Daniel Harris 

Brighton 0-1 Crystal Palace: Premier League – as it happened

Ismaïla Sarr’s second-half strike was enough to give Palace their first league win since November and take them nine points clear of the relegation zone
  
  

Ismaila Sarr puts Palace in front against Brighton at the Amex.
Ismaila Sarr puts Palace in front against Brighton at the Amex. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Here’s Ed Aarons’ report…

…which means that’s it from me. Thanks for your company and comments, sorry I couldn’t use them all. Peace out.

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Palace should be safe from relegation now – with 25 games gone, they’re nine points above the bottom three, with Brighton, Spurs, Leeds and Forest between them and West Ham. They’ve got Burnley in midweek too, then Wolves, both at home – two wins and they’re sorted.

“What an amazing signing he’s been so far,” says Daniel Sturridge of Antoine Semenyo. What a spot from Pep and the boys, incredible stuff.

What I will say about Semenyo is, though his combination play leaves a bit to be desired, and he lacks a bit of feel for the ball, his ability to make goals happen might well override all that – though I wonder if really, Guardiola sees him a rotation player, not quite technical enough to fit the ideal vision.

The league table:

Guessand noises up the away end as Palace celebrate; Brighton now have one win in 12, and are surely out of the running for European qualification through the league.

Let’s hope our third match of the day is better than the second. Michael Butler will tell you what’s what.

FULL-TIME: Brighton & Hove Albion 0-1 Crystal Palace

Palace’s first win in 11, taking them nine points clear of the relegation zone, celebrated by Dean Henderson in typically understated manner.

90+5 min Glen Murray does the only thing you can do when dealt a match this completely devoid of quality, and gives POTM to the goalscorer, Ismaila Sarr.

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90+5 min Nice from Strand Larsen who, on the turn, flips a pass out wide to Munoz before heading for the box and, when the low cross comes, he redirects goalwards, but Verbruggen makes a decent save.

90+4 min Is it just me who puts on their best The Killing voice to say “Jorgen Strand Larsen” in the style of “Nanna Birk Larsen”? Er, oh.

90+2 min Minteh puts the ball into space and dashes at Munoz, who blocks him off, doing well to avoid a second booking … and the resultant free-kick is cleared easily.

90+1 min We’ll have six additional minutes.

90 min Strand Larsen takes a ball from Guessand, holds up, and buys a foul from Boscagli. He’s been more effective in the second half, without doing anything brilliant.

88 min Another change for Palace, Sarr off and Johnson on.

87 min :”here are two things keeping me on the edge of my seat during this match,” says Justin Madson. “Theories on Baleba’s decline and the Bad Boyes connection. As I write this the latter has been revealed, so I await theories on the Baleba situation with great anticipation.”

It’s easy to speculate that mentally, Baleba checked out of Brighton when he thought he might be leaving, bur he’s had months to adapt to that reality, and what’s odd is the stuff that got that offer made – the dynamic ball-carrying – he’s barely attempting.

85 min On which point, does Chris Richards call his mate La-cwa or Lac-roi? Back on the pitch, Larsen hauls back O’Riley and is booked, then Gomez is booked for a foul but I missed upon whom.

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84 min A foul from Guessand allows Brighton a free-kick, 45 yards out, right of centre; Gross clips in, Lacroix heads out.

82 min Gareth Barry’s Premier League appearance record won’t be equalled today: Brighton send on Hinshelwood and O’Riley for Rutter and Kastoulas, meaning Milner must remain on the bench.

81 min Er, no, Strand Larsen heads away at the front post.

80 min Munoz is booked for something, I didn’t quite see what, then Mitoma wins a corner down the left. Can Gross get the delivery right?

78 min While that’s going on, we see the goal again, and this time it strikes me as exactly the kind of chance Mateta thwacks, via hard sidefooter, directly into the keeper’s shins. On the other hand, Sarr is a really good one-on-one finisher and never looked likely to miss the opportunity he’d been waiting for through an hour of tedium.

77 min Boscagli bursts forwards and Strand Larsen extends a leg, catching him a right sair yin on the knee. He stops down for treatment, but should be fine.

76 min Changer for Palace, Kamada returning after a couple of months out injured, replacing Hughes.

75 min “That was a fun bit of googling,” writes Andy. “Paul Kember, who played the titular character, was the son of Steve Kember, who played for Palace.”

There it is.

74 min This time the corner reaches Strand Larse at the near post, but he gets too much of it, directing a header wide.

73 min A poor pass backwards from Mitoma and Strand Larsen seizes upon it, bursting through the middle but, forced right, can only shoot into Verbruggen’s legs. The corner yields another.

71 min Brighton have no shortage of attackers on the park now, and will surely look to feed Minteh to get the ball into Welbeck and Katosulas. He’s on the right, but Rutter, looking to find him, is robbed by Guessand, who’s made a decent impact since coming on for Pino.

70 min Changes for Brighton: off goes Baleba, again, along with De Cuyper and Howell; on come Gomez, Welbeck and Minteh.

69 min Brighton are really struggling to create. They need more bodies in the box, and a lot more quality with their delivery. Meantime, though, Wharton floats through midfield, spreads the play, takes the ball back … and crosses into touch beyond the back post.

68 min Kadioglu into Gross who flicks in behind … and Rutter doesn’t read him.

67 min Palace win a corner and aim for penalty spot, Lerma up … and heading over the bar.

65 min Better from Brighton, De Cuyper winning a 50-50 and feeding into Mitoma, who moves on to Rutter, who turns around the corner and, at inside-left, Kastoulas is away! Cutting infield towards goal, he clearly doesn’t trust his pace or his left foot, opening body and shooting early, far too close to Henderson, who makes a decent save with his shin.

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63 min The goal came with Palace’s first shot on target. I’d not be shocked to see them get another on the counter.

GOAL! Brighton & Hove Albion 0-1 Crystal Palace (Sarr 61)

He loves this fixture! A hopeful ball lumped forward by Hughes, headed away weakly by Dunk and, 40 yards out, Guessand collects and suddenly Sarr, outside him, is a pass way from being in! It duly arrives into his stride, he moves into the box, composes, and, as Verbruggen dives, sweeps a finish high into the middle of the net! How crucial will that goal prove to be?!

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61 min Lerma is late again, this time on Gross, but escapes a card; lucky boy.

59 min Rutter fould Hughes, who then floats the resultant free-kick towards the back post. Guessand tries to knock back across but Mitoma breaks clear with the ball, so Lerma brings him down.

58 min It surely won’t be long before Hurzeler tries Danny Welbeck. I’d like to see Kastoulas stay on to play off him, though, with perhaps Rutter getting hooked.

57 min Palace win a throw 30 yards out, Richards again goes long, and Howell heads away. It’s all-action now!

56 min Change for Palace: Guessand comes on for his Palace debut, replacing the disappointing Pino.

54 min Brighton try and bait Palace in, only to lose the ball when they lose patience. They’re the side dictating now, though, Palace sitting off and hoping for a counter. In the meantime, Baleba floats a nice-looking ball over the top looking to meet the run of Mitoma, but Henderson runs out to claim.

52 min Mitoma into Rutter who looks to spin, but his touch is poor, again, and another attack expires. This might well be the worst game I’ve seen this season.

51 min Dunk hits a long diag for Mitoma, scurrying from out to in, he chests down, and the ball runs away back to Henderson. Oh this is good stuff.

50 min Baleba finds Rutter, who loose touch allows Munoz to spring into action, racing down the right before measuring a cross directly into Verbruggen’s gloves.

49 min Kosloulas out to Gross, whose cross is cleared; Palace counter downfield and Dunk slides in to rob Strand Larsen. This is the best I have for you, I’m afraid.

48 min Howell tries to barge by Lacroix, who sons him off with a shoulder into touch.

46 min Brighton are on to the attack – such as it is – immediately, pushing forward only to be easily repelled.

46 min Off we go again…

Back come our teams…

“Here in the USA on Super Bowl Sunday,” opens Justin Kavangh, “when sports fans are trying to wake up and get the snacks made and the beers in for tonight’s party, it’s good of the Premier League to give us a gentle, none-too-taxing warmup to view, The Stupor Bowl from Brighton.”

What’s on the menu?

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HALF-TIME: Brighton & Hove Albion 0-0 Crystal Palace

So far, this is an absolute dog, neither side able to create much. It might improve, but equally, it might not.

45+2 min Mitoma’s down a few minutes and now has cotton wool shovelled up his nostril; he’ll be fine.

45 min Lerma inadvertently introduces elbow to coupon and Mitoma goes down; we’ll have two additional minutes.

44 min Kostoulas goes looking for the ball, picking it up on the right touchline and arcing in a low cross to which Howell is unable to apply a toe.

43 min What happened to Carlos Baleba this season? We’ve hardly seen him today but, more generally, the rampaging through the middle of the pitch, has gone and, as I type, he loses the ball, Munoz turning around the corner for Sarr, easing away at inside-right; he carries, then slices a rising finish which flashes wide of the near post.

42 min The corner goes back post and Lerma wins the header, but Sarr can’t get hold of it; goalkick.

41 min Richards into the box and Dunk heading back to him, so he goes again, looking for the back post, and Boscagli, racing towards his own goal, does really to head behind with an attacker behind him.

40 min Are Palace coming? Wharton swings low and first-time out to Munoz, exactly the kind of pass he needs to be playing, but the resultant cross is headed behind and the corner yields another throw in a dangerous position.

39 min But Palace have a throw, again launched into the box by Richards, and Lacriox wins the header, before Dunk hacks away.

37 min Rutter shoots low from outside the box, hitting his own man, and when the ball breaks to De Cuyper, his shot is deflected behind, the the flag goes up. I’ll level with you: this is not necessarioly a remotely good game of football.

36 min Down the other end go Palace, Mitoma arriving late and landing a forearm in Munoz’s phizog. He escapes a caution and the eventuating free-kick is easily cleared.

35 min Baleba drills wide for Rutter, who takes the long way around Lerma and to the line; he knows he’s not getting there, so shoves the defender, and is duly penalised.

34 min Mitoma hangs on the last line, targeting that space down the side of Lerma, but goes too early, the flag then raised for offside.

33 min Palace clips a long free-kick into the box, win the first two contacts and the third knocks the ball back to Wharton … who wallops a shot nowhere near anywhere.

31 min Mitoma is coming into this, working a yard down the left, beating Munoz in the process, and crossing low; at the front post, various challenges deflect the ball into the path of De Cuyper … chance! He leathers a rising shot that’s well blocked by Richards, but really, he oughtn’t to have smelled it.

29 min Sarr looks for space outside the Brighton box, Rutter challenges, and nails him with a shoulder to the swede. There’s a pause while treatment is administered.

28 min Feet from Mitoma, conjuring space in centrefield before spreading to Howell, who carries then feeds Kadioglu outside him; the cross is cleared.

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28 min Hughes curls in, Brighton win first contact, and Mitoma completes the clearance by hacking away.

27 min Ah but here he is now, lofting a ball over the top which Sarr chases; Kadioglu, who doesn’t have the same pace, opts to shove him the back so from nothing, Palace have a free-kick down the right, between box and by-line.

26 min We’ve not seen much of Wharton yet. I was expecting him to be firing balls into Strand Larsen’s feet, but so far the game is passing him by.

25 min Pino gets on the ball just outside the Brighton box, looking to poke a pass in behind, which he eventually does … to no one.

24 min Rutter burrows forward but, as he reaches the box, discovers he can’t sublimate to pass through the defenders stood in front of him.

23 min Howell loses the ball with a loose pass but shows his strength, chasing back to make sure Mitchell can’t advance. He’s made a confident start.

21 min Brighton probe, moving the ball from side to side, but they can’t find space or an angle, Palace regaining possession and doing similarly, until Richards passes into touch. I was on Arsenal v Chelsea in midweek, and so far, this is no better.

19 min Gross teases fast and flat into the middle, Dunk arriving on to it only to glance wide of the far post. That was the best chance of the match so far – a low bar, granted – but it was still a pretty decent one.

17 min Katsoulas pokes to Rutter, who Cruyff turns into space and, sliding in, Hughes can’t stop himself piling through. He’s booked and Brighton have a free-kick 25 yards out, well right of centre.

15 min Strand Larsen slides through the middle for Sarr as we speculated he might, Boscagli doing just enough to poke back to Verbruggen. There’s not much in it, but so far, Palace look the likelier.

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13 min Wharton wins a free-kick off Baleba, Pino swinging a diag towards the back post and though it takes them a few goes, Brighton clear without undue alarm. So far, we’ve not been deluged in quality.

12 min As regards Eric’s email, it’s the Palace fans singing “Have you ever seen Brighton win the Cup, have you fuck”. In that context, defeat to Macc is neither here nor there.

10 min A pass into Howell, who holds it well under pressure from Hughes but, when the ball goes wide to Rutter, his cross is cleared easily enough. Brighton seem to fancy him against Richards; I’d expected them to focus attacks on the other side, to see what Lerma’s got at centre-back.

9 min “I wonder which will be more entertaining,” wonders Eric Peterson, “the Super Bowl commercials later today or the Brighton supporters’ chants about Palace’s FA Cup, um, travails.”

Given Palace won it last year, I’m not sure Brighton have much of value to say on that topic.

8 min More touches for Howell, socks nicely rolled down, Hoddle-style; he looks to have nice balance on the ball, and not just because he’s left-footed.

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7 min It’s scrappy so far, but Palace are starting to knock it about.

6 min Strand Larsen curries favour, closing down Verbruggen and charging down a clearance; the ball flies behind for a goalkick.

5 min Gross goes again, goes back post again, and this time Dunk, having lost Hughes, launches himself over Lerma to head well over the top.

4 min Gross swings in towards the back post, there’s a minor scramble, and Lacroix boots behind.

2 min Palace win a free-kick deep inside the Brighton half, Richards to hurl in, and it bounces off heads before De Cuyper spreads right and Howell carries forward then settles nerves with a pass out to Rutter. He teases Lerma then oozes by on the outside, his low cross cleared behind for a corner.

1 min “Can’t pretend I’m looking forward to this - 12 games without a win will do that to a man,” begins Dennis Johns. “But here I am with hope in my heart anyway. Assuming it’ll either be 0-0 or, like, a 3-2 rowdy roustabout of a game.

As to your quiz Q - I have no idea. Was Terry Venables involved? He had form - I believe his fictional detective was called Hazell. Or maybe it starred a young Alan Pardew?”

Incorrect, I’m afraid. I’m expecting a struggle, and am going for 2-0 Palace.

1 min Away we go…

Harry Howell is a name that belongs here.

Out come our teams…

Email! “Daichi Kamada is back from injury after a month out, though still on the bench,” writes Kári Tulinius. “I think his loss has been felt more acutely than most by Palace. He’s excellent at breaking up opposition play and launching attacks. While vibes might drag the Eagles down, I think having Kamada back will make a big difference.”

They’ll certainly hope so; defensively they’ve not been that bad, their 29 goals conceded the best record in the bottom half and better than Man United and Liverpool in the top. Going forward, though, they’ve only scored 25 times, joint second-lowest in the division.

I’ve not seen every Palace game this season or anything like it, but one of the most notable aspects of those I have watched was Mateta’s miserable finishing, especially one on one. If they can create those situations for Strand Larsen, I’d expect much better.

That Katsoulas goal I mentioned:

Maybe the WSL title race isn’t quite over? At the Emirates, Arsenal lead Man City 1-0; join Xaymaca for the denouement.

Quiz time: what does this seminal 80s kids’ TV show have to do with Crystal Palace?

Get a load of this:

Playing for Palace: Paul Hinshelwood, late grandfather of Jack.

I’ll probably end up looking silly, but I quite fancy Palace here. Brighton lack a reliable scorer – though Katsoulas’ brilliant goal against Bournemouth tells us he knows where the goal is – and I think Palace have the speed of foot and of pass to cause them problems.

So where is the game? Brighton will expect – and probably allowed – to have more of the ball, with Mitoma and Rutter staying narrow and Kadioglu and De Cuyper keeping width outside them – especially useful when facing a three-at-the-back system. The space will be in behind the wing-backs and down the sides of the centre-backs, though I’d also expect Katsoulas to target the space in behind.

Palace, meanwhile, will look for Wharton to fire those hard, low passes into Strand Larsen, with Pino and Sarr roaming behind, looking to combine and hit the space in behind; I’d also expect them to try plenty of crosses, with their new striker looking to hit the front post.

Glasner tells Sky that Strand Larsen has shown in training that he can score, something Palace have been without lately; the team need to offer him crosses and runs into the box to create space for him. He’s happy to have more options than previously.

On the ball – guess the footballer

The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?

Palace, meanwhile, are without Mateta but with Strand Larsen, who makes a debut. And with Adam Wharton back from suspension, Jefferson Lerma moves into the back three with Riad relocating to the bench.

Otherwise, the headline news is that 17-year-old Harry Howell comes in for a full Premier League debut; he’ll be on the right of Brighton’s midfield three. “It’s not about age, it’s about quality,” Hurzeler says, noting that excellence in training was crucial in making his mind up for him, also confirming Van Hecke has a small issue.

Otherwise, this kind of game it’s about focusing on your own approach and not fussing too much about the other team, which they did the last time they met Palace, who he knows are physical.

Taking a closer look at those teams, Brighton are without all manner of player: Stefanos Tzimas, Adam Webster, Solly March, Yasin Ayari, Jan Paul van Hecke and Mats Wiefer; Palace are missing Cheick Doucouré, Eddie Nketiah, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Justin Davenny and Rio Cardines.

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Teams!

Brighton & Hove Albion (4-3-3): Verbruggen; Kadioglu, Boscagli, Dunk, De Cuyper; Baleba, Gross, Howell; Rutter, Kostoulas, Mitoma. Subs: Julio, Minteh, Hinshelwood, Welbeck, Milner, Steele, Gómez, O’Riley, Veltman.

Crystal Palace (3-4-2-1): Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Lerma; Munoz, Hughes, Wharton, Mitchell; Sarr, Pino; Strand Larsen. Subs: Johnson, Uche, Clyne, Kamada, Canvot, Sosa, Guessand, Riad, Benitez.

Referee: Thomas Bramall (Sheffield)

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Before we go any further, get into this. It’s the final over and it’s an arse-nipper.

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Preamble

What is is about football that incites antipathy? It’s not enough to love yourself; rather that sensation must necessarily be juxtaposed against who you hate, identity a representation of who you aren’t almost as much as who you are.

Which is one reason why clubs who can’t rely on geography to deliver them a natural rival find another way – Brighton and Crystal Palace, for example, battling for supremacy of the much-coveted M23 corridor. Of course, there’s a pretext – some mid-70s competition between teams who’d previously not played each other much, followed by mid-to-late 70s animus between their respective managers, Terry Venables and Alan Mullery, former teammates with incompatible egos. But as much as anything, this contest reflects the basic human desire to hate, the beautiful game much the richer for it.

And today’s edition offers plenty of scope for fun in that vein. Palace are on a dreadful run, without a league victory since the first week of December, just six points off the relegation zone. Yes, there are reasons for that, but at this stage it barely matters: West Ham are playing well and winning while they are playing poorly and losing, with the two teams in between, Forest and Leeds, looking just about good enough to escape the drop. It’s not desperate yet, but it could get there and quickly.

So can Brighton embrace tradition and kick them when they’re down? Though it’s been a mixed season for Fabian Hürzeler’s men, as things stand now they’re still in the FA Cup and still in the fight for a European spot, just about. They’ve not won a league game since the start of January and that was at home to Burnley, but in that time, they’ve drawn at Manchester City and won at Manchester United, which tells us they’ve got performances in them. They’ll be desperate to produce one today, to improve their own situation – but just as importantly, to compound Palace’s.

Kick-off: 2pm GMT

 

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