of concern for them is their lack of a proper striker. Dwight Gayle has never quite been a prolific finisher and Bolasie has lacked the composure and finesse to lead the line properly. While Palace did sign Connor Wickham from Sunderland this offseason, Pardew has opted to start Gayle instead. My main concern with him is that he plays like a winger who is simply filling in as a striker, which is not ideal for a team that is supposed to be challenging for Europe. Or at least hoping to. The style employed by Pardew doesn't suit the small frame of Gayle, rather a much bigger striker would be more appropriate. While Olivier Giroud is by no means a world-beater, the constant barrage of crosses from Scott Dan and Pape Souare would almost guarantee that he scored once every few games. If Palace are to continue playing the way they are, then there needs to be some personnel changes come January.
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